RTD

U.K. brand MOTH is seizing on demand for the only bev-alc category still growing: premium, ready-to-drink cocktails.

Liquid Death founder Mike Cessario is partnering with Sazerac to launch Mr. Fancy, a new RTD canned sparkling wine.

The spiked sports drink gold rush is on, but two players have already established themselves at the top of the burgeoning “vodka + ade” drink segment. Following the success of Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka, Stateside has another hit in its portfolio with the addition of Super Lyte, which launched earlier this year.

Several members of The Finnish Long Drink’s sales force have announced the elimination of their roles in the wake of the ready-to-drink cocktail’s (RTD) acquisition by Mark Anthony Brands earlier this year.

Pernod Ricard closed a rough fiscal 2026 with organic net sales down nearly 4% globally and 14% in the U.S., but CEO Alexandre Ricard used the company’s full-year results call to highlight where the French spirits giant is seeking growth, including ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.

Ready-to-drink cocktails (RTD) carry the highest average price per serve of any category, yet are experiencing the most growth – undercutting old assumptions about what ‘trading up’ means to consumers.

As it bolsters its core seasonal craft beer lineup with occasion-driven variety packs, 38-year-old Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) also has several irons in the beyond-beer fire. Earlier this month, Great Lakes announced the launch of aSplash, a ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail produced in collaboration with Columbus, Ohio-based Watershed Distillery, the Buckeye State’s largest craft spirits producer.

RTD brands are doing disproportionate work in bev-alc innovation – and the brands investing in innovation are twice as likely to grow their overall business, according to a new NIQ report.

Mission Craft Cocktails’ Pickle-Rita, a gag that was supposed to die on April Fools’ Day, is headed to grocery stores in September.

YOSHI Matcha Liqueur is moving from a two-state test market to national distribution in under a year, testing its thesis that the popularity of espresso martinis and matcha prove there’s demand for green tea-laced cocktails.

Sazerac has signed a binding agreement to acquire Au Vodka, a top-selling ready-to-drink (RTD) canned vodka brand in the UK. The deal continues the Fireball owner’s two-year buying spree and marks its largest push yet into the UK market.

The latest spirits distribution headlines include RTD gin cocktail The Original Southside landing in major retailers, a wave of Southern Glazer’s (SGWS) additions spanning vodka, rum, and scotch, and distributors scooping up new territory in the wake of Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) collapse, among other moves.

Rhinegeist Brewing’s Cincy Light line has crossed categories with the debut of Cincy Splash, a vodka-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail. The vodka sodas are available in three flavors: Pineapple, Black Cherry and Peach. The 4.5% ABV, 100-calories drinks are packaged in 355 ml slim cans and sold in single-flavor 4-packs and variety 8-packs, according to a press release.

There were many kinds of party drinks before 2010, but we’d bet none of them came in colorful plastic orb-shaped containers. BuzzBallz, the Sazerac-owned ready-to-drink (RTD) party prop, doesn’t just stand out for its spherical shape, but for what it represents about how people are drinking these days: with entertaining, high-ABV, convenient formats.