Ahh, time for a little whiskey. You grab your favorite, settle back in your chair, pop the top on the can, and—wait, what? The can? There are countless innovations taking place in the spirits world, from unusual grains to accelerated aging to re-use of barrels across liquor types, but canned whiskey might seem a crack in the traditional bottle that’s more gimmick than good.
But it’s not like canned spirits are completely new. Both Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s put whiskey-and-cola variants on the shelf years ago, and those spawned other canned cocktail-like offerings from those brands. Speaking of cola, Coca-Cola itself is launching an alcohol-infused product in Japan, using shochu, a Japanese spirit. With Coke’s reach, that and other products could conceivably touch U.S. shelves.
But what about canned whiskeys where whiskey is center stage, and not heavily laced with additives? Let’s get global first, and since we’re talking Scotch, we’re talking whisky. Scottish Spirits makes the international aspect truly international: the company purchases bulk whisky from Scotland and imports it to Mexico, where it’s canned and sent out to the world. “The idea originated in 2012 during a trip to Kurdistan when I was asked to bottle Scotch whisky in a can to reduce the weight of the case,” says Reynald Vito Grattagliano, founder of Scottish Spirits. Grattagliano even patented a re-sealable cap under the motto, “Drink some now and keep the rest for later.”
Stillhouse Spirits, out of Columbia, TE didn’t have weight top of mind when it introduced its line of white whiskeys in cans. “We wanted to create something disruptive that has never been done before. Our intent was to avoid cliché and pure novelty, while remaining true in character and strong in attitude. Stainless steel has been used for more than a century in the spirits business to store spirits, but nobody ever thought to use it as the container,” says Brad Beckerman, Stillhouse founder and CEO.
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