10 canned and/or bottled beverages to try this summer

Plenty of great social-distancing-friendly beverages are now coming canned and/or bottled these days

The summer season is indeed underway, even if the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 still has many people quarantined. However, with good health and appropriate social distancing intact, there are still plenty of ways that people can celebrate summer-related happenings in the near future.

Many top beverage producers — of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic sectors — are making drinks in canned and/or single-serve bottled form. Below is a mix of recommended drinks for you and yours to try when celebratory vibes are intact this summer.

Canned beverages to try: Bev

Bev is a “better-for-you” canned wine, as recently touted by many celebrities, including Erin and Sara Foster, Kate Hudson and Anna Kendrick. The brand offers 3 refreshing blends perfect for cooling refreshment in the hot summer weather:

California Rosé (crisp, dry and slightly-carbonated with aromatics of strawberry, raspberry, white peach and watermelon), Sauvignon Blanc (aromatics of crisp green apple, white nectarine and a light, fresh, citrus finish), and Pinot Grigio (light and refreshing notes of elderflower, pear, and a zesty grapefruit finish).

Canned beverages to try: Fishers Island Lemonade

Fishers Island Lemonade has been called “the original canned cocktail” by many folks within the spirits industry. Female-founded in 2014 by Bronya Shillo, the spiked lemonade cocktail originated at Shillo’s family’s bar on Fishers Island, New York, the Pequot Inn; the Inn is the only public ar on the island and has been open for 100 years.

Shillo refined the decades-old recipe and canned the premium distilled vodka, whiskey, lemon and honey-based cocktail. The approved gluten-removed cocktail has both a refreshing flavor profile and a 9 percent ABV. Fishers Island Lemonade is also notably a proud member of 1% For The Planet.

Canned beverages to try: Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Iconic New England brands Cape Cod Potato Chips and Samuel Adams have partnered for an ideal summer 2020 snack pairing: Limited Edition Cape Cod Summer Potato Chips and Samuel Adams Summer Ale. These Limited Edition Cape Cod Summer Potato Chips feature the simple elegance of cracked pepper with a hint of lemon flavor, as complementing the delicate blend of orange, lime and lemon notes of Samuel Adams Summer Ale.

As explained to me by Rich Ferrell, Samuel Adams Brewer, in a prepared statement via e-mail: “We know our drinkers always look forward to our seasonal release of Samuel Adams Summer Ale and this year we’re excited to partner with another classic New England brand, Cape Cod Potato Chips, to bring fans a beer and chip pairing that embodies the flavors of summer.

The chip and beer combination gives fans a great flavor profile that is refreshing, delicious and just right for any summer day.” Both products are available through Summer 2020, while supplies last.

Canned beverages to try: Party Can Triple Spice Margarita

The Party Can Triple Spice Margarita is the first-ever large format, ready-to-drink craft cocktail, offering 12 full-sized margaritas in one resealable can. Launched just in time for National Tequila Day on July 24th, this resealable can help to limit contact between bartender and sipper, making it easy to have a spirited indulgence with friends sheltering-in-place together or hosting a socially-distant picnic in the park.

Made with 100 percent blue weber agave tequila, premium orange liqueur, fresh lime juice, and a triple spice mix of real ginger, cinnamon, and chili pepper, the Party Can also remove the hassle of traveling to multiple stores to purchase all the ingredients for your margarita.

Additionally, those who are worn out from at-home bartending over the last few months will love that the Party Can involve absolutely no prep time: simply chill, shake and serve. The Party Can Triple Spice Margarita carries an ABV of 12.5 percent and is available for purchase online across the U.S. for $29.99.

Canned beverages to try: Celsius

CELSIUS is a healthy energy drink with no crash or jitters, unlike traditional energy drinks, and is clinically -proven to accelerate metabolism, burn fat, burn calories, boost endurance and help build lean body muscle. CELSIUS has 7 essential vitamins, includes zero sugar, has no added artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, and features no aspartame or high fructose corn syrup. It is also non-GMO, vegan, and Kosher.

You can find CELSIUS via Amazon.com, at big retails like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target, and at grocery and convenience stores nationwide such as Walmart, CVS, Rite-Aid, and 7-11. A 12-pack generally runs in the $20 to $30 price range.

Canned beverages to try: RECOVƎR 180

RECOVƎR 180 provides premium functional hydration for those who work hard and play harder. Its perfectly-balanced isotonic formula of salt and sugar, along with clinically-proven premium herbal extracts and essential vitamins, provides rapid rehydration and relief.

In turn, the beverage lets you hydrate through plant-based extracts, vitamins and 930mg of electrolytes. Earlier this year, RECOVƎR 180 was noted in the “Ready-To-Drink” category of the 2020 Best Bite Awards.

