Canned Cocktails? Yes, You “Can”

BY ELYSE GLICKMAN

            Canned hard seltzers, wine cocktails, ciders and various mixed libations—once banned behind any reputable bar—are converting skeptical consumers with creative flavors, bold packaging and clever branding. But can cocktails in cans really play a profitable part in Mexican restaurants?

            The answer: “Yes they can!”

2020: A TURNING POINT

            In the pre-pandemic world, handing customers a canned version of a Margarita, paloma, mojito or caipirinha instead of an elaborately prepared craft drink was almost unthinkable. Even in the fast-casual realm, a canned cocktail—no matter how beautifully packaged—may not have meshed with the brand image the restaurant was striving to create.

            Enter COVID…exit the hesitance to serve canned cocktails.

            When carry-out, delivery and outdoor dining became the norm, and regional liquor laws loosened, restaurateurs and bar managers began to see canned drinks as one solution to pandemic-induced problems.

            That was the case for Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour in Phoenix and Lanea in Santa Monica, California—both destinations that have earned a loyal following through their innovative cocktail programs.

BITTER & TWISTED

            When COVID-19 hit, Ross Simon, founder of Bitter & Twisted, knew he had to act quickly to determine how the bar could continue generating revenue to pay rent and expenses without being fully open to the public. Creating the “Portable Potables” line of canned cocktails in-house was the answer.

            While other bars and restaurants were offering cocktails to go, Simon didn’t think the containers and recipe modifications he was seeing would be in keeping with Bitter & Twisted’s reputation as one of Phoenix’s most innovative bars.

            “We had our canned concept in place, but not a proven way to bring it to life,” says Simon, who admitted that figuring out on premise canning was challenging since the process is more complex than canning beer. Many canning companies he approached had never created shelf stable mixed drinks and didn’t have experience implementing the different steps required for canning carbonated vs. non-carbonated cocktails.

            “It’s not simply about making a cocktail and pouring into a can. You can do that, but the shelf life won’t be there because you’ve got oxygen mixed in with it,” Simon explains. “And obviously, when you’re dealing with fresh juices, if you’re doing something outside of a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned, you run into issues with oxygenation, which degrades the quality of your cocktail.”

            Simon ultimately settled on canning equipment from Oktober Can Seamers, a company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

            Overall, he’s happy with the results (which include drinks like the Classic Canned Mojito and the Watermelon Hibiscus Margarita, which comes with a vacuum-packed bag of of Tajin salt for garnish).

            “We’ve replicated [our cocktails] to a degree that we’re very happy with the end product. It’s amazing that we pour a can over ice and it’s the same quality as what we had in the bar,” Simon reports.

            The end result, however, was not easily achieved.

            “There was a lot of work leading to that. We re-devised ways to ensure lemon and lime components would not go off, tinkered with the drinks’ strength and figured out how to use nitrogen to stabilize the product until someone opens the can,” Simon recalls. “In terms of the cost of Portable Potables for the guest, it will cost a little bit more [than a pre-made canned cocktail from a distributor], but it’s in line with what we’re doing in the bar. When customers purchase our cans, they understand they are supporting local producers and places that will hopefully reopen.”

            Simon anticipates the canned cocktails will help the bar maintain revenue streams, whether customers buy them to enjoy at the bar, at home or on the go. He also points out canning will help prevent waste as it allows his bartenders to use up fresh ingredients needed for craft cocktails before they spoil.

LANEA

            Bar director John Neumueller says launching Lanea’s on-premise canning operation has been a labor-intensive process that’s reaped positive results.

            “We went through everything we could think of as far as vessels, recipes, sizes…you name it, we probably R&D’d it in some way, shape or form,” confides Neumueller. “Thankfully, as home-brewing beer is a pretty popular hobby, it wasn’t too difficult to come by most of the supplies we needed online to retrofit our bar to be a full-blown canning operation. When translating the plans to reality, we wanted to make sure nothing felt like a compromise and that the drink guests would be enjoying feels polished and official—like something they could only achieve by going out.”

            The cocktails “travel super well, and the quality is top notch,” he reports, noting that “most of our guests are stoked on the cans.”

            One benefit beyond the extra income stream is that staff members “have fallen in love with the learning process” and have picked up new skills that are helping them adapt to the current situation while still achieving the quality customers expect.

            “This is a whole new way to approach drink-making and hospitality,” Neumueller says. “It’s a chance to embrace the exciting chance to get to learn again and try your hand at something new. It’s less a matter of space and machinery and more about understanding the trajectory of the industry and finding your place as things move forward.

