How Ready-To-Drink Cocktails Transcended Convenience To Become a Craft Category

Alternative drinks

Thu 14 Aug 2025

By Gosia Young

The ready-to-drink (RTD) category is undergoing a fundamental transformation. What began as simple convenience products for commuters has evolved into a legitimate craft category, where producers are reimagining classic cocktails and creating entirely new drinking experiences. At the IWSC 2025, 154 RTD entries earned medals - 18 Gold, 45 Silver, and 91 Bronze - showcasing a sector that has decisively moved beyond basic spirit-plus-mixer formulations.

Bar Quality, Can Format

The shift in consumer expectations has been dramatic. As IWSC judge Olivier Ward explained:

“The expectation that has been set from the trade, from the media and from competitions for now several years is that you can have bar-quality cocktails at home or on the go. And that’s what’s being delivered via the ready-to-drink market currently.”

This quality evolution is evident in the medal distribution. Japan, for instance, achieved a remarkable 71% Gold and Silver rate - the highest of any country -  and its entries stood out for showcasing distinctive regional ingredients such as lychee, sake, green tea and osmanthus, rather than merely replicating Western cocktail formats.

Flavourful Regional Storytelling

Many of the most successful RTDs reflected a strong sense of place and cultural identity. Taiwan’s Yibeiqi earned four Gold medals with cocktails like vodka paired with Four Seasons Spring Tea and white grapes, and sake blended with lychee and sea salt. These are distinctly Taiwanese interpretations of cocktail culture.

Similarly, producers from England and New Zealand impressed judges with authentic local expressions. Ward noted how RTDs are expanding cocktail definitions:

“In a weird way, the RTD culture is expanding the horizons of an entire cocktail family - sometimes controversially, sometimes brilliantly.”

The Margarita Moment

Perhaps no cocktail better illustrates RTD’s creative potential than the margarita. As Ward observed:

“Is a margarita a flavour, style or is it a cocktail family? In RTD context, margarita is kind of like tequila meets sour meets lime. It can be effervescent. It can be watermelon tequila, classic margarita, smoked margarita, spice margarita.”

This flexibility has allowed producers to create variations rarely seen in traditional bartending. Standout examples include Croatia’s Pelin & Tonik (99 points), featuring wormwood liqueur, and New Zealand’s spicy habanero margarita.

Low and No-Alcohol Growth

The RTD category spans both alcoholic and non-alcoholic offerings, with ABV levels in IWSC 2025 ranging from 0% to 37.5%. Products below 0.5% ABV are considered non-alcoholic in most markets.

This broad range reflects a shift in consumer demand. Producers are delivering sophisticated drinking experiences across every occasion and preference. Australia’s Lyre’s proved this with its Amalfi Spritz at just 0.2% ABV, earning a Gold medal and demonstrating that flavour excellence isn’t dependent on alcohol strength.

Context Over Category

Ward also emphasised that judging RTDs requires understanding their intended use:

“You’ve got to look at it within the cocktail branch that it’s being pitched under. As an example of an old fashioned, is this a good one? As an example of a pina colada, is this a good one?”

This approach recognises that RTDs aren’t competing solely against each other - they’re being measured against cocktail excellence across all formats. Bimmerle Private Distillery’s Sunrise Piña Colada, which won a Silver medal, underscores how canned cocktails can deliver an authentic tropical experience.

The Craft Category Arrives

The 2025 results confirm that RTDs have established themselves as a legitimate drinks category where creativity, quality, and authenticity drive success. As Ward concluded: “The expectation is bar-quality cocktails now, and that’s what we’re judging excellence by.”

Explore the full range of gold winning IWSC 2025 RTD results below, and see the full results here. 

Entry nameProducerCountryScoreMedal
Pelin & TonikMaraska.d.dCroatia99Gold
Besos Margarita HabaneroAgave SpiritsNew Zealand98Gold
Long Island Iced TeaWonderland Cocktail CoScotland98Gold
Melbourne Martini Bar Strength Smoked Chilli MargaritaTailored Beverage CompanyAustralia98Gold
Old FashionedBulleit DistilleryUSA98Gold
Vesper MartiniNo.3 Gin CompanyEngland98Gold
Wat Cheese Cake Sparkling CocktailYibeiqiTaiwan98Gold
Wat Sake Lychee & Sea Salt Sparkling CocktailYibeiqiTaiwan98Gold
Wat The Public #1 Sparkling CocktailYibeiqiTaiwan98Gold
Absolut Half & Half Tea & LemonadePernod RicardUSA95Gold
Amalfi SpritzLyre's NAAustralia95Gold
Coppa Cocktails Coconut DaiquiriMg DestileriasSpain95Gold
Drink La Chrysanthemums Tea Bottled CocktailBottled Link Factory LimitedHong Kong95Gold
Mango Old FashionedCuratifAustralia95Gold
Mirror MargaritaMirror MargaritaEngland95Gold
Oyster Shell Martini X Hickson HouseCuratifAustralia95Gold
Strawberry DaiquiriWonderland Cocktail CoScotland95Gold
The Daisen Mizunara High-BallMatsui ShuzoJapan95Gold