New York Magazine
The Strategist
The Best Canned Cocktails, According to Bartenders and Mixologists
There was a time when cans were the sole domain of beer. But then winemakers started putting their vintages in aluminum, and now the canned revolution has reached the world of cocktails (which, for the purposes of this story, we’re defining as any mixed alcoholic drink). Some of the entrants to this new class of RTDs, or ready-to-drinks, are just as good as what you can get at your favorite watering hole, but in a convenient, recyclable, and discrete package. That said, not all canned cocktails are created equally. (Sorry, White Claw.) To find cans you’ll actually finish, we reached out to 12 mixologists and bartenders across the country to ask them about the canned cocktails they like to sip. Their 13 favorites below include a canned Bee’s Knees, an alcohol-free spritz, and a sophisticated hard seltzer. Seeing as drink preferences can vary, we grouped their recommendations by what alcohol you’ll find in the can — from spirits to wine to spiked seltzer — and led each category with any canned cocktails we heard about the most. At the very end of the list, we also included a highly recommended nonalcoholic canned cocktail for anyone who’s off the sauce.