Friday Finds: Our Favorite Craft Cocktails … To Go!

This Labor Day Weekend, pick up one of these California-made bottled or canned spirits.

We spend a lot of time online, which means we come across a copious amount of interesting and useful products we think you should know about. Friday Finds was created so we could package up some of our favorite things in curated categories and share them with you!

With the last big weekend of summer upon us, we felt it was appropriate that the first installment of Friday Finds curate some of our favorite to-go cocktails, so we took one for the team and sampled libations from four different California-based companies making waves in the canned (or bottled) cocktail category. And make sure you don’t skip over the last paragraph…

First up is DRNXMYTH, who’ve created a patented, dual-chamber bottle that separates the spirits and liqueurs from the fresh juices until you’re ready to drink. Anyone who’s tried to batch craft cocktails knows that the successful incorporation of fresh ingredients can make or break a drink, so this tech is a game-changer. Just twist and shake the bottle to mix the contents. Each drink has a unique and stunning bouquet, and even though you’re dropping $10 on a 6.7 oz. bottle, the quality is outstanding. Besides, you’d pay at least $12 for a comparable cocktail at your local bar, and if you’re in the LA area, you can get delivery within the hour here.

DRNXMYTH covered their spirit bases with the first five offerings—Classic Margarita, Rum Punch, Bourbon Sour, Ginger Drop (with vodka), and a mind-blowing Eastside (with gin), all with 16% ABV—but stay tuned for new Smoked Watermelon and Spiced Sangria flavors.

Acquired last year by Anheuser-Busch, San Diego’s Cutwater Spirits weighs in with the most options at 16, including three different vodka sodas, a whiskey mule, and a 13.2% ABV Long Island Iced Tea. Made with their own Cutwater liquors, these cans are your best option if you’re going for heavy variety at a price that won’t break the bank. (Less than $5 a can.) Of all the options here, Cutwater is the least “craft” but the most utilitarian and the easiest to find in major retailers, and sometimes that’s all you need.

Proof Cocktail Company is an LA-based brand crafting single-batch cocktails using only organic, locally sourced ingredients. Founder Adam Glatt brings 10+ years of experiencing in the wine-making business to the table, and the taste is as striking as the artwork on each 8.45 oz. can. Proof’s cocktails contain no additives or preservatives, and have not been flash pasteurized or gone through a sterile filtration process, so you’re ensured all the delicate textures of ingredients like organic almond Orgeat and ruby red grapefruit. Each of their four cocktail varieties range from 10% ABV (the Moscow Mule) to 23% ABV (the powerful Mai Tai), and retail for about $6 per can. They’ve got some nice additions on deck as well, including a Manhattan, a Smoked Prickly Pear Paloma, and a Tiki-inspired Painkiller mixed with rum, fresh juices, and coconut cream. You can find Proof Cocktails in various liquor stores around California, Colorado and Tennessee.

LiveWire Drinks and founder Aaron Polsky have a decidedly more rock ‘n’ roll swagger to their cocktail game. Each of their three flavors—Honeydew Collins, Golden God and Heartbreaker—contain 7.5% ABV and are served up in four-packs of 12 oz. cans that’ll run you a crisp $20 bill. A light effervescence makes them great over ice and super easy to drink, and the custom artwork on each can, prepared in collaboration with the drink’s creator, vibes with the concoction. With a mix of gin, coconut and elderflower, the Honeydew Collins is the most distinct flavor of the batch, but the Golden God and its blend of rye whiskey, brandy and green tea is the one to that’s gonna get the party going. For more info on how LiveWire is collaborating with the bartenders who created their drink recipes, check out our interview with Polsky here.

Thirsty yet? Good. To kickstart your holiday weekend, we hooked up with the DRNXMYTH team to give 5 new Instagram followers a refreshing surprise. Just make sure you’re following Golden State and DRNXMYTH on Instagram, and remember—all these cocktails are meant to be enjoyed responsibly by persons 21+ years of age.