MINNEAPOLIS — Skillfully crafted adult beverages in ready-to-crack cans are stacking up inside local liquor stores, much to the delight of discerning drinkers honed in an age of craft cocktails and high-class bartenders.
In recent years, hard seltzers like White Claw thundered into the market and swiftly dominated it. Now canned cocktails are eking out a hefty share of the market.
In 2021, premixed cocktails were the fastest-growing spirits category, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. And while there are products from major-market players, those from Minnesota companies are among the tastiest.
Switching distilling gears
Early adopters include Dashfire, the onetime bitters-only company from Minnetonka, Minn., and Duluth’s Vikre Distillery.