Zing Zang’s new spirits-based canned ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails feature Bloody Mary, Margarita, and Bourbon Whiskey Sour.

Zing Zang RTD cocktails – initially available in three varieties: Bloody Mary, Margarita, and Bourbon Whiskey Sour – combine Zing Zang’s award-winning cocktail mixes with premium high-quality vodka, silver tequila, and Kentucky bourbon. Each 12-ounce can contains nine percent alcohol by volume, the same ABV of most bartender-made cocktails, and offers the convenience of two servings. The Zing Zang RTDs will be introduced initially in 20 U.S. states, with additional distribution to follow in 2021. Look for Zing Zang cocktails at liquor stores, grocery retailers, bars, and restaurants.

“Consumers want bartender-quality cocktails that are convenient for at-home and on-the-go consumption. That’s exactly what Zing Zang has always been known and trusted to deliver,” says Brent Albertson, CEO at Chicago-based Zing Zang, LLC, who previously spent 30 years in leadership roles at Diageo. “Our new RTDs are real cocktails, made with our bold Zing Zang mixes and high-quality premium spirits, unlike most canned cocktail drinks and hard seltzers which are just watered-down malt or beer-based drinks.”

According to industry analysts IWSR, the RTD category in the U.S. is valued at $8 billion, with volume growth significantly outpacing beer, wine, and spirits. RTD consumption in the U.S. is expected to increase by +72% by 2024, IWSR reports. Though the RTD category is growing rapidly, consumers still have few options for spirits-based, premium quality cocktails like Bloody Marys, Margaritas, or Bourbon Whiskey Sours. Zing Zang RTDs fill an unmet need in the category, just in time for the holidays and tailgating season.

“The mix is the majority of a drink, so the quality of that mix is crucial. Zing Zang is the leading mix brand in the U.S. because we’re committed to only producing bold, premium-quality mixes made with natural ingredients, real fruit and vegetable juices, and no high fructose corn syrup. That same award-winning mix is what gives our new ready-to-drink cocktails their outstanding taste and consistent quality,” adds Albertson.

The new line of Zing Zang RTD pre-mix canned cocktails include:

Zing Zang Bloody Mary: For almost 25 years, consumers and bartenders have trusted Zing Zang Bloody Mary mix, crafted from a proprietary blend of seven real vegetable juices and bold seasoning. The Zing Zang Bloody Mary RTD Cocktail combines that same Zing Zang signature Bloody Mary mix with high-quality gluten-free American vodka (six-times distilled), to create a robust and spicy bartender-quality cocktail.

Zing Zang Margarita: Blending premium silver tequila from Mexico, agave nectar, and Zing Zang’s three-juice Margarita mix made from natural ingredients, the new Zing Zang Margarita RTD Cocktail is a delicious and thirst-quenching citrus-forward drink with just the right amount of sweetness and a honey-like finish.

Zing Zang Bourbon Whiskey Sour: The soft caramel and oak flavors of authentic Kentucky bourbon marry perfectly with Zing Zang Sweet & Sour Mix’s blend of real lemon, lime and orange bitter to create the refreshing fruit-forward Zing Zang Bourbon Whiskey Sour RTD Cocktail.

Source: Zing Zang

Costa Brava Cocktails come in two flavors, Vodka Cranberry and Lemon Drop. Both beverages are crafted with premium vodka, contain zero sugar and zero carbs, and are 130 calories. Each pack of cocktails contains four 12oz cans.

Vodka Cranberry

Costa Brava Vodka Cranberry is very light in flavor and texture. Not too syrupy or sweet, there is a subtle, artificial cranberry tone that adds some light sweetness to the premium vodka but doesn’t overpower it. The premium vodka makes Costa Brava Vodka Cranberry very smooth and easy to drink. We liked this alternative take on what can sometimes be an overly sweet cocktail. Costa Brava Vodka Cranberry delivers a canned cocktail experience that true vodka lovers can appreciate.

