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Top bottled cocktails for your drinks cabinet

Seeking to elevate your at-home alcohol offering without searching for your long-lost cocktail shaker? Look no further than our round up of some of the top ready-to-drink (RTD) and canned variants on the market.

Bottled classics from Mr Lyan feature in our round up

With imbibers around the world confined to their houses, now may seem like a good time to brush up on those mixology skills. However, for consumers looking for an easier way to improve their in-house drinks menu, the ever-growing world of canned cocktails may have an answer.

Yesterday, we highlighted different ways to support on-trade businesses struggling through lockdowns and closures, which included a host of bottled creations from some of our most-loved drinking dens. But if you’re out of your favourite bar’s delivery radius, there are a host of offerings from Danish distiller Empirical Spirits, renowned bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana and alcohol-free ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip that should keep you entertained while self-isolating.

Click through our gallery to find out more about our top RTD and canned cocktail picks. 

Danish distiller Empirical Spirits offers two canned creations, each designed to make its products more accessible.

Bottled at 10% ABV, Can 01 is a lightly carbonated drink based on a spirit made from beet molasses and Belgian saison yeast. It has been flavoured with ingredients such as milk oolong cold brew tea, toasted birch tea, gooseberry spirit, cold-infused gooseberry juice, douglas fir spirit and pomelo zest spirit.

Can 02 has an ABV of 8% and uses the same spirit base of beet molasses and Belgian saison yeast. It has been flavoured with cold-infused sour cherry juice, sour cherry spirit, keemun black tea cold brew, blackcurrant bud spirit, walnut wood tea, walnut wood spirit, pine cone kombucha and maqaw pepper spirit.

The two cans are available to purchase from shop.empiricalspirits.co. A pack of four 330ml cans of Can 01 and Can 02 are priced at €30 (US$33.25) each.

UK-based Funkin Cocktails recently extended its RTD Nitro Canned Cocktails range with the launch of a Piña Colada variant.

The new Nitro Piña Colada RTD joins Espresso Martini, Passion Fruit Martini, Amaretto Sour and Pink Gin Fizz in the Nitro Canned Cocktails range.

Each can is said to provide a “perfect serve with a creamy foam head and a smooth, velvety mouthfeel”.

Funkin Nitro Piña Colada is available in a pack of 12x200ml cans and comes with a 12-month shelf life. Each 5% ABV can is priced at RRP £2.29 (US$2.95).

Rum fans in Australia can now get their hands on two RTDs made with black spiced rum brand Kraken.

The rum brand’s first pre-mixed releases are available in two variants, The Kraken & Cola and The Kraken & Dry. Kraken & Cola blends the black spiced rum with classic fruity cola flavours, while Kraken & Dry is said to be a “reflection of the perfect bar serve Kraken Storm”, which combines Kraken Rum with ginger ale and lime.

Each bottled at 5.5% ABV, a four pack of 330ml bottles of the new pre-mixed drinks will retail at AU$27 (US$16). The Kraken & Cola and The Kraken & Dry are available from Australian retailers including BWS, Dan Murphy’s, IBA banners and independent retailers.

Luxury department store Harvey Nichols offers a range of RTD cocktails, which was recently expanded to include a bottled Espresso Martini.

Harvey Nichols’ Espresso Martini is made with vodka, cold brew coffee and Fair Café Liqueur. Packaged in a recyclable aluminium bottle, the RTD Espresso Martini is made without the use of preservatives.

Bottled at 14% ABV, the new Espresso Martini is priced at £6 (US$8) per 125ml bottle.

Harvey Nichols’ range of single-serve cocktails includes the store’s bottled Vesper Martini, Negroni and Old Fashioned.

For those looking to enjoy a creative RTD without any booze, non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ Seedlip has launched a trio of pre-mixed cans.

Released at the beginning of the year, the Seedlip and tonic cans are said to offer a “convenient ready-to-drink option for alcohol-free choices”.

The range consists of Seedlip Grove 42 with Lemongrass Tonic, Seedlip Spice 94 with Grapefruit Tonic, and Seedlip Garden 108 with Cucumber Tonic.

Each can is priced at £2.50 (US$3.25) and is available to buy from UK supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Ocado.

UK-based fruit punch company Punchy Drinks offers a range of canned cocktails, each available with or without alcohol.

Punchy Drinks currently retails a classic peach, ginger and chai punch, with or without rum; a  cucumber, yuzu and rosemary offering available with or without gin; and the blood orange, aromatic bitters and cardamom variety, which can be purchased with or without whisky.

Bottled at 4% ABV, the alcoholic RTDs and their alcohol-free counterparts are available to order online through retailer Ocado.

For drinkers looking to get their classic cocktail fix without leaving the house, Lyaness founder Ryan Chetiyawardana has created a range of bottled cocktails that should hit the spot.

Available through online retailer Master of Malt, the range includes the Bonfire Old Fashioned, made with Mr Lyan whisky, lapsang souchong and Mr Lyan cola bitters, and the Spotless Martini, which is made with Mr Lyan gin, vermouth, distilled olive and distilled lemon.

Bottled between 16.6% and 30.8% ABV, the range of cocktails is priced at £23.95 (US$29) to £45.95 (US$55) per 500ml bottle.

UK-based Global Brands offers a wide range of RTD creations, including a llama-inspired canned cocktail and a rum and coke bottling.

Through its Franklin & Sons mixer brands, the producer recently launched a canned G&T made using Mistral Gin.

Available in Tesco stores across the UK, Global Brands’ G&T combines Franklin & Sons Indian tonic water with Mistral Gin and is bottled with an ABV of 6%.

The Aske Stephenson bottled cocktail range offers a selection of innovative twists on classic cocktails.

The Aske Stephenson range, developed by UK-based Sendivogius Limited, includes “tongue-in-cheek” bottled cocktails such as the Peanut Butter and Jam Old Fashioned, the Garden Bramble and the Flat White Russian.

Available to buy from retailers including Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange, the range of cocktails are bottled between 20% and 32% ABV. They are priced from £32.95 (US$40) per 500ml bottle.

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