The Wirecutter’s list of the best canned cocktails. Very interested to hear people’s thoughts on this. None of these are available at my local liquor store, but we do have Barr Hill’s canned G&T, which is the best canned cocktail I’ve ever tasted.
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I love the Finnish Long Drink (available in most of US). Especially their peach flavor this summer. And i'm currently sipping a Los Seis tequila cocktail from Toronto's North Sprits Distillery. A neat little place that I keep coming back too when i travel up here.
Tip Top isn't available in Oregon, so I can't compare it, but Portland's own Straightaway makes excellent canned cocktails. We got their special advent calendar for the holidays last year with mini cocktails hiding behind each day, and it was a delight.
Would be interested to try one of these Tip Tops. So far every canned cocktail I've had tastes a bit like can, but also I am a huge snob when it comes to cocktails since I live with an excellent bartender. I am probably not the target audience.
I don't know about Tip Top, but this is what's so amazing about the Barr Hill canned G&T: they make it just like a cocktail. It's not just a bunch of "flavoring" with some generic alcohol with carbonation to cover the lack of flavor. Maybe it's not quite as a good as the mixed version, but it's closer than I would have thought possible.
Here to report that the Tip Top cocktails are in fact delicious. I haven't tried all of them, but enough of them. ;)
The Wirecutter also has a great list of non-alcoholic "cocktails" and drinks which I highly recommend as well. The St. Agrestis Phony Negroni is a dead ringer for the real thing, and most of the time, what I prefer.
I almost bought a bottle of the Phony Negroni yesterday; this comment is going to send me back to the store for it. Thanks!
+1 for the Phony Negroni. They did a great job making a complex NA drink that feels special. If you like smokey flavors, the Phony Mezcal Negroni is also good.
The Amaro Falso is also really good!
I've largely avoided canned cocktails (although the sign I saw in Boston for Dre & Snoop's Gin and Juice has my attention) but the Barr Hill stuff is a major exception. That stuff is dangerously drinkable and astonishingly tasty. I'm a Barr Hill fanboy though.
The Cutwater MaiTai is my favorite concert cheat code. They cost as much as any other canned drink, but it's double the proof compared to most (12%). One drink and I'm good for the show! It's a very tasty drink, too. But Cutwater is inconsistent. Some of their other flavors (like the Vodka Mule) are undrinkable.
Tip Top indeed makes some excellent cocktails and have been able to nail some of the trickier ingredients (like orgeat and getting the "red bitters" aka campari right). the packaging and overall branding go a long way in setting the tone, too. so, if you bring a box of, say, jungle birds to a get together, then there's an extra layer of "fun" to what is ultimately just opening a can and pouring it over ice. little cans of any kind are just plain cool and giggle-inducing.
This comment caused me to purchase some Tip Top Jungle Birds to bring to a party, and the experience was just as described. The little cans were a hit. Thanks!
Probably not sold in the US but if you can get Whitebox, the Pocket Negroni started the craze in London during COVID. https://whiteboxcocktails.com/products/pocket-negroni
Here's another list: We Asked 7 Bartenders For The Best Canned Cocktails—These Are Their Top Picks. Hilariously, there's almost no overlap between this and Wirecutter's list. They accurately pegged Barr Hill's G&T as #1 tho.
This is great, thank you!
where was this list on Friday? 😆 It's Monday... Monday morning, dang it.
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