What a year it was for ready-to-drink cocktails. From canned espresso martinis to hard iced teas and everything else that trended in between, 2024 provided a wild ride for RTD cocktail lovers and brands alike.
Throughout the year, our team tested a plethora of different pre-made cocktails, evaluating each RTD on characteristics such as authenticity and accuracy of flavor, appeal of aroma, balance of taste, appearance of liquid, and sessionability, among others.
But when the testing finally came to an end in 2024, our team's work had just begun. First thing in January, editors and testers began the arduous task of going through each and every pre-mixed cocktail that was rated during the previous year. And after poring over pages upon pages of testing data and rating notes, our lists have been compiled and winners declared in our annual ready-to-drink cocktail awards competitions.
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Editor's Choice Ready-To-Drink Cocktail Awards
After revisiting the recommended nominees put forth by our panel members, our editor-in-chief closely reviewed all ratings and team feedback to select the winning recipients of our 2024 Editor's Choice Awards.
So without further delay and in no particular order, it is our distinct pleasure to introduce you to and congratulate all the winners of this year's RTD Magazine Editor's Choice Awards. Cheers!
Best Ready-To-Drink Margarita
Best Overall — Toucan Cocktails Ready-To-Mix Margarita
Top Pick — Mission Cocktails Jalapeno Pineapple Bottled Margarita
Top Pick — Tom Savano Hot Honey Canned Margarita
Top Pick — Seven Days Spicy Blood Orange & Passion Fruit Bottled Margarita
Best Pre-Made Old Fashioned
Best Overall — Seven Days Cara Cara Orange Bottled Old Fashioned
Top Pick — Mission Cocktails Bottled Old Fashioned
Top Pick — Toucan Cocktails Ready-To-Mix Old Fashioned
Top Pick — Via Carota Bottled Old Fashioned
Best Pre-Made Espresso Martini
Best Overall — Seven Days Bottled Espresso Martini
Top Pick — sip Torne. Canned Espresso Martini
Top Pick — Thomas Ashbourne Bottled Espresso Martini
Top Pick — NightOwl Tequila Canned Espresso Martini
Best Vodka Based Ready-To-Drink Cocktail
Best Overall — Junglee Indian Spiced Lemonade Canned Vodka Cocktail
Top Pick — Toucan Cocktails Ready-To-Mix Lemon Drop Canned Martini
Top Pick — Joshing Cosmic Tale Canned Vodka Cocktail
Top Pick — Thomas Ashbourne "The Perfect Cosmo by SJP"
Best Tequila Based Ready-To-Drink Cocktail
Best Overall — Margaret Tequila & Lime Bottled Tequila Cocktail
Top Pick — Junglee Tamarind Margarita Canned Tequila Cocktail
Top Pick — Betty Booze Oak Smoked Lemonade Canned Tequila Cocktail
Top Pick — Blind Tiger Lavender Canned Margarita
Best Whiskey Based Ready-To-Drink Cocktail
Best Overall — GoodDays "The Heater" Canned Whiskey Sour Cocktail
Top Pick — ALC-A-CHINO Bourbon Spiked Vanilla Latte
Top Pick — Mission Cocktails Pre-Made Manhattan
Top Pick — Betty Booze Sparkling Bourbon with Apple Ginger Sour Cherry
Best Gin Based Ready-To-Drink Cocktail
Best Overall — Bar Diver Pre-Made Negroni
Top Pick — Blind Tiger Bee's Knees Canned Gin Cocktail
Top Pick — GoodDays "The Longboat" Canned Gin Gimlet Cocktail
Top Pick — The Finnish Long Drink Traditional Citrus Canned Gin Cocktail
Best Rum Based Ready-To-Drink Cocktail
Best Overall — Mission Cocktails Pre-Made Mai Tai
Top Pick — Bar Diver Sparkling Pina Colada Bottled Rum Cocktail