Lemon Drop

Costa Brava Lemon Drop brings together premium vodka with just the slightest hint of lemon. The sweet and sour lemon notes compliment the smooth and rich vodka, creating a very sippable summer beverage. The simplicity of the recipe reflects Costa Brava’s focus on clean quality over extra empty calories. We enjoyed this sophisticated, not too sweet, canned cocktail.

Summary: Costa Brava cocktails bring a refreshing twist on canned cocktails. With a base of premium vodka, Costa Brava Vodka Cranberry, and Costa Brava Lemon Drop bring in just enough flavor to complement and enhance the smooth vodka flavors. Anyone who enjoys vodka cocktails but wants to skip the sweet, empty calories that come with traditional mixers should check out Costa Brava.

For more information visit Costa Brava Cocktail’s website.

Ice Pops are so nostalgic from childhood. Fueling them with alcohol for adults takes something nostalgic and makes it a tad naughty. Matt is being cheeky and enjoying our entire line of Boozie Freezies.

The four flavors of Boozie Freezies are:

• Brisky Frisky Daiquiri: Rum Just had a Snowball Fight With Strawberries, Lemons, and Limes.
• Glacier Margarita: An Icy-Cold Twist on the Southwest’s Best. Blue Agave Spirit, Lime, And Salt.
• Sunshine On the Rocks: A Tropi-Gold Fruit Twist Over Vodka Coconut Creme, and a Kiss of Sweetness.
• VodkaBerry Snow: Refreshment Takes a Vodka Splash Through Tart-Sweet Citrus and Berries.

“Ice Pops are so nostalgic from childhood. Fueling them with alcohol for adults takes something nostalgic and makes it a tad naughty. It’s your childhood memories, only tainted! A little naughtiness, cheekiness, or a dash of mayhem oozes summer fun. We’ve taken that innocent treat, fuelled it with premium booze and fruit purees, and created a high-quality product that is low in sugar and is the perfect partner in crime for every type of summer shenanigan.” – Alana Thomson, Founder of Wreck Beach Spirits.

Boozie Freezie is an alcoholic freeze pop product line armed with premium spirits, fruit purees and concentrates, a dash of sugar, and sweetened with Monk Fruit, a natural sweetener that has no calories. Health is important to the Wreck Beach Spirits team and Thomson wants her products to reflect that.

Boozie Freezies are available to purchase in 6-packs as well as a 12-pack Mixer Pack.  Americans can begin enjoying Boozie Freezies in the next few weeks and clothing is optional.

Source: Wreck Beach Spirits

“We are thrilled to introduce these new products to our portfolio. It’s the natural next step and evolution for us,” says Moose Koons, co-founder of Rocky Mountain Soda. “These products speak to the conscious consumer with all the things that make people happy— they’re convenient, non-GMO, vegan and gluten-free. With constant change happening in the world, it’s nice to have a cocktail ready to go. Mile High Mule and Tee Time fit into active lifestyles and are sessionable with a lower ABV.”

Lifted Libations uses organic vodka in lieu of malt liquor in their full line of spiked seltzers. The result? Pure clean taste and buzz available in currant, orange, lime, and grapefruit. Just like Lifted Libations’ seltzers, their new canned cocktails are all-natural and made with organic vodka. Even better, Mile High Mule and Tee Time are non-GMO, vegan and gluten-free.

Source: Rocky Mountain Soda

Colorful and vibrant, the selection of fruity natural flavors is deliciously spiked with premium American spirits that reveals the unique divine nature of each frozen blend.

All at once refreshing and cool, sometimes sweet or tangy, Ice Dreams tasteful buzz is now here to suit every glorious lifestyle and mindset.

“We are committed to inviting anyone to take a break and create memories by enjoying the moment. Our Philosophy could be outlined with these 3 words: Grab and Freeze the Moment. We are an inspiring cocktail brand which values life moments. We are cocktails, but “poptail” is our differentiation and charming way to say that we are a frozen beverage brand by essence,”  said Vincent Herrmann, Ice Dreams Poptails Founder, and CEO.

