Best of Kansas City 2021: The rise of canned cocktails

Tom’s Town new canned cocktail line. // Courtesy Tom’s Town Distilling Co.

Canned cocktails have been all the rage in Kansas City, and local brands and distilleries are hopping aboard. Tom’s Town signed a distribution deal with the Kansas City Chiefs this season and Boulevard is growing its selection of Fling Craft Cocktails.

“Right now, you’re seeing all these national brands have started to devote revenue towards coming out with cocktails. The category itself has grown at least 200% over the last year in overall sales,” Mike’s Wine & Spirits owner Andy Doohan says.   

Doohan has devoted a large shelving section to these new products, attributing their rise in popularity to several compounding factors, such as the oversaturation of the seltzer market and the greater interest from young and health-conscious people.

“It could be that people are more stressed out from quarantine, or it could be people are just finding that they’re easier to consume than actually buying all the ingredients and making it yourself,” Doohan says. 

With most of these concoctions hovering at or around 5% ABV, canned cocktails will likely continue to give craft beers a run for their money in the coming years.