RTD Cocktails

One consistent trend through the first two months of 2026 has been the strength of ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs).

Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola are expanding their ready-to-drink (RTD) line with a larger can size, signaling how spirit-based RTDs are searching for incremental growth through convenience retail.

Adult non-alc (ANA) cocktails are gaining momentum in luxury hotels, with one major chain reporting a 32% sales increase over the past three years. But functional ingredients and education still create challenges.

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth’s take on intoxicating hemp; non-alc Bero receives private equity investment; Otherlands Beer shares tariff impact; taproom closures; people moves; and more.

On any given week, Stateside’s vodka-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) hard tea brand Surfside records $2 million in sales or more and triple-digit year-over-year (YoY) growth in Circana-tracked off-premise channels. Those sales represent only 20% of the RTD’s total depletions.

It may be time for beer to finally address its pricing issues. That was one of the main takeaways from Day 1 of the Beer, Wine and Spirits Summit Sunday, hosted by Beer Business Daily and Wine & Spirits Business Daily in Coronado, California.

Patco Brands launched over a decade ago with a small margarita business and a family-run operation. Since then, the company has quietly evolved into one of the largest producers in the agave wine and ready-to-drink (RTD) space, operating at a scale that rivals far larger beverage groups while maintaining the agility of an independent.

The inspiration for Shake Up Cocktails didn’t come from a bar or a boardroom …  it struck at a Midwest state fair.

In this episode of the Brewbound Podcast, Mark Anthony Brands president David Barnett details how the bev-alc company is “doing better than most” in today’s challenged marketplace. He spoke about the company’s highlights with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall, in a conversation recorded at the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA’s) Annual Convention in Las Vegas.

New Mix, an El Jimador Tequila-based cocktail launched in 1997, has been testing retail shelves across U.S. markets this year, with a wider rollout announced today.

A pair of new ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings are coming from New Belgium in 2026, including Kirin’s top-selling canned cocktail and a vodka cocktail with a “subtle nod” to the Voodoo Ranger franchise.

Longtime brewers Spencer Guy and Max Myers have acquired Atrium Brewing (Louisville, Kentucky) from founders Princeton Hurst and Mark Rubenstein, the brewery announced this week. Casamigos co-founders George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman are launching a non-alcoholic (NA) beer in March, according to Page Six.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) business continues to be primarily driven by its core traditional beer brands, but the company believes it can also be a leader in non-alcoholic (NA) and beyond beer, CEO Michel Doukeris shared Thursday during the company’s Q3 earnings call with investors and analysts.

Bars, restaurants and social gathering spaces are beer’s “moneyball” opportunity, National Beer Wholesalers Association VP of analytics and chief economist Lester Jones shares during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Jones is the first of two interviews this week. Adam and Amanda Kroener, the founders of spirits-based cocktail brand Carbliss, also join this week’s podcast.