Goose Island Is Now Making Canned Bourbon Cocktails

The brewery behind Bourbon County Stout is making bourbon cocktails in a can.

goose island canned cocktails
Photo courtesy of Goose Island
Photo courtesy of Goose Island

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. 

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Dustin Nelson is a Senior Staff Writer at Thrillist. Follow Dustin Nelson on Twitter.