            “We’re not here to pontificate or give a step by step guide on how to can beverages like we’re any sort of pioneer,” he continues. “The pop top can was invented in the 60s. So, there’s decades of information to mine out there. Take the time, do some homework and I guarantee you’ll be able to find the resources and materials that are right for you.”

SIDEBAR 1: Partnering for a “Can-Do” Solution

            Not every restaurant has the space, staff or even the inclination to set up an inhouse

cocktail canning operation. That doesn’t mean custom canned cocktails are out of the question. Partnering with a canning company to create signature beverages is one option—and it’s one The Godfrey Hotel Chicago decided to try.

            Just before the pandemics’ onset, hotel management had been looking to expand the kind of drinks offered in guest room mini bars as well as those available at its I|O Rooftop Lounge.

            “We wanted our canned drinks to be a clever way guests, and Chicagoans doing takeout and delivery, could take the Godfrey Hotel experience home with them,” says Grant Gedemer, food and beverage director, who notes that Mexican food items are among the most popular at the venue.

            That became even more important after the pandemic hit, as I|O Rooftop Lounge began relying on carry out and delivery orders to keep revenue flowing. Since on-site canning wasn’t feasible, Gedemer turned to outside companies for help.

            “It was very important for us to work with companies that were operating in Chicago and had a reputation for making things from scratch,” he recalls.

            Gedemer paid close attention to projects distilleries had worked on for other restaurants, watching how well the customized products they’d created represented the food, d.cor and cocktail quality those restaurants were known for in pre-pandemic times. He also took into account shelf-stability, packaging artwork, and the cost to create the kind of customized, portable cocktails that would reflect The Godfrey’s upscale image—and questioned if it was possible to remain profitable.

            He chose Chicago Distilling Company, a family-operated distillery in the city’s Logan Square neighborhood, “because it had a well-established ‘craft’ mindset.” Jay DiPrizio, co-owner of Chicago Distilling Co. with his wife Noelle, says his customized work for bars and restaurants has always come from an interest in packaging a signature or namesake cocktail that builds on the in-house guest experience—a goal more important than ever in today’s challenging hospitality climate.

            There’s also the option to offer canned cocktails that aren’t specifically custommade for your restaurant. Chicago Distilling Company offers a variety of those, as does San Diego-based You & Yours Distilling Co.—described as “California’s first urban distillery.”

            Laura Johnson, distiller of You & Yours, says the company invested “lots of thought and planning over two years” to develop its line of canned cocktails—all distilled, mixed, chilled and carbonated in-house. She says several of them—including the Vodka Mule and Key Lime Vodka Soda— “naturally lend themselves really well to Mexican flavors and popular Mexican/Latin dishes.

            “Restaurants and bars need to determine the volume minimums they’ll need to take on in order to collaborate and how much, if any, control over the formulation process they can have,” Johnson adds.

            No matter your reason for embracing canned cocktails, one thing is clear: The trend appears to be primed to stay around for quite a while—even after the pandemic subsides.

            As DiPrizio says, “Customers come to restaurants/bars for an experience. I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to bring a piece of that experience home with them, or to their next socially distanced cocktail party! I also see more and more brewers trying to replicate some of the aspects of cocktails into their beers via fruit infusions and hop selections. Why let beer win the fridge battle? Let’s make room for some cocktails!”

SIDEBAR 2: What to Consider Before Canning

            CUSTOM CANNING AND IN-HOUSE CANNING SOLUTIONS aren’t for every venue. And for anyone considering the custom canning route, there are many things to understand and take into account before making the leap. Here are a few DiPrizio says are important to consider:

• The equipment you’ll need. The “short list” to set something up on-premise includes CO2 bulk tanks, regulators, carbonation tanks (although small-scale bars can experiment in kegs), carbonation stones, chillers, a canning line, industrial juicers, aluminum cans and lids.

• “Bar owners would want to find a manual canning system, so visit a local brewery and see what they use if they package in cans,” he suggests. “Beer canning lines are 80 percent set up to can cocktails, but there are some modifications you have to make to the equipment to reach proper carbonation rates.”

• The approved thresholds for ABV, chlorides and PH in canned goods. Understanding these is important because “are all necessary so the liner of the cans doesn’t dissolve into the cocktail and cause leaching of plastic or can failure,” DiPrizio explains.

• Your ability to implement quality controls. “We’ve learned that in the U.S., it’s smart to be insured and have a recall plan,” DiPrizio says. “Batch tracking is important, and I can’t emphasize enough how important quality control and corrosion testing are when dealing with aluminum.”

                                                #   #   #