“Canned cocktails have become the talk of the distilling world,” Campbell said. “I was surprised and amazed by how many [entries] we got,” Campbell said. “It’s the largest growth we’ve seen in any category … and we added it as an afterthought with no promotion around it.”
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They are also increasingly present on liquor store shelves. Sales of spirit-based ready-to-drink beverages increased by about 41 percent between April 2018 and April 2019, according to the market research firm Nielsen.
And recently, several New England distilleries have started making them. Earlier this year, Salem’s Deacon Giles Distillery introduced three: a gin and tonic, vodka-cranberry, and a Dark and Stormy. In Rhode Island, Sons of Liberty Distilling, in South Kingstown, and Newport Craft Distilling make them, as does Litchfield Distillery in Litchfield, Conn., and Portland’s Maine Craft Distilling. Even Rhode Island-based beer company Narragansett Brewing rolled out a canned cocktail brand, Li’l Dinghy, in collaboration with Pennsylvania-based Faber Liquors last summer.
Others are are working it: Dave Willis, head distiller and cofounder of Boston’s Bully Boy Distillers, has spent months doing research and development on a canned amaro spritz, which he hopes to bring to market by the summer.
Many factors seem to be influencing their rise, including novelty, convenience, and price point. The popularity of malt-based hard seltzer and the craft beer movement — cans are no longer only associated with cheap beer, but with high-quality products as well — have also contributed to the category’s growth.
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“Lately, hard seltzer has kind of taken a lot of the energy in the room,” said Narragansett Brewing CEO Mark Hellendrung, whose canned cocktail line includes a lemon drop and a sea breeze. “We looked at doing a seltzer but felt the category was way too crowded for us. With canned cocktails, I think there’s still growth potential there.”
The process comes with several new challenges for distillers, including keeping fresh juice and other perishable ingredients shelf stable, carbonating large batches — many but not all are bubbly — and using canning lines.
“Keep in mind that a lot of distillers are not bartenders,” said Campbell, of Privateer Rum. “It requires a whole different skill set.”
Luke Davidson, founder and CEO of Maine Craft Distilling, in Portland, was one of the first New England distillers to start selling his spirits incorporated into canned mixed drinks and cocktails. He began selling them almost two years ago and now offers eight different versions, including Blueshine Lemonade with blueberry liquor, a rum and ginger Maine Mule and a vodka-based Cranberry Island Cocktail. They are available for purchase at the distillery, as well as at some liquor stores, restaurants and cafes, including Bru at the Encore Boston Harbor.
“I’m now selling more spirits through cans than through glass bottles,” said Davidson. “It’s just insanity. The volume of our products has gone through the roof.”
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These days, in addition to distilling spirits for traditional bottling, Davidson’s company is constantly batch-making cocktails in 1,000-gallon tanks. But getting there has not been easy.
“At first, we took our cocktail recipe and multiplied it times 20,000, and it did not even translate at all,” he said. “It took a long time to finally dial it in.”
For Davidson, the process involved figuring out the optimal ABV (currently around 7 percent, while some brands go up to 9 percent), ideal flavor (not overly sweet or boozy), and how to keep the drinks shelf-stable at room temperature. The presence of sugar and the addition of the preservative potassium sorbate help prevent spoilage, he said. He also worked with food scientists to get the drinks to the right pH level.
He describes his canned cocktails as more “sessionable” versions of the originals that inspired them. “We are pacing ourselves against craft beer,” he said. “Our ABV allows you to still taste the spirit but also enjoy a couple without being walloped by them.”
The desire to compete with the “more casual” beer and seltzer market also inspired Jesse Brenneman and Ian Hunter, co-owners of Deacon Giles Distillery, in Salem, to launch their canned cocktail line last spring.
“We’d taste somebody on our spirits at a liquor store, and they’d say that’s really great, but I’m just here to grab a quick six-pack of beer, or whatever, because I’m on my way to the beach, or a boat, or tailgating,” Brenneman said. “So we realized obviously this was a problem and if we were going to solve it we needed to offer a portable format.”
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Initially, they expected their canned drinks to be popular only in the summer, but they have discovered that they have year-round appeal, in part because they can be served with the pop of a tab.
“We’ve started conversations about getting them into theaters, music venues, and sports venues,” Brenneman said. “It’s very much of a convenience item for places like that.”
And since they are typically sold at a lower price-point than a full-size bottle of craft spirits — a four-pack of single-serving canned cocktails typically costs between $10 and $17 — they can also make for a good beer- or wine-alternative to tote to a party. Opting for them also alleviates the need to buy mixers and the awkward question of whether it’s appropriate to bring a half-full bottle of spirits home with you at the end of a gathering, Campbell pointed out.
And yet she does not have plans to make a canned cocktail at Privateer, describing it as “a whole different business [than distilling].”
Campbell added that she’s tasted some great canned cocktails — including the mule varieties made by nationally distributed Cardinal Spirits, based in Indiana — but in general the quality of them can vary widely.
“I’ve had some where I’m like, ‘Ooh I’m sure this lime juice was fresh when you put it in here, but it’s not so fresh anymore,’” she said.
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Similarly, Bully Boy’s Willis said he was initially reluctant to try making one because he has not been impressed with most of the options he has had. “But at the same time, I see that as an opportunity,” he said.
He will have some people to convince. During Willis’s research and development process, some otherwise faithful customers told him they were simply not interested in drinking a cocktail out of a can. “Intuitively, there seems to be something kind of wrong about it, like it’s going to be artificial or too sweet,” he said. “It brings a lot of baggage to the table, so what we’d love to do is create something even reluctant consumers can get behind.”
And while the rise of canned cocktails might seem like a step back from the craft cocktail movement, with its dedication to freshness and precision, you could actually think of it as an outgrowth of it, Willis added.
“Fifteen years ago, I don’t think anyone even knew what a Moscow Mule was, and now it’s a standard part of drinking culture, and you can get one off of a shelf at almost any liquor store,” he said. “There’s a greater desire for cocktails in all drinking situations. I think that’s what this is all about.”
Five to try
Maine Craft Distilling Italiano Orange Spritz
Perfect for aperitivo, this gin, sweet orange and vermouth blend tastes like a light, sparkling negroni.
Deacon Giles Speakeasy Cocktails Splash O’Cran
More seltzer-like than most canned cocktails, this clear mixed drink gets its subtle sweetness from natural cranberry essence and the Distillery’s Yankee Ingenuity Vodka, made with cane sugar.
Litchfield Distillery, The Litchfielder
A New England-y take on a whiskey sour, this drink mixes the Connecticut distillery’s bourbon with real maple syrup and lemon juice.
Newport Craft Distilling Co. Sea Spirits Newport Stormy
This classic sailor’s drink of dark rum and spicy ginger beer will warm your belly. Warning: At 9 percent ABV, it’s a potent potable.
Loyal 9 Cocktails, Sangria Cocktail
Great for a party, this punchlike libation blends together vodka, red wine, and fruit juice.
Jenna Pelletier can be reached at jennapelletier@gmail.com.
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