Ice Dreams Poptails are already distributed in 7 states after launching 3 months ago.

Loyal to its commitment and charming identity, the independent brand simply hits the market with an uncommon but genuine approach and already seduced Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Washington DC.

The poptails are 100% crafted in the USA. The signature blends were developed following accurate mixology principles (8% alcohol, 100ml serving). Ice Dreams Poptails come with cute reusable neoprene sleeves to enjoy the brain freeze but keeping

“On a business perspective, pre-mixed drinks sales have been booming for the past years. The two past months of Americans being sheltered have boosted their interest in convenient ready-to-drink beverages. As people are less adventurous outside, they are stepping out of their routine and are more likely to try something new at home. We saw our in-store and online sales volume increases, with incredibly positive and exciting feedback from first-time customers,” said V. Herrmann.

Source: Ice Dreams Poptails

Prairie Organic Spirits’ ready-to-enjoy canned cocktails are made with award-winning, farm-crafted Prairie Organic Vodka and Gin, using single vintage organic corn grown on family-owned, USDA certified organic Midwest Farms. The new Sparkling Craft Cocktails are packed with natural and refreshing organic flavors that are the perfect warm weather companion, consisting of 120 calories, 5g carbs, 5g organic cane sugar, and 5 percent ABV per can. In addition to their spectacular taste, Prairie Organic Sparkling Craft Cocktails serve as a refreshing aperitif that you can enjoy year-round.

The new canned Sparkling Craft Cocktails are available in three refreshing flavors:

• Grapefruit – With its crisp and refreshing taste, Grapefruit Sparkling Craft Cocktails are made with Prairie Organic Vodka and perfectly infused with the right amount of natural ingredients, delivering a powerful punch of clean citrus flavor.
• Cucumber Lemonade – Cucumber Lemonade Sparkling Craft Cocktails are made with award-winning Prairie Organic Vodka combined with the organic essence of lemon and cucumber, offering an invigorating taste that will satisfy any taste bud. It’s cool, refreshing taste is delicious down to the last sip.
• Minnesota Bootleg – Originating from the days of the Prohibition, the Minnesota Bootleg is a cocktail that originated at golf clubs across Minnesota and is commonly ordered during warm summer months. Going back to its Minnesota roots, Prairie Organic Spirits is bringing this cocktail to the masses, by developing its own “Bootleg” product – made with Prairie Organic Gin, the Minnesota Bootleg Sparkling Craft Cocktail brings a trifecta of savory mint, crisp lime and slight sweetness in every sip.

“With the popularity of canned spirits ever on the rise here in the United States and beyond, we wanted to create a product that not only meets consumers’ demand, but is also made with natural and organic ingredients that they can feel good about drinking,” said Meghan Murray, vice president of marketing at Phillips Distilling Company. “There’s no mystery about what types of ingredients might be lurking in these cans. Our new Prairie Organic Sparkling Craft Cocktails are jammed-pack with our award-winning vodka and gin, along with refreshing flavors, and serve as the perfect ready-to-enjoy cocktail that anyone can enjoy year-round.”

In addition to providing a great tasting product that consumers can trust, Prairie Organic Spirits is giving back to the community that harvests the corn to produce these spirits – the organic farmers. In partnership with the Rodale Institute, Prairie Organic Spirits is supporting the Spirit of Change Fund that champions the next generation of organic farmers by helping more farmers go organic. By donating one percent of all sales, Prairie Organic Spirits is advancing its mission to help make a better future for our land and farmers, particularly during these challenging times.

Source: Prairie Organic Spirits

Marble-rita

Marble-rita was one of our favorite Blue Marble flavors. The effervescent blend of ultra-premium tequila, lime juice, and a hint of salt come together to deliver a perfectly balanced margarita experience. This small can packed a punch and mellowed nicely as the ice we poured it over melted slightly. This fun summery cocktail would be a perfect addition to your beach bag for an afternoon in the sun.

