Goose Island Is Now Making Canned Bourbon Cocktails
The brewery behind Bourbon County Stout is making bourbon cocktails in a can.
There is no shortage of breweries dipping their toes (and sometimes much more) into the hard seltzer market. Ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails are rising in popularity, but, for a variety of reasons, you don't see the same kind of participation from breweries. Nonetheless, Goose Island is jumping into those waters, and there's a certain logic to its entrance into the world of cocktails.
Goose Island is launching a series of three bourbon-based cocktails. Of course, focusing exclusively on bourbon aligns with the perception many drinkers have of the Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery. It's a brewery that has at least in part made its name on the iconic Bourbon County Stout. "We decided to take our experience a step further by creating some of our favorite bourbon cocktails as ready-to-drink, premium craft cocktails," the company said in a statement.
The cocktails that "Goose Island Barrel House" on the label will arrive in November, packaged in a four-pack of 12-ounce cans. This is not the sessionable hard seltzer-adjacent RTD cocktails some companies have released. The Chicago-based brewery is kicking off its cocktail line with a Whiskey Sour, an Old Fashioned Highball, and a Blackberry Smash, all of which clock in with a hefty 9% ABV. (At least, hefty for what you usually expect from a 12-ounce can.)
The mix in each can includes a three-year-old bourbon distilled by MGP, which produces bourbon under a variety of labels. Each four-pack will cost you about $16. Though, they'll only be available in the Chicagoland area to start. A representative tells Thrillist that there aren't firm plans for a larger distribution footprint but that based on reactions to the initial launch, an expansion in 2022 is possible.