USA TODAY 10Best
Don't miss out on the 10 best canned cocktails of the year
Best Canned Cocktail Company (2023)
Ready-to-drink canned cocktails are a convenient way to sip your favorite drink at the beach, a backyard barbecue or just relaxing at home. These 10 bartender-quality options, voted as the best by our readers, run the gamut from classics – like a vodka soda or gin and tonic – to creative concoctions.
Photo courtesy of JuneShine
No. 10: JuneShine
JuneShine offers hard kombucha and canned cocktails with premium spirits, real juices and no added sugar. Flavors include Classic Tequila Margarita, Tropical Rum Mai Tai, Passion Fruit Vodka Soda, Lemon-Lime Tequila Ranch Water and Classic Vodka Mule. JuneShine handcrafts all its products sustainably and is 100% carbon neutral, and they donate 1% of sales to environmental nonprofits. Their motto: "We brew honest alcohol for a healthier planet."
Photo courtesy of ViewApart // Getty Images
No. 9: Jiant
You don't have to feel unhealthy sipping beverages by Jiant, who have taken real ingredients to make sparkling teas and hard kombuchas in a can. The real fruit teas are 7% alcohol by volume and the fermented kombuchas are made with Dragon Well green tea, acacia honey, and whole leaf botanicals and herbs. Jiant is a welcome plus for the gluten-free crowd as well.
Photo courtesy of wundervisuals // Getty Images
No. 8: 30A Seltzers
30A specializes in artisan hard seltzers inspired by Florida beach life. Their variety of flavors are vegan, 100 calories and made in small batches. Expert Carrie Honaker says about their Mint Mojito, "In the world of low ABV, low sugar canned cocktails, this one stands out. The mojito is very refreshing on a hot Florida day and none of them have that dreaded artificial flavor."
Photo courtesy of TJ Turner
No. 7: Dashfire
This family business started with bitters and has expanded into a wide selection of cocktails. Dashfire's motto is that a cocktail doesn't have to be compromised just because it's in a can. Their cans are strong and bold, with classics like the Bourbon Old Fashioned or Fig and Cascara Manhattan boasting 38% alcohol by volume. They do bottle versions of their drinks as well.
Photo courtesy of Tip Top Proper Cocktails
No. 6: Tip Top Proper Cocktails
Tip Top Proper Cocktails brings the bar classics – the gin martini, Negroni, Manhattan and Old-Fashioned – to just about anywhere you’d want to drink them. These little cans pack a punch, coming in at 26% to 37% alcohol by volume.
Photo courtesy of Camper English
No. 5: Drifter
Named after the founders' penchant for extensive world-wandering to share their passion for Avuá Cachaça, Drifter offers canned cocktails that boast all-natural ingredients, small batch spirits, and are crafted by international bartenders. Cans like Passion Fruit Caipirinha, Moscow Mule, or Nordic-Style Gin & Tonic also feature artwork showcasing the drink's place of origin.
Photo courtesy of Fishers Island Lemonade
No. 4: Fishers Island Lemonade
Fishers Island Lemonade offers several flavors of canned cocktails, including Spiked Tea, Pink Flamingo and Fizz, as well as Frozen Spirit Pops. In addition to making excellent canned cocktails, Fishers Island supports its community, giving to each nonprofit on Fishers Island, New York.
Photo courtesy of Cutwater Spirits
No. 3: Cutwater Spirits
Many of Cutwater Spirits' canned cocktails are made with the distillery’s own line of liquors. Those who partake have well over a dozen options to choose from, ranging from the classics (Rum Mojito, Spicy Bloody Mary) to the unique (Spicy Pineapple Margarita, Prickly Pear Ranch Water).
Photo courtesy of Juj Winn
No. 2: Cardinal Spirits
Indiana’s Cardinal Spirits offers several ready-to-drink canned cocktails made with top-of-the-line spirits and natural fruit juices. Their Bourbon Cream Soda is made with straight bourbon whiskey with vanilla beans and cream soda. The Bramble Mule is a fruity take on the classic mule cocktail – vodka, raspberry juice, ginger and hibiscus, and their Maui Mule offers a tropical twist to a classic Moscow mule with vodka, passion fruit juice and ginger.