Screwdriver

We were impressed by the quality of the orange juice flavor in this cocktail. It was sweet and citrusy with a kick of smooth, premium vodka. Not watery at all, this cocktail blended nicely with ice for an easy-to-sip treat, perfect for pairing with a morning brunch.

Bloody Mary

Another morning classic, the Blue Marble Bloody Mary was zesty and peppery, just the way we like it! We wouldn’t add anything to this blend, except for ice, and maybe a pickle or olive for fun. Smooth, savory, and perfect for sipping, the Blue Marble Bloody Mary rivals any other pre-mixes we’ve tried.

Vodka Soda

This light and refreshing beverage cuts the wonderfully smooth vodka with just a slight hint of lime. Blue Marble Vodka Soda brings a convenient and flavorful take on a traditional summer classic. We love that this carbonated combination doesn’t require you to open and add soda water, which always seems to go flat before you use it again! Blue Marble Vodka Soda would make an excellent companion on any summer afternoon outing.

Cosmo

The Blue Marble Cosmo was definitely on the sweeter side and was a little heavy for our taste. We would recommend adding a splash of water or waiting for your ice to melt a little before taking your first sip. The bitter cranberry and tart lime deliver an intense and flavorful experience that coats your mouth and lips. With its light pink color, this festive cocktail makes for a fun and festive addition to a night on the town.

Overall: We can see why these little cans have won some big awards. Blue Marble Cocktails are convenient, artfully-crafted, beverages that make it easy to bring cocktail hour away from the bar to wherever you want to enjoy a great-tasting drink.  We also love Blue Marble’s commitment to supporting global awareness, conservation, and environmental initiatives.

For more information visit Blue Marble’s website.

1. What is the story behind Blue Marble?

It’s a love story. When Danyelle and I started Blue Marble we were newly dating and the company was focused on full strength ready-to-drink cocktails. We now have 9 flavors of cocktails, 4 flavors of seltzer’s, gin, vodka, and water! We both started out in the medical industry servicing consumers with products. We never thought about starting a beverage company or building a factory. We simply wanted a great ready to drink cocktail to entertain our friends with. What we found was lots of sugar, watered down, artificial or simply bad tasting products. It was hard to find an enjoyable product that was clean and tasted great, thus we completely reinvented ourselves, learned everything about the RTD industry, completed lots of data analysis, and decided we could start something spectacular.

The name Blue Marble was a perfect fit for what Danyelle and I believe in. We like to work hard and play hard. We’re now engaged and planning to get married later this year. You can typically find us on our boat enjoying lots of different water sports. It’s sad to see the destruction happening to our beaches and oceans through single-use plastic. Blue Marble represents awareness, clean, and all-natural, just like our beverages. We were donating to charity organizations long before we were generating revenues.

Developing our beverage lines was quite the learning experience. We knew what we wanted and were involved in every aspect of every flavor – all 16!  We sought out looking for the best ingredients, hired PhDs to scale our formulations and ultimately had to build our own factory to meet our quality expectations and quantities.  There was so much more than we expected! The travel is so insane but we love it! As the faces of Blue Marble, we love being involved.

From working with our distributors, in 45 states, our clients like Disney and Legends, and with all of the amazing people backing Blue Marble’s success. I have always bootstrapped my own companies because I knew the industry and had relationships, this being new for us we raised 3 million dollars through strategic investors who helped us make connections.  Don’t get me wrong, people often ask “How do you guys do it, how can you spend 24/7 with someone and not kill each other”? Well, we definitely have our moments but usually, exhaustion is the cause but there is nothing we would rather be doing than creating Blue Marble together.

