Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola announced Monday they plan to start selling a ready-to-drink Jack and Coke canned cocktail.
The classic bar cocktail, a combo of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and Coke, is slated to roll out in premixed cans in late 2022 and will first be offered in Mexico.followed by being sold globally later this year. A zero-sugar version will also be available.
‘Together at last’: Jack Daniels & Coca-Cola mix it up with canned cocktail
“This relationship brings together two classic American icons to deliver consumers a taste experience they love in a way that is consistent, convenient, and portable,” Lawson Whiting, CEO and President of Brown-Forman Corporation, an American-owned spirit and wine company, announced in a statement.
The soda giant and Brown-Forman said the drink will contain 5% alcohol.
“We keep consumers at the center of everything we do in expanding our portfolio,” Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey said. “We are consumer-focused and offering more choices, including in rapidly expanding flavored alcohol beverages.”
The move comes amid strong global sales of of ready-to-drink alcoholic blends, including hard seltzers like White Claw. Global consumption of ready-to-drink beverages jumped 26% in 2020 and 14% last year, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, an alcohol market research firm. For comparison, global consumption of all alcohols was up 3%. Ready-to-drink products are expected to make up 8% of the broader alcohol market by 2025, up from 4% in 2020, research from industry tracker IWSR estimates, with the ready-to-drink category expected to grow about 15% a year until 2025.
Coca-Cola already has a tie-up up with Corona beer brewer Constellation Brands Inc to sell Fresca-branded ready-to-drink cocktails.
The companies join a portfolio of flavored alcohol beverages that uses company brands, including Lemon-Dou, now available in Japan, China, and the Philippines; Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, available in more than 20 markets; Schweppes Pre-Mixed Cocktails, available in Brazil; and the new Simply Spiked Lemonade and Fresca Mixed in the United States.
“We are strategically experimenting and learning in alcohol,” said Coca-Cola spokesperson Khalil Younes, who is responsible for leading flavored alcohol beverages. “We are excited about the opportunities, but we also know it will require effort and patience.”
Meanwhile, PepsiCo Inc started selling alcoholic versions of Mountain Dew earlier this year, while energy drinks maker Monster Beverage Corp announced a deal to buy hard seltzer producer CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective in January.