Canned beverages to try: LIVEWIRE Drinks

Created by renowned Los Angeles bartender Aaron Polsky, the Live Wire Cocktail Company is all about the people, putting the creators of these delicious drinks front and center by making their involvement more than just a recipe, but also the image of the brand and the benefactors of their sales. In turn, if bartenders are “the new rock stars,” then LiveWire is a new record label. Polsky is working with the world’s best bartenders to create exceptional canned cocktails using the best ingredients.

Decked out in specially designed aluminum cans, LiveWire brings the taste one can only find in cool bars created by their top bartenders to the masses. LiveWire’s first offering — Polsky’s most famous cocktail — The Heartbreaker was conceived at Coachella. When it emerged at the festival it was very originally called the Tequila Grapefruit Mule and it sold like gangbusters.

The result is a crisp and juicy blend of vodka, oroblanco grapefruit, kumquat, jasmine, and ginger, with notes of honey and a bubbly finish. It’s a delightful combination of an expertly-crafted Moscow Mule and a fine, fine Paloma Also available in stores now is the Honeydew Collins, an electrifying mix of gin, honeydew, lime leaf, coconut and elderflower by fellow Harvard & Stone alum Joey Bernardo.

Canned beverages to try: Miami Cocktail Company

Last year The Miami Cocktail Company released a collection of wine-based Organic SPRITZ canned cocktails in the fall on a national level after a successful South Florida campaign earlier in the year. Created by Miami spirits industry and hospitality veterans Ross Graham and Simon Benstead, Miami Cocktail Company products are all-natural and made with authentic and wholesome ingredients with no additives, preservatives, artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners.

Offering real handcrafted cocktails, Miami Cocktail Company’s delicious lineup of Organic Spritzes is also low in sulfites, sugar-free and gluten-free, with only 110 calories per can. Each Organic Spritz has a dynamic taste profile, as achieved through natural fruit juices.

Simply put, crowd-pleasers such as the Grapefruit & Hibiscus Paloma Spritz and Elderflower & Ginger Margarita Spritz pack a refreshing punch. The Miami Cocktail Company’s wares are available nationwide online and at major retailers including Fresh Market, Binny’s, and Total Wine.

Canned beverages to try: Natty Daddy Lemonade

Natural Light was introduced in 1977 as Anheuser-Busch’s first reduced-calorie light beer. Currently, the sixth best-selling beer in America, Natural Light is brewed with a blend of premium hops and a combination of select grains producing a clean flavor, light body, and satisfying refreshment.

Natural Light’s innovation hot streak continues this summer with the announcement of Natty Daddy Lemonade. The bold and cold 8 percent ABV malt beverage now puts a lemonade spin on the classic Natty Daddy brew, just in time for summer. The sweet, crisp lemonade flavor of Natty Daddy is available in both 16-ounce and 25-ounce single-serve cans.

Bottled beverages to try: Rootstock Ciderworks

Western New York’s Rootstock Ciderworks takes a fine-wine approach to make its premium ciders. Rosé hard cider, barrel-aged hard cider, and vintage-dated hard cider are just a few of the hand-crafted, all-natural ciders from the DeFisher family’s Rootstock Ciderworks.

This farmstead cidery uses only the best heritage and modern apple varieties from the DeFishers’ orchards near the shores of Lake Ontario, and cider-maker Alex Robb carefully ferments them in small batches to make premium hard ciders with uncommon depth and balance.

The 2017 Rootstock Heritage Hard Cider is made from heritage apple varieties (Rhode Island Greening & Cortland) and semi-dry in nature. The 2016 Rootstock Barrel-Aged is the byproduct of a blend of American heritage culinary apples and European bittersharp and bittersweet varieties, as barrel-fermented and aged in French and American oak barrels.

Meanwhile, the Rootstock Rosé is semi-dry and rooted in Rosé-style cider, as made from a blend of estate-grown apples then blended with Rougeon wine.

Canned beverages to try: Backyard Soda Co.

Last but definitely not least, the Backyard Soda Co. is an all-natural, non-alcoholic, CBD-infused beverage company with a lineup of 8 unique, all-natural flavored syrups and three sparkling soda options. Its Colorado-sourced, full-spectrum CBD syrups and sodas deliver all the benefits that come from the cannabinoids found in hemp plants to help you relax and even wake up refreshed.

Backyard Soda can be found at 80 retailers, including Whole Foods and Amazon, and is on track to reach more than 300 stores in 2020, while all of its products are made in small batches with real ingredients using local products.

This business started as a small syrup cart in Denver in 2011 creating natural sodas, snow cones, slushies, and teas. Its simple but sophisticated flavors include ginger-lime, lavender-lemon, mango-jalapeño, and pomegranate orange blossom, all of which contain 15mg of full-spectrum CBD per serving. The overall product is distinct from the water-based, no-calorie, artificially-flavored competitors in the field.

Which of these cool canned beverages will you be trying this summer?