Add a little extra cheer to your gathering this holiday season with miniature ready-to-drink (RTD) canned and bottled cocktails. Many small format RTD cocktails feature real, bar-quality spirits and fresh ingredients in perfectly measured single-serve portions. Whether enjoyed over ice or chilled, these three full-strength RTDs are the ideal size for grown-up stocking stuffers and will almost certainly make Santa’s job a little easier this year.

Post Meridiem

Post Meridiem offers a wide array of premium RTD cocktails in compact cans measuring only 2-¾ inches high. The award-winning brand insists, “great cocktails start with great ingredients” and prides itself on using “authentic ingredients in the proper proportions.” Post Meridiem cocktails come in five varieties including The Real Lime Juice Margarita, The Double Old Fashioned, The Lemongrass Vodka Gimlet, The 1944 Mai Tai, and The No. Four Daiquiri.

As its name suggests, the Real Lime Juice Margarita features 100% real lime juice as well as expertly balanced Silver Tequila and Orange Curacao. The cocktail contains an ABV of 27.5%. The Double Old Fashioned is mixed with Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a blend of bitters, demerara syrup, and orange zest oil. The drink packs an impressive punch with an ABV of 37%. The Lemongrass Vodka Gimlet also contains real vodka and promises a crisp flavor profile. Both the 1944 Mai Tai (ABV 23.5%) and the No. Four Daiquiri (ABV 27%) contain real rum, real lime juice and high-quality ingredients that will transport you out of cold winter weather to the most tropical of destinations.

Post Meridiem’s Co-Founder, Andrew Rodbell, explained to Hard Seltzer News last year, “I learned no matter how functional a beverage is, taste is king. If it doesn’t taste good, consumers won’t drink it.”

On The Rocks

On The Rocks Premium Cocktails delivers “all the complexity and craftsmanship you would find at your favorite bar, without the need for multiple ingredients or equipment…” The brand serves up premixed RTD cocktails in mini bottles. OTR’s cocktail lineup features its take on six popular recipes, all containing natural ingredients and real spirits. OTR was acquired by Beam Suntory last year and each one of the brand’s RTD cocktails contains a spirit produced by its parent company.

The Old Fashioned, for instance, is made with Knob Creek Bourbon Whiskey and contains an impressive 35% ABV. The cocktail earned a gold medal in 2021 at the Beverage Testing Institute. The Aviation features Larios London Dry Gin and is premixed to show off the recipe’s signature violet hue. While the Mai Tai, on the other hand, is made with Cruzan Rum. The Cosmopolitan is blended with Effen Vodka and, like the Old Fashioned, the cocktail also earned a gold medal at the Beverage Testing Institute in 2021. The spicy Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita showcases Tres Generaciones Tequila and earned a coveted gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2019. Last but not least, the brand’s original Margarita contains Hornitos Plata Tequila as well as Triple Sec. All of the OTR cocktails, besides the super strong Old Fashioned, contain an ABV of 20%. The RTD beverages can be purchased in 375ml, 200ml and convenient 100ml (appx. 3.38 ounce) single-serve bottles.

Golden Rule

Golden Rule Spirits was launched in 2019 by two cousins in San Francisco. The company produces two mini canned cocktails, the Margarita Original and an Old Fashioned. The Margarita Original is crafted with 100% Blue Weber Agave Tequila, natural lime juice and Triple Sec. The cocktail contains an ABV of 27% and is served in 100ml cans.

The brand’s Old Fashioned features a handcrafted bourbon that has been aged three years and blended with all-natural ingredients to produce, what the company describes as, “an ideal sipping experience.” The Old Fashioned contains an ABV of 39.5% and, like the Margarita Original, comes in 100ml cans.

Both RTD cocktails can be purchased in 4-can packs of individual flavors. The cousins “created Golden Rule with the simple notion of offering an authentic cocktail experience for wherever life might take you. So, remember to share only the good and #drinkuntoothers.”

This season deck the halls with boughs of holly and stuff the stockings with mini RTD cocktails. Whether you’re hosting or gift shopping, single-serve canned and bottled cocktails make holiday preparations easy. Don’t be surprised if Santa requests a RTD cocktail instead of milk with his cookies…to be enjoyed after he’s done driving his sleigh, of course.

Shirani Jayasuriya
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