Zacal Mezcal launches Zacalita RTD cocktail
The Spirits Business spoke to Zacal co-founder Phil Clayton about the mezcal brand’s ready-to-drink (RTD) Margarita.
The first RTD from UK-based Zacal is described as a ‘lightly carbonated twist on the classic Margarita’ that combines triple-distilled Zacal Manso Sahuayo mezcal with lime, High Fidelity Triple Sec, and black cardamom distillate.
The Zacalita sits at 7% ABV and will be available in 200ml cans with an RRP of £7 (US$9.50) from Monday 6 July, through the Zacal Mezcal website and selected on-trade locations.
Produced in collaboration between Zacal, Chris Tanner of London’s Dram bar and Rory Shepherd of De Vie bar in Paris, the Zacalita originated with small run of canned cocktails produced for a an event in Soho, London in November 2025.
Zacal co-founder Phil Clayton told The Spirits Business: “It was a post-Day of the Dead celebration at Dram for the folks that hadn’t had a chance to celebrate. It was at that event that we worked with Chris and Rory to develop a first version of a canned cocktail.
“We’d planned to do a canned cocktail in maybe four years, but when we were tasting these things that we’d developed over a few days with barely any prep, we decided to completely change the timetable.”
Several iterations of the Zacalita followed, with Tanner and Shepherd further developing the recipe, before Zacal partnered with Parisian creative studio Avant to bring the product to life.
“Then, it was about finding the right canning partner that could translate what the guys had made into something we could scale to thousands of cans,” said Clayton. “Canify had a reputation for working with artisanal canned drinks, from beers to cocktails. We knew they were exactly the sort of people we wanted to work with.”
The Zacalita enters an increasingly competitive marketplace for RTDs that continues to outpace the spirits category as a whole.
Research published by NIQ revealed that the category’s UK on-trade value reached nearly £200 million (US$265m) in 2025.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s latest Sip 2 report – also based on NIQ data – shows that RTDs generated £704 million (US$948m) in the UK off-trade during the same period.
With a relatively high price point and an on-trade focus, Zacal will seek to court customers by emphasising the value of its ingredients.
“The price of those ingredients means that our price is high compared to a market where some options are £3-£5 (US$4-$7),” said Clayton. “There is no way in hell we could do that with the quality of ingredients that are in that can. It’s just not possible.”
He added: “There will be some things that will develop economies of scale as we get bigger. But we’re still talking about a craft mezcal and a relatively small-batch triple sec. Those two ingredients will be our limiting factors.
“Our expectations are that we can make a fantastic business that works well without having to compromise on anything we don’t want to, and be proud of what we’re putting in the cans and still be commercially viable.”
Clayton confirmed to The Spirits Business that there are plans to create “a range of different Margaritas” and potentially a “Zacaloma” inspired by the classic Paloma cocktail.
Zacal Mezcal was founded by Phil Clayton, Andrew Maidment, Ian McCaig, and Cri Osborne.
The brand launched in the UK in 2025. Its mezcal is produced in partnership with third-generation mezcalero Milton Ochoa in Michoacán, Mexico.
Zacal Mezcal Manso Sahuayo and Zacal Mezcal Ensamble each received a Master medal in the Tequila & Mezcal Masters 2025 blind tasting competition.
Dram Bar in Soho, where the Zacalita was piloted, closed in February 2026. Co-owners Chris Tanner, Jack Wallis and Martyn ‘Simo’ Simpson have announced plans to open a new location in Hackney.
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