Top Pick — Sundial Island Rum Punch Canned Rum Cocktail
Top Pick — Seven Days Pineapple Daiquiri Bottled Rum Cocktail
Best Wine Based Ready-To-Drink Cocktail
Best Overall — Mpact Beverage Island Style Rita Canned Margarita
Top Pick — Oliver Winery Passion Fleurtini Wine Cocktail
Top Pick — Canella Bellini Bottled Bellini Cocktail
Top Pick — Oliver Winery Peach Sangrini Wine Cocktail
Best Ready-To-Drink Hard Coffee Cocktail
Best Overall — ALC-A-CHINO Original Hard Latte
Top Pick — Bar Diver Pre-Made White Russian
Top Pick — Tribini Golden Canned Espresso Martini
Top Pick — Velvet Llama Canned Espresso Martini
Best Canned Vodka Soda/Seltzer
Best Overall — Local Motion Pear Canned Vodka Soda
Top Pick — Lake Hour Rosemary Yuzu Canned Vodka Soda
Top Pick — Local Motion Peach Canned Vodka Soda
Top Pick — Good Boy Vodka Citrus Circus Canned Vodka Cocktail
Best Canned Tequila Soda/Seltzer
Best Overall — Suerte Canned Ranch Water
Top Pick — Betty Booze Lime Shiso Tequila Soda Cocktail
Top Pick — Buena Gave Canned Ranch Water
Top Pick — Lake Hour Watermelon Cucumber Tequila Soda Cocktail
Best Canned Wine Spritz/Spritzer
Best Overall — Saint Spritz Hugo Canned Elderflower Spritz
Top Pick — Mimosa Royale Apple Canned Mimosa
Top Pick — Saint Spritz Sicily Canned Lemon Spritz
Top Pick — Mimosa Royale Watermelon Canned Mimosa
Best Hard Iced Tea
Best Overall — Good Boy Vodka "The John Daly Cocktail" Iced Tea & Lemonade
Top Pick — Get Ready With Tea Let's Go Lemon Vodka Iced Tea
Top Pick — Cape Tide Lemon Vodka Iced Tea
Top Pick — Get Ready With Tea Pregame Peach Vodka Iced Tea
Best Brewed RTD Cocktail (Malt & Sugar)
Best Overall — Bravago Sweet Freak Hard Seltzer
Top Pick — META Flow Hard Elixir Canned Cocktail
Top Pick — Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch
Top Pick — ALC-A-CHINO Original Oat Milk Hard Latte
Best High ABV Canned Cocktail (10%+)
Best Overall — ALC-A-CHINO Vodka Spiked Mocha Latte (13.5%)
Top Pick — Mpact Beverage Hip-Notical Island Style Canned Cocktail (12.5%)
Top Pick — Velvet Llama Spicy Canned Margarita (10%)
Top Pick — SABÉ Moscow Mule Canned Wine Cocktail (13.1%)
Best RTD Cocktail Package Design
Best Overall — Thomas Ashbourne Ready To Sip Classic Cocktails
Top Pick — Saint Spritz Italian Spritz Cocktails
Top Pick — Local Motion Canned Vodka Sodas
Top Pick — Joshing Cocktails Canned Vodka Cocktails
RTD Royalty Ready-To-Drink Cocktail Award
Our RTD Royalty Award goes one step further than our Editor's Choice. Transcending any product categories, we'll crown an exclusive number of RTD brands who submitted a minimum of (3) individual products for testing and recognize them for producing the most impressive RTD cocktail lineups that we evaluated throughout the entire year.
Each RTD Magazine team member will nominate a select number of brands who they feel are worthy of such dignified distinction, and then the entire team will perform a rank vote on each nominee, with the top vote-getting brands receiving our royal recognition for the year. Good luck and all hail the king!
RTD Royalty Award winners will be announced on March 1st and results to be published on this page shortly thereafter. Please check back for updates.
Interested in working with RTD Magazine and learning more about submitting your RTD cocktails for ratings, reviews, and awards? Please contact us for more information.
