See our favorite easily packable cocktails to help you celebrate summer on the go.
Navpreet Dhillon
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When packing our summer picnic baskets, the first item on our list is a refreshing canned cocktail. Well, the first item on our list is ice, but after that, it’s definitely canned cocktails. Ranging from classic Negronis to new inventions like the Rocket Queen, these ready-made cocktails save you the trouble of lugging your home bar wherever you go—and they take the hassle out of determining whether your crowd likes red wine, IPAs, or hefeweizen.
The alcohol market has substantially expanded over the past few years, with hard seltzers taking the lead, and stemming from the hard seltzer trend came canned cocktails, an innovative way to enjoy an array of concoctions from anywhere. Available in low alcohol by volume (ABV) content like hard seltzers and also in higher ABV content levels like fresh-made cocktails, canned cocktails range in their strength and spirit choice to match your favorite drinks.
The rise of canned cocktails allows for companies like LiveWire and DRNXMYTH to create specialty drinks with mixologists to reach an audience beyond local bars. Famed Los Angeles bartender Aaron Polsky created LiveWire to bring creativity into the cocktail space, encouraging mixologists to think about what they could create if a cocktail could be mass-produced. DRNXMYTH adapted to the issue of wanting to produce fresh juices while preventing separation, and created a two-chamber bottle, allowing for cold-pressed juice mixes and fresh ingredients in all its bottled cocktails. Due to the canned cocktails’ increase in popularity, companies are reinventing the aluminum experience.
Here are just a few ideas for your next picnic basket.
1 /9Courtesy of Two Chicks Cocktails
Vodka Fizz
The Sparkling Vodka Fizz from Two Chicks Cocktails tastes as great as it smells. Pear and elderflower engage your tastebuds and make the cocktail forward tasting in a way that doesn’t linger afterwards, a bonus that keeps the drink delicate. Light, floral, and sweet, the Sparkling Vodka Fizz is a unique delight that will make refusing seconds almost impossible.
Two Chicks Cocktails Vodka Fizz (5% ABV), $4.99/can
2 /9Courtesy of Livewire
Honeydew Collins
The Honeydew Collins, created by Los Angeles bartender Joey Bernardo for Livewire, is a groundbreaking cocktail reminiscent of an elevated piña colada. Made with gin, coconut, honeydew, lime leaf, and elderflower, Honeydew Collins uses fresh ingredients that blend to taste like a warm summer day on the beach. The honeydew and elderflower stand out among the flavors and balance out the gin.
Livewire Honeydew Collins (6.5% ABV), $19.19/pack of 4
3 /9Courtesy of Zaddy’s
Corpse Reviver
A take on the original Corpse Reviver from the 1800s, Zaddy’s purified the recipe by replacing brandy with gin to make the drink lighter and adding orange, lemon peel, fennel, nutmeg, and coriander for strong botanicals. The Corpse Reviver contains only two grams of cane sugar and 100 calories, making it the guilt-free canned cocktail to enjoy all summer long.
Zaddy's Corpse Reviver (4.5% ABV), $11.99/pack of 4
4 /9Courtesy of DRNXMYTH
Eastside
Want to feel like a spa day? DRNXMYTH combines cucumber, lime, and mint with London dry gin to channel the relaxation of a spa in its Eastside cocktail. The blend remains in a chamber below the gin, and when you twist the bottle clockwise, it fuses with the gin so that the drink remains fresh. Inspired by mixologist and bartender Saeed House, Eastside is a refreshing drink for poolside afternoons.
DRNXMYTH Eastside (16% ABV), $11/can
5 /9Courtesy of 503 Distilling
I’m Your Huckleberry Lemonade
503 Distilling tastes as it says, and with the I’m Your Huckleberry Lemonade, expect only vodka, huckleberry, and lemonade. Straightforward and simple, the Huckleberry Lemonade levels a tart punch with subtle sweetness from the lemon. The 503 Distilling cocktail is an adult replacement for fresh-squeezed neighborhood lemonade.
503 Distilling I'm Your Huckleberry Lemonade (11% ABV), $14.95/pack of 4
6 /9Courtesy of Straightaway Cocktails
Last Word Spritz
Straightaway Cocktails has mastered spritzes, but none more than their Last Word Spritz. Made with Pinot Gris, housemade herbal liqueur, cherry, lime, and mint, it is airy yet has a strong first taste. Best enjoyed over ice—and sipped slowly—this canned cocktail packs a punch of flavor.
Straightaway Cocktails Last Word Spritz (13% ABV), $71.95/box of 12
7 /9Courtesy of Golden Road Brewing
Champango
Golden Road’s take on a mimosa includes champagne and mango beer, a summery replacement for the usual orange juice. The brewery combines their Mango Cart beer, a wheat ale infused with fresh mango, and bright champagne for a light, bubbly easy-to-drink cocktail.
Golden Road Brewing Champango (6.5% ABV), $10.99/pack of 4
8 /9Courtesy of Cocktail Squad
Whiskey Ginger
Whiskey and ginger are a complementary flavor pair to last the ages. Cocktail Squad has canned the classic Whiskey Ginger with only organic ingredients. The ginger’s spice tones down the whiskey, and with zero grams of sugar and only 90 calories, the cocktail won’t give you the hangover and fullness that you would get from a home-mixed Whiskey Ginger.
Cocktail Squad Whiskey Ginger (5% ABV), $14/pack of 4
9 /9Courtesy of Salt Point Beverage Co.
Margarita
While one of the most famous cocktails of all time, the margarita is hard to condense into a can without ruining the balanced flavor profile. However, Salt Point managed to create a well-balanced marg with its house-made tequila and triple-sec and just the right amount of bubbles to enhance the flavor rather than drown it out.
Salt Point Margarita (10% ABV), $5.49/can
This Came from the 2021 Waters of the West Issue—Read It Here!