Photo courtesy of Spritz Society
No. 1: Spritz Society
Spritz Society believes that taste matters – that's why they use all-natural ingredients, including real fruit flavors and white wine, to create a convenient sparkling wine cocktail that can go anywhere. Enjoy five different flavors that were crowdsourced by their community: grapefruit, peach, blood orange, pineapple and lemon. Each can contains 6% alcohol by volume, just 120 calories and 5 grams of sugar.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Amber Gibson
Amber Gibson spends 350 nights a year in hotels... Read More
Amber Gibson spends 350 nights a year in hotels searching for the latest and greatest in the travel industry. Her writing and photographs have appeared in print, online, and on the radio for outlets including Forbes, National Geographic Traveler, Departures, Four Seasons Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, NPR, Saveur, Departures, Rhapsody, Hemispheres, American Way, Private Air, and Serious Eats. She graduated as valedictorian from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received a fellowship to attend the 2017 Wine Writers Symposium at Meadowood Napa Valley. Champagne, dark chocolate and gelato are her biggest weaknesses.
Amber Gibson
Amber Gibson spends 350 nights a year in hotels searching for the latest and greatest in the travel industry. Her writing and photographs have appeared in print, online, and on the radio for outlets including Forbes, National Geographic Traveler, Departures, Four Seasons Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, NPR, Saveur, Departures, Rhapsody, Hemispheres, American Way, Private Air, and Serious Eats. She graduated as valedictorian from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and received a fellowship to attend the 2017 Wine Writers Symposium at Meadowood Napa Valley. Champagne, dark chocolate and gelato are her biggest weaknesses.
Amber Love Bond
Amber Love Bond is a Miami-based food + beverage... Read More
Amber Love Bond is a Miami-based food + beverage and travel writer, who is always on the go and looking for her next adventure. After a decade-long career in corporate finance, she stumbled upon her passion for writing about the world around and hasn't looked back. Amber contributes to over a dozen print and digital publications including Travel & Leisure, Thrillist, Forbes, Eater, Southern Living, Miami New Times, HelloGiggles, Men’s Health, Fodor’s Travel Guide, and more. Typically you can find her at the opening of every restaurant, sipping cocktails at the coolest bars, or hanging out under a palm tree with her laptop (and a cocktail) in tow. Follow her adventures on Instagram at @amber__love.
Amber Love Bond
Amber Love Bond is a Miami-based food + beverage and travel writer, who is always on the go and looking for her next adventure. After a decade-long career in corporate finance, she stumbled upon her passion for writing about the world around and hasn't looked back. Amber contributes to over a dozen print and digital publications including Travel & Leisure, Thrillist, Forbes, Eater, Southern Living, Miami New Times, HelloGiggles, Men’s Health, Fodor’s Travel Guide, and more. Typically you can find her at the opening of every restaurant, sipping cocktails at the coolest bars, or hanging out under a palm tree with her laptop (and a cocktail) in tow. Follow her adventures on Instagram at @amber__love.
Carrie Honaker
Carrie Honaker is a Florida-based food and travel... Read More
Carrie Honaker is a Florida-based food and travel writer who is not sure where she will land next, but it will involve messy eating, a spicy Tempranillo, and finding the local farmers market. She has hauled oyster cages off the Forgotten Coast of Florida, harvested indigenous crops with the Abenaki Tribe in Vermont, learned to make beef patties from a Jamaican auntie, made Guavaberry Liqueur with a 7th generation distiller on St. Maarten, and stomped cacao pods in Grenada. She writes about food, drink, travel, and culture for Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Wine Enthusiast, Fodor’s Travel, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and many more. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Carrie Honaker
Carrie Honaker is a Florida-based food and travel writer who is not sure where she will land next, but it will involve messy eating, a spicy Tempranillo, and finding the local farmers market. She has hauled oyster cages off the Forgotten Coast of Florida, harvested indigenous crops with the Abenaki Tribe in Vermont, learned to make beef patties from a Jamaican auntie, made Guavaberry Liqueur with a 7th generation distiller on St. Maarten, and stomped cacao pods in Grenada. She writes about food, drink, travel, and culture for Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveler, Wine Enthusiast, Fodor’s Travel, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, and many more. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Dave Stamboulis
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer... Read More
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer based in Bangkok. Born in Athens, Greece and growing up in the U.S., Dave first discovered Bangkok while on a 45,000-kilometer bicycle trip and moved there for good in 2005. Dave's photos have appeared in publications around the world. He's the author of Odysseus' Last Stand, which received the Silver Medal for Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to working for Fodor's Guidebook to Thailand, he is the author of 500 Hidden Secrets to Bangkok, and his travel stories and photography appear in publications around the globe.
