The Covid-19 lockdowns created a surge of at-home bartenders, but with life back to its normal, hectic pace, sometimes people find the time, effort, and range of ingredients needed to make fabulous cocktails at home just isn’t worth it. Alternatives in the form of premium, ready-to-serve drinks are making headway with several recent introductions from heavy-hitting brands. While ready-to-drink options, generally in single-serve cans, have been rising steadily for several years, their ready-to-serve counterparts, which are often sold in larger format bottles and designed to be shared, are just starting to gain traction off-premise.
Google searches for “easy cocktails” are on the rise, according to Nikhil Shah, brand director of The Cocktail Collection by Diageo. “That indicates that consumers are out there looking for solutions.” The Cocktail Collection was created to meet the home cocktail demand. “We’re finding that the main consumption occasion is at-home hosting occasions, for those seeking a more convenient—but also elevated—cocktail option for their guests,” he says.
Ready-to-serve cocktails can make the role of host a bit easier. They are “taking the lift off hosts while still creating a great entertaining experience with bar-quality drinks,” according to Emily Cohen, senior innovation director at Pernod Ricard USA. “Consumers want premium, crafted experiences at home that will impress friends and family while hosting,” Cohen says. “This can sometimes be a hassle with leftover ingredients, complex recipes, and bar equipment.”
Bart Silvestro, CEO of Via Carota Craft Cocktails, from the restaurant bearing the same name in Manhattan’s West Village in New York City, says ready-to-serve cocktails “definitely have a different usage occasion than traditional RTDs. “Consumers are still discovering ready-to-serve and we have seen the category become a go-to for gatherings where the host doesn’t want to be a bartender at their own party,” he says. “We’ve also seen our ready-to-serve cocktails used frequently as a hostess gift, as an alternative to a traditional bottle of wine.”
At the Pinkie’s chain of retail stores in West Texas, owner Austin Keith says premium ready-to-serve brands are beginning to resonate. “I’m seeing people pick up on those,” he says. “They are a little bit higher priced, but people realize that there’s quality in the bottle.”
The New Iteration
Ready-to-serve cocktails aren’t new to the market—there have been prepared Margaritas and other cocktails on shelves for decades. Margaritas are the No. 1 cocktail nationwide, and Bloody Marys are a popular option as well. Zing Zang CEO Brent Albertson says Bloody Marys have been “conspicuously absent” from the ready-to-serve category until Zing Zang launched last year. The Zing Zang Bloody Mary and Blazing Bloody Mary, both at 9% abv, are available in 1.75-ml. bottles for a suggested retail price of $18. Albertson notes the proliferation of bottled cocktails but says there is still plenty of room for growth, particularly in Bloody Marys. “In terms of Bloody Marys, we’re almost five out of every ten bottles sold in the United States,” he claims, adding that slow but steady growth is expected for the brand this year.
While volume in the ready-to-serve sector is minuscule compared to RTDs, several new brands are creating a buzz. The current iteration of the category offers more upscale products made with premium spirits and a range of cocktail options. Suntory Global Spirits’s On The Rocks is one such brand. Acquired in 2020, On The Rocks straddles the line between ready-to-drink (typically a single serving) and larger format ready-to-serve cocktails. Heather Boyd, managing director for U.S. RTD brands at Suntory, says On the Rocks cocktails are meant to be enjoyed over ice and therefore fit more in the ready-to-serve sector despite their 375-ml. (roughly 2.5 servings) bottle size, which retails for $12-$13. “One thing that we were finding with On The Rocks is that those smaller formats really enable people to have an individual cocktail experience that they can personally enjoy or maybe enjoy with a partner or friend,” Boyd says.
Suntory Global also offers Delola ready-to-serve cocktails in both 375-ml. ($10) and 750-ml. sizes ($20). The Jennifer Lopez-backed cocktails are crafted with natural botanicals and have a “spritz” effect. “There are definitely consumers who are reaching for it as a ready-to-drink—that’s where we see the first triers and buyers of the 375-mls. coming in,” says Boyd. “But with Delola, we also see that we’re recruiting quite a few wine consumers. The 750-ml. Delola bottle actually looks a little bit more like a wine bottle. It’s positioned as a spritz, as a lighter cocktail, and we are finding that [it appeals to] consumers who are looking for more variety versus the typical wine selection.”
Diageo entered the ready-to-serve fray last fall with the introduction of The Cocktail Collection, which includes Ketel One Vodka Espresso Martini and Vodka Cosmopolitan, Tanqueray Gin Negroni, and Bulleit Manhattan and Old Fashioned (each $25 a 750-ml.). While the Bulleit drinks had been available previously, the line has recently expanded to also include Astral Margarita, and Shah says more new additions are likely soon. “Up until now, there have been very few, if any, options in the market for those looking for a bar-quality ready-to-serve option with an accessible price point in a novel, large format, with the prestige of our brand portfolio behind it,” says Shah. “Consumers often had to sacrifice taste for a good price, or select from niche and inaccessible, higher priced options.” Shah adds that the line has had “an amazing response” from consumers, and the growth “coincides with the massive uptick in the ultra-premium tier of the ready-to-serve category.” Shah notes that The Cocktail Collection was created out of a need and desire for high quality at-home cocktails that don’t sacrifice taste for an affordable price, adding that there is a “huge market of cocktail fans who appreciate a well-made drink, but lack the ability, time, or confidence to create and serve a perfectly crafted cocktail to their friends.”
