Why Canned Cocktails Belong in Your Fall Drink Rotation
Canned cocktails have a reputation that’s tied to summer. The association makes sense with the beaches, barbecues, picnics, and coolers.
But when the weather cools down, cocktails don't disappear. The occasions just change.
Fall trades afternoons at the beach for football games, dinner parties, weekends away, nights around the fire and evenings when staying home suddenly sounds pretty good. And a great cocktail can fit those moments just as naturally as it fits a sunny afternoon.
Fall Is Cocktail Season, Too
There's something about fall that makes us pay more attention to what we're drinking. Flavors get a little richer. Food gets heartier. We start reaching for ginger, citrus, honey, spice and whiskey.
None of that requires putting away the cans.
A canned cocktail is simply another way to serve a cocktail—one that happens to be ready whenever you are. Pour it into a glass over ice, add a garnish if you're feeling ambitious, and you've got a drink that feels completely at home next to dinner, around a fire or on the couch.
The can is the format. What's inside is what makes it a cocktail.
Think Beyond the Cooler
Summer makes the convenience of canned cocktails obvious: throw a few in a cooler and go.
In fall, that same convenience becomes useful in different ways.
Bring cocktails to a tailgate without packing a portable bar. Keep a few cold for friends who stop by. Take them to a cabin for the weekend. Serve them before dinner without spending the first 20 minutes of the evening measuring, shaking and cleaning up.
And when it's just you and someone else at home, opening a couple of cocktails is considerably easier than stocking all the ingredients necessary to make several different drinks from scratch.
Convenience doesn't stop being convenient when summer ends.
Some Flavors Actually Get Better in Fall
Fall also gives us an excuse to explore drinks with a little more depth.
Whiskey and ginger are an obvious combination as temperatures drop. Our Ginger Citrus + Whiskey combines real whiskey with ginger and lemon juices and a touch of maple syrup. It's spicy, citrusy and warming without turning into a heavy or overly sweet drink.
Try it poured over a big cube of ice with an orange peel or lemon wheel. Pair it with roasted vegetables, grilled meats, pizza or the first truly cold night of the season.
But don't retire the brighter flavors, either.
Grapefruit Honey + Vodka works particularly well when you want something crisp alongside richer fall food, while Hibiscus Lime + Gin brings acidity and brightness to a dinner table that may otherwise be full of heavier flavors.
Seasonal drinking doesn't have to mean everything suddenly tastes like cinnamon.
Make the Serve Feel Like Fall
One of the easiest ways to change a cocktail with the seasons is simply to change how you serve it.
Instead of drinking straight from the can, grab your favorite glass and pour your cocktail over ice. Add a citrus peel, a sprig of rosemary or another simple garnish. Put out glasses when friends come over and let everyone choose their own cocktail.
You haven't made the drink more complicated. You've just changed the experience.
That's one of our favorite things about cocktails: the same drink can feel completely different depending on where, when and how you enjoy it.
The Season Changes. The Cocktail Doesn't Have To.
We're all for embracing fall. Bring on the sweaters, football, dinner parties, rainy weekends and evenings that start a little earlier. But we're not ready to pack away the cocktails. A good cocktail isn't seasonal because of the package it comes in. It's about flavor, ingredients and the occasion around it.
So put a few cans in the fridge this fall. You might be surprised how often you reach for one.