Dave Stamboulis
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer based in Bangkok. Born in Athens, Greece and growing up in the U.S., Dave first discovered Bangkok while on a 45,000-kilometer bicycle trip and moved there for good in 2005. Dave's photos have appeared in publications around the world. He's the author of Odysseus' Last Stand, which received the Silver Medal for Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to working for Fodor's Guidebook to Thailand, he is the author of 500 Hidden Secrets to Bangkok, and his travel stories and photography appear in publications around the globe.
Geneva Ives
Geneva Ives moved to Santa Barbara in 2000 on a... Read More
Geneva Ives moved to Santa Barbara in 2000 on a whim (ok, and to go to college) and never looked back. She loves Santa Barbara because it’s really one of America’s greatest small towns - it just happens to have glorious beaches and celebrity residents, too! Geneva spent a decade managing an adorable, locally owned boutique in downtown Santa Barbara and met her husband when he was working as a waiter at the Cajun restaurant right next door. Together they go on many adventures trying to find the best activities, drinks and dining experiences in the tri-county area.
Geneva Ives
Geneva Ives moved to Santa Barbara in 2000 on a whim (ok, and to go to college) and never looked back. She loves Santa Barbara because it’s really one of America’s greatest small towns - it just happens to have glorious beaches and celebrity residents, too! Geneva spent a decade managing an adorable, locally owned boutique in downtown Santa Barbara and met her husband when he was working as a waiter at the Cajun restaurant right next door. Together they go on many adventures trying to find the best activities, drinks and dining experiences in the tri-county area.
Jacky Runice
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home... Read More
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home safety choice and not a coffee order, Jacky Runice has been knocking around Chicago as a professional print, online and broadcast journalist and editor specializing in separating the riff from the raff in culture, entertainment, food, travel and pure unadulterated fun. Jacky is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).
In her best Chicagoese, Jacky asks, "Who has the time or money to blow on hotels, attractions, restaurants, exhibits and activities that blow?"
Jacky Runice
Born in Bucktown when bulletproof was a home safety choice and not a coffee order, Jacky Runice has been knocking around Chicago as a professional print, online and broadcast journalist and editor specializing in separating the riff from the raff in culture, entertainment, food, travel and pure unadulterated fun. Jacky is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).
In her best Chicagoese, Jacky asks, "Who has the time or money to blow on hotels, attractions, restaurants, exhibits and activities that blow?"
Jaclyn DeGiorgio
Jaclyn DeGiorgio is a Milan-based storyteller and... Read More
Jaclyn DeGiorgio is a Milan-based storyteller and local food tour guide. After nearly a decade working in New York's restaurant scene, she moved to Italy in 2013 and started writing about food, travel, and wine. She holds a Level Three Certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, and chronicles her adventures in Milan and beyond on her blog, A Signorina in Milan.
Jaclyn DeGiorgio
Jaclyn DeGiorgio is a Milan-based storyteller and local food tour guide. After nearly a decade working in New York's restaurant scene, she moved to Italy in 2013 and started writing about food, travel, and wine. She holds a Level Three Certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, and chronicles her adventures in Milan and beyond on her blog, A Signorina in Milan.
Jillian Dara
Jillian is a travel and culture journalist whose... Read More
Jillian is a travel and culture journalist whose passion for wandering began at 8-years-old. Growing up in Bermuda, Jillian quickly became comfortable on planes and intrigued by the concept of the unfamiliar. This led Jillian to pursue travel journalism; from living in Boston, London and Santiago, to exploring Nicaragua, southern China and the new middle east, she appreciates the ability to share stories about destinations and to connect them to a deeper cultural perspective. Outside of 10Best, Jillian’s work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Forbes, DuJour, Elite Traveler, Hemispheres and Wine Enthusiast.
Jillian Dara
Jillian is a travel and culture journalist whose passion for wandering began at 8-years-old. Growing up in Bermuda, Jillian quickly became comfortable on planes and intrigued by the concept of the unfamiliar. This led Jillian to pursue travel journalism; from living in Boston, London and Santiago, to exploring Nicaragua, southern China and the new middle east, she appreciates the ability to share stories about destinations and to connect them to a deeper cultural perspective. Outside of 10Best, Jillian’s work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Forbes, DuJour, Elite Traveler, Hemispheres and Wine Enthusiast.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.