Pernod Ricard USA launched the Glenlivet Twist & Mix Cocktails ($23 a 750-ml.) in August 2023 with a unique format. Consumers twist the cap to mix a burst of cocktail flavorings into The Glenlivet single malt, creating a high-quality, freshly-mixed cocktail. The Glenlivet joined Malibu and Absolut in Pernod Ricard’s ready-to-serve portfolio. For Malibu, the brand’s popular RTD cocktails have been expanded to the larger-format 1-liter ready-to-serve size ($15). “We’ve seen the ready-to-serve category grow more than 70% in the past year, including a rise in rum drinks, which is a great opportunity for Malibu to deliver on what our consumers are looking for—easy and delicious cocktails,” says Cohen. Pernod Ricard took a new flavor approach for the Absolut ready-to-serve option. The Absolut Cocktails line includes Vodka Mojito and Raspberry Lemonade, available in 750-ml. bottles for a suggested retail price of $19.
Not surprisingly, the early success of premium ready-to-serve brands has led to the launch of several new entrants into the market. Via Carota Craft Cocktails launched in 2023, and the company expanded the line this year with a sparkling cocktail range in RTD format. “When we set out to create Via Carota Craft Cocktails we had the vision of becoming the category-defining brand,” says Silvestro, noting that the sparkling option is “the next pillar” to cement that foundation. “We have been in retail for just over nine months and we are extremely pleased with our early success,” he adds. The brand is currently in nine states. “This is just the beginning for us, but we have aspirations to quickly become a national brand,” Silvestro adds.
Brody’s Craft Cocktails, a women-founded bottled cocktail brand based in the greater Philadelphia area, is also in expansion mode. The brand, which includes eight cocktail options and is packaged in 375-ml. bottles ($12-$14) is currently available in 14 states. “Spirits-based ready-to-serve cocktails continue to be one of the only expanding categories in beverage alcohol and savvy consumers continue to search for the best spirits-based pre-mixed cocktails available,” co-founder Cristy Neunson said at the launch of the brand in Ohio. “The positive reception by consumers, retailers, and distribution partners, validating the focus and effort in bringing an exceptional cocktail experience to market, is truly humbling.”
Flavor Explosion
One differentiator for Brody’s is its unusual cocktail lineup. While it includes some familiar favorites like the Peach Cosmo, Classic Mai Tai, and Minted Mule, the range also includes lesser-known concoctions such as Air Mail (rum, lime, honey, and bitters), Black Orchid (vodka, lemon, orange, black raspberry, and violet), and Leading Role (Bourbon, lime, blood orange, black raspberry, and bitters), among others.
Delola’s flavors are also a bit of a departure from today’s popular pre-mixed cocktails. The range consists of a Paloma Rosa (Tequila, grapefruit, and elderflower), Bella Berry (vodka, berries, and hibiscus) and L’Orange Spritz (amaro, orange, and passionfruit). Meanwhile, Via Carota steers more toward high-demand cocktails like the Negroni, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and others, offering six in total. “Today, our top three are Espresso Martini, Classic Negroni, and Old Fashioned,” Silvestro notes.
Suntory Global’s On the Rocks has a “core four,” Boyd says, comprising a Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Old Fashioned, and Jalapeño Margarita. The newly introduced Strawberry Daquiri is also resonating. “We anticipate that our Strawberry Daiquiri may just rise to our core group based off of how it’s performing out of the gates,” she says. Consumers are looking for variety, she adds, noting that “we’ve found success in introducing limited-time additions during our peak summer months as well as a peak holiday month.”
Diageo’s Cocktail Collection relies heavily on the company’s popular spirits brands—Ketel One, Tanqueray, and Bulleit—a move Pinkie’s Keith says resonates with consumers. “Putting a premium name on the package really helps,” he says. Pernod Ricard has taken a similar approach with its Malibu, Absolut, and The Glenlivet cocktails. Malibu captures popular rum-based cocktails such as Strawberry Daiquiri, Pineapple Bay Breeze, and Rum Punch.
Retailer Josh Hammond of Buster’s Liquors in Tennessee points out that whiskeys—including craft labels—are finding success in ready-to-serve cocktails. Those performing strongly in his store include the Bulleit Manhattan and Old Fashioned (each $25 a 750-ml.); Handy & Schiller Manhattan and Old Fashioned (each $40); and High West Barreled Manhattan and Old Fashioned (each $45).
What’s Next?
More brands and a broader array of cocktail options are likely in the cards as the ready-to-serve category continues to gain steam. Pernod Ricard USA’s Cohen, for example, anticipates the company will “continue to roll out these iconic brands’ trending cocktails in a ready-to-serve format.”
Boyd points to anticipated category expansion, and says Suntory Global “intends to be a player that continues to grow the category. While we have other folks joining the ranks in some of our spaces and building out the segment, the leading brands with the highest quality are the ones that are going to continue to win.”
Some marketers even see opportunity in the on-premise, albeit on a limited scale. “We’re currently focused on off-premise play, as we continue to build both awareness and understanding of the products,” Shah says. “We do see the on-premise as an avenue to grow in the near future as an opportunity to offer delicious, ready-to-serve cocktails in locations where that might be difficult or not possible today.”