2. Blue Marble has 4 different beverage lines. Can you tell us more about each?

I guess you can say we are overachievers! We started with RTDs, added seltzer’s, water and gin and vodka. We already had what we needed to make each of them, so it came down to developing the branding around each.

Blue Marble’s RTD line is simply in a league of its own.  We use real fruit concentrates, and never any preservatives. They all are dye and gluten-free and are all-natural.  Our Bloody Mary was voted World’s Best Ready to Drink Cocktail – and you will know when you try it. Everyone asks “Which is your favorite?” I say it is kind of like having kids… they are all my favorite.  We chose a perfect pour 200 ml (6.8 oz) can because a lot of our business is on-premise, such as cruise ships, arenas, amusement parks, and golf courses. RTDs are definitely the hardest to develop and scale. We had to develop our own water and blend up all of our own spirits including vodka, rum, and tequila.

Our spiked seltzer line is simply better than what’s on the market because it’s made with our premium vodka, not beer malt or beer sugars as they are disguised as. It is shocking that consumers really don’t know what’s in their seltzer. That’s something we are changing! Much like our RTDs, our seltzer’s are all-natural, gluten-free and taste amazing. They have been coined “the White Claw Killers”.

Our vodka and gin are badass! The bottles are unique and scream premium. Put one on a lighted bar and you will see the earth (the blue marble) light up. I love vodka and what we put into making ours makes it incredibly smooth, its the first one I can actually enjoy on the rocks, the same holds true with our gin. I love seeing people smile when they take their first sip!

Canned water may sound silly but when we see the destruction from single-use plastic it’s a natural product for us to offer.  Our benchmark was Fiji and I am happy to say that when blind taste-tested, people prefer Blue Marble. We want to bring awareness and what better way to do it than offer our Blue Marble Pure Love Canned Water!

3. It must be hard to compete in such different categories. What makes Blue Marble beverage products differ in the market?

There is nothing I love better than beating the big companies at their own game – I am used to doing this my entire career.  Consumers are smart and savvy – they know quality when they see and taste it and that is what makes us different. If you want the best Blue Marble is the way to go. Passion it was is driving Blue Marble and we have a great love story of loving each other, our planet and our consumers.

4. The beverage industry is pretty challenging. What are the biggest difficulties you have faced so far?

Definitely navigating the distribution network.  A yes in the industry definitely doesn’t mean yes or guaranteed success. Just because you get signed with a distributor doesn’t mean they are going to push your product. It takes feet in the street, marketing, incentive support and lots of money.  Every state requires its own support.

5. Blue Marbles provides a co-packing service as well. Can you tell us more about it?

Blue Marble Productions, Inc (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Marble Cocktails, Inc), centrally located in Indianapolis, IN., the crossroads of America.  I was approached by several companies to make their products for them. The word had gotten out! We knew how to make complex products. Now we make medical products, kombucha, sparkling fruit juices for grade schools, wellness drinks and even canned water for a famous actor. We are growing our canning facility to almost 200,000 square feet with multiple canning lines this spring and am happy to say some of the biggest companies in the world are trusting us with their products.

I am a nerd at heart and love innovation and you see lots of that in our factory. I built it with virgin eyes and a clean sheet of paper. I didn’t allow the words “Well that’s how it’s always been done…” affect my vision of building a state-of-the-art facility that runs SAP and is full of robotics and world-class teams. The best part is I get to utilize profits from our co-packing efforts and drive them directly into our Blue Marble line.

6. Every milestone is very important. What would you say is the biggest achievement for Blue Marble so far?

There have been many but one of the most exciting achievements included our integration in Disney’s resorts, water parks, cruise line, and a private island. Signing with the biggest distributors like SGWS, Fenway and Empire have definitely helped propel the company and receiving countless gold medals for our product line gave us the assurance that we did it! It takes lots of money to make it all work. We were able to sell all of our Series A stock at $1 per share – something everyone said was impossible as we had 150 million authorized shares – thus putting a pre-revenue on the company at $150,000,000. Not only did we sell out of the stock but we remained as majority owners.

