In Case of Party, Bust Out These 20 Canned Drinks

How to stock your cooler with boozy and non-alcoholic drinks to please even the pickiest partygoer.

“Nothing will ruin a well-planned good time like a cooler full of crappy things to drink,” says Derek Correia, president of ReserveBar and the recently launched GetStocked, a site specifically for canned and bottled drinks. Correia knows a thing or two about how to curate drinks for a crowd. “What’s in your cooler now depends on who you’re serving,” he says. “Years ago, it was easy—you’d fill it with beer, and if someone didn’t like that, then tough noogies.”

Noogies aside, the man is right. Canned drinks have entered a new era, as increased interest and investment have spurred the development of much higher-quality options—and lots of them. What’s more, the “I’ll just drink whatever” attitude of the past doesn’t seem to exist anymore. (It died along with “I’ll just eat what everyone else is having.”) Curating a cooler to please everyone—the wine and beer aficionados, the cocktail lovers, the spritz and seltzer fans, and those who aren’t drinking, too—can be tough. But with new options hitting stores daily, the canned-drinks aisle has something for everyone. To make provisioning your next meet-up easier, our editors tasted just about every canned drink we could get our hands on to determine what to put in your ice chest this summer.

Canned Cocktails

Sagamore Spirit Canned Cocktails ($18 for 4)

These rye-based cocktails are made with Sagamore American Whiskey, from the Baltimore waterfront. Sagamore’s Honey Paloma cocktail pairs aged rye with fresh grapefruit and lime; the company also makes a darn good Ginger and Rye.

Devils Backbone Distilling Co. Key Lime Smash ($22 for 8)

This Virginia-based distillery pairs vodka with tart and tangy Key lime juice for a canned cocktail that captures the unique flavor and aroma of the distinctive citrus. Give the can a light shake before opening to recombine the fruit juices.

Suntide Mimosa ($12 for 4)

Mimosas for brunch and beyond! Made with fresh citrus juice and sparkling wine, Suntide’s canned classic mimosas strike the perfect balance between bitter, sweet, and spritzy.

Slow & Low Whiskey Sunshine ($20 for 4)

At 20 proof, this cocktail can be enjoyed either straight out of the can or poured over ice into a rocks glass. It’s a whiskey Collins, essentially: rye whiskey blended with a mix of citrus including yuzu, lemon, sweet orange, and oroblanco grapefruit.

Straightaway Cocktails ($24 for 4)

These petite cans pack a very delicious punch. Straightaway’s margarita uses both tequila and mezcal and gets warming sweetness from mango-habanero syrup. The Oregon Old-Fashioned tweaks the classic recipe with filbert and fir bitters.

Anytime Spritz ($15 for 4)

This new queer-owned spritz brand is a refreshing option. The Herby Lime Fizz, scented with Key lime, thyme, and sage, is for the lover of all things green; the Cranberry Amaro Splash is terrific for those craving something a bit more juicy.

Finnish Long Drink ($16 for 6)

Finland’s lonkero (“long drink” in English) combines gin with citrus soda, most commonly grapefruit. Finnish Long Drink cans it up in a “traditional” version at 5.5% alcohol, but if you’re feeling bold (or robustly Finnish), go for the Strong Citrus at 8.5%.

Daybreaker Craft Cocktails ($12 for 4)

If you love a vodka lemonade, this is the cocktail for you. From beer brewer Two Roads, these canned cocktails pack pure fruit flavor paired with two shots of vodka. While the Vodka Lemonade cocktail was a standout, we also enjoyed the Tropical Punch and warming Pineapple Mule.

Hard Kombucha & Hard Tea

Luna Bay Booch Watermelon Sea Salt ($15 for 4)

Our advice: Enjoy this hard kombucha, with its touch of watermelon flavor and savory sea salt accents, at the beach or by the pool. Based out of Chicago, Luna Bay Booch is the first female-founded and -operated hard kombucha brewery in the country.

Jiant Mixed Berry Hard Tea ($15 for 8)

Ready for Twisted Tea all grown up? Hard kombucha brewery Jiant uses organic black tea to craft this just-sweet-enough hard tea. Made with blackberry and raspberry puree and a touch of mint, it’s pure and fresh and a very easy sipper.

JuneShine Grapefruit Paloma ($15 for 6)

This low-ABV Paloma blends the best of the classic Mexican cocktail, bitter grapefruit and tart lime with delicious savory kombucha. The result is a perfectly balanced canned drink with sweet, fruity notes, bright citrus, and quenching bitterness.

Beer & Cider

Cisco Brewers Grey Lady ($13 for 6)

At just 4% alcohol, this low-ABV wheat ale is a shoo-in for a spot in anyone’s cooler. It has a lovely citrusy backbone and just enough body without being overly heavy.

Lawson’s Finest Little Sip IPA ($16 for 4)

This fruit-forward IPA is made to be enjoyed out in the sun. With notes of citrus, pineapple, and even mango, plus vibrant floral aromas, it’s just filled with fun.

Son of Man BETI ($40 for 8)

This Basque-style cider is made in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, not in northern Spain, but it’s excellent. Some cider styles can be heavy and sweet, but Beti is bright and fresh, with a savory apple aroma and minimal sugar.

Wine & Sake

Ysidro Sake Spritz ($48 for 8)

Lightly bitter grapefruit pairs with premium junmai ginjo sake in this canned sake spritz named after San Ysidro, the patron saint of farmers and gardeners. A touch of sea salt helps draw umami notes from the sake and balances out the drink’s slight sweetness.

Djuce Canned Wine ($11)

This Stockholm-based brand is packaging sustainably produced wines from Burgundy, Austria, and even Croatia into single-serve aluminum cans. Djuce’s range of wines includes sparkling frizzante, juicy red blends, and a lightly tannic orange wine. Grab a mixed pack, and travel through Europe’s wine regions in just a few sips.

Canetta Canned Wine

These petit cans capture complex, terroir-driven red, white, and orange wine into convenient single servings. Their zippy white wine features a blend of Spanish grapes including xarel-lo and macabeu and the gorgeous, aromatic red is made with Catalonian Ull de Llebre, also know as tempranillo.

Non-Alcoholic

Ruby Sparkling Hibiscus Fuji Apple ($35 for 12)

If there’s one nonalcoholic can of bubbly excellence that we want to drink all day, it’s Ruby’s apple and hibiscus soda. With its perfect balance of tart and sweet, this all-natural soda has a gorgeous red hue and is endlessly refreshing.

PARCH NonAlcoholic Agave Cocktails ($40 for 8)

Parch’s nonalcoholic cocktails start with agave nectar from roasted and pressed agave piñas, just like agave spirits do, but have zero alcohol. The Spiced Piñarita is filled with lush, smoky pineapple flavor and a nice hit of cayenne pepper; the Prickly Paloma is a juicy, grapefruit-forward counterpoint to that.

Ghia Sumac & Chili

The booming success of beloved non-alcoholic aperitif brand Ghia helped carve out room for booze-free drinks in the spirits industry. Their newest canned spritz maintains Ghia's signature not-too-sweet flavor profile and features lemony sumac and a touch of heat from chiles.

For Bitter For Worse Rose City Fizz

At first sip this spritz is all about summer fruits — strawberry, cherries, sweet grapes — but a backbone of gingery spice brings everything into balance. Enjoy this non-alcoholic spritz straight chilled right from the cooler.

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