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Liner Notes: Are Your Cans Prepared for “Hard to Hold” Cocktails?

High alcohol, acids, and salt are all potential threats to can-liner integrity. Here are some best practices as you consider canning your spirit-based cocktails.

Kate Bernot Dec 19, 2023 - 9 min read

Liner Notes: Are Your Cans Prepared for “Hard to Hold” Cocktails?  Primary Image

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For the past five years, canned cocktails have been one of the strongest forces shaping the alcohol industry.

Ready-to-drink (RTD) spirit-based products have posted double-digit dollar sales growth the past two years, up 58 percent in 2022 and 47 percent in 2023, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting. As the year comes to a close, spirit-based canned cocktails have grown to almost 9 percent of overall spirits sales in the United States. Even while these white-hot growth rates are cooling slightly as the market matures, new brands continue to enter this space.

Yet the barriers to entry—particularly when it comes to packaging—can’t be discounted. Most beverages will erode bare aluminum; it’s why can liners exist. However, canned cocktails—thanks to their delicious alchemy of distilled spirits, acid, and sometimes salt—can pose a more significant risk of corrosion. Not all cans are appropriate to hold them, and beverage companies must vet their can-liner technology carefully. This is particularly true for high-strength products: anything approaching, at, or above 14 percent ABV.

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