7. What advice would you have given yourself before you started out in the beverage business?

Lots!! The biggest thing is trusting yourself and accepting mistakes, learning, and getting stronger. In retrospect, I would have raised all of the money upfronts which would have accelerated the company quicker. I also think I should have trusted my business instinct a little more and industry types a little less. It is a difficult industry to navigate and there are lots of hands reaching into your pocket, just be prepared with a great product, a business plan as money is not enough. It takes guts, passion, and love!

For more information visit Blue Marble’s website.

Slrrrp Blue Raspberry Smash

The sweet taste of blue raspberry is met quickly with an after taste of vodka. The one-two punch provided by the combination is eye-opening and will help shake the cobwebs off of any party-goer needing a boost. Sweeter than some of the other flavors, Blue Raspberry is in the top half of the options.

Slrrrp Mango Unchained

Mango Unchained likely gets its name from the similarly titled Tarantino flick about slavery. This may be considered questionable taste, but the questionable taste is a conveniently adept description for this summer shot. Instead of the mango masking any of the vodka’s strength, they seem to combine into an overpowering flavor that can best be described as just consumable enough to tolerate in the name of a good buzz.

Slrrrp Peach Bottom

Peach Bottom is similar to the Mango flavor in that a sense of fruit is there, but it doesn’t pair as well with the vodka as other flavors. None of these are meant to be sipped, but Peach Bottom’s best redeeming quality is the name. Even then, the beach bottom pun was done better by Spongebob.

Slrrrp Strawberry Slammer

This is easily the fruitiest flavor of the group. The strawberry flavor isn’t going to mask the vodka, but it does it a lot better than the other options. Sweet, but flavorful, it’s not quite as much of a shock to your taste buds, and, for reasons I’ll never be able to explain, the vodka flavor feels more appropriate in this combination -the best of the group.

Slrrrp Watermelon Guzzler

A more subtle fruit flavor than the others, Watermelon Guzzler also has a strong sense of vodka but is a more manageable combination of flavors. A more sophisticated option for those that want more of a cocktail flavor, but like the others, it is best if you consume it as quickly as possible.

For more information visit Slrrrp’s website.

Each elegant 700 ml glass bottle is adorned with a label featuring the image of a Huma, a mythical Persian bird thought to be an omen of good fortune. For a truly luxurious experience, they’ve printed this image in 24k gold on each bottle. We tried each of the two blends mixed with ginger ale and a splash of lemon, as recommended. As non-alcoholic spirits grow in popularity, Xachoh sets themselves apart with their unique botanical blends and thoughtful packaging and history.

Blend No. 5: Intense + Fragrant

Xachoh’s Blend No. 5 is a clear spirit made from a blend of star anise, ginger, chamomile, long pepper, turmeric, barberry, and rosemary. If you don’t enjoy star anise, you may want to stay away from this blend. Fragrant is right! There is a STRONG anise aroma and flavor to this blend. Anise-lovers will find this blend to be a balanced and complex flavor with a light feeling in the mouth. One taster even commented that this blend could be sipped on alone like a liquor. Bitter, sour, and just slightly sweet. This flavor has a warming after-taste that lingers for a long time in the mouth, which we enjoyed!

Blend No. 7: Rich + Exotic

The richness of this flavor is immediately evident in the warm, amber color of the spirit. Made with ginger, mace, cinnamon, crystal dark malt, star anise, saffron, and sumac, the flavor has a warm and spicy ginger aroma with the PERFECT hint of sweetness added by cinnamon. The aroma is true to the flavor of this blend, a nice balance of sweet, smoky, and spicy with a slightly tingly feeling left in the mouth. Both Xachoh blends maintain their flavor and aroma nicely when mixed. The mixer slightly dilutes the recipe while still remaining true to the sensory experience of opening the bottle.

For more information visit Xachoh’s website.