Colorado's best ready-to-drink cocktails

Distilleries are canning and bottling pre-mixed drinks that are ready for adventure

By Jay McKinney 

Mixing up a cocktail at home is the drinker’s equivalent to making a big home cooked meal. It involves shopping for all of the different ingredients, following the specified measurement instructions and it always seems to leave more dirty dishes than desired. In recent years, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails have revolutionized the home mixology game, winning favor with consumers because of the convenience and delicious flavors. RTDs might take the fun out of shaking an espresso martini until your hands feel frostbitten or smelling freshly chopped mint for a mojito, but after a long day, sometimes it’s easier to just pour over ice and sit back. Keep an eye out for these producers that are concocting flavorful RTDs fit for any occasion and ready for any excursion.

For non-alcoholic options, there also are Colorado-crafted mocktails on the market. Click here for a list.

Photo courtesy of Uncle Tim’s Cocktails/Werk Creative

Uncle Tim’s 

Since it was founded in 2022, Uncle Tim’s Cocktails has been steadily making noise in the RTD realm. The company produces 10 cocktails for its regular lineup while offering three or four seasonal ones as well. The classic Old Fashioned and Espresso Martini reign supreme in the regular lineup, but come November, customers start scurrying to secure a bottle of the seasonal Black Walnut Manhattan that normally sells out within weeks. 

“I’ve been making and even bottling cocktails for a long time, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that I tried a lot of what was available on the market and thought I could do better,” says co-founder of Uncle Tim’s Cocktails, Tim Felkner. “The inspiration was to make a bottled cocktail that was just as good as any craft cocktail bar, but instead of going out and paying $15 or more for a cocktail, you can pour one at home for about $5 per cocktail.”

While Uncle Tim’s may be targeting the consumer that wants convenience and great flavor when mixing a cocktail at home, the company’s new tasting room in the Washington Park neighborhood of Denver is worth a visit. Located on Gaylord Street, Felkner was happy to secure this location because the company had done pop-up events in the area and always drew huge crowds. Now, Uncle Tim’s Cocktails are a staple of the community. 

Shelter Distilling

Located in Montrose, Shelter Distilling has a diverse lineup of products that will please most tastes. It brews beer, distills spirits and offers four delicious RTD cocktails in cans that were made to be enjoyed outdoors on an exciting adventure. Whether it’s fly fishing in the summer or trekking through fresh powder on snowshoes, each RTD cocktail is a delightful reward that quenches thirst with bar-quality flavor.

The Mountain Huckleberry and Strawberry Lemonade are made with fresh ingredients and Shelter Glass Creek Vodka is distilled with 100 percent white wheat. For agave lovers, consider grabbing a pack of the Spicy Paloma made with Shelter Blue Agave, jalapeño, grapefruit juice, lime juice and salt. It’s refreshing and fruity with just enough spice to wake up your taste buds. Lastly, there is the Sierra Sunrise, a popular Shelter cocktail that has made its way into a can. Made with Shelter Storm Rider Rum, passion fruit, pineapple juice, lime juice and coconut, this cocktail might mentally transport you to a tropical island with just one sip. All of Shelter’s RTD cocktails are sold in 12-ounce four-packs and have 8 percent ABV. 

Breckenridge Distillery

The mountain town distillery is well known for both its spirits and exotic cocktails (thanks to in-house liquid chef Billie Keithley) so there is no surprise it’s connected to some creative RTD possibilities. The first is the Broncos Creamsicle Vodka Seltzer, which comes in orange cans (duh) and has a large #7 denoting its ABV. Breck is an official sponsor of the Denver Broncos and has worked with the football team for five years. 

The distillery also provides its spirits to RIKI spirits, a Colorado company that produces ready-to-drink beverages. Offered in 24-ounce cans, Breck’s vodka is mixed with fruity flavors that include cranberry, lemon, lime and black cherry. 

Dry Dock's Docktail offerings include the blackberry mule. | Photo courtesy of Dry Dock

Dry Dock Docktails 

Released in February of 2022, Docktails are the cleverly named canned cocktails made by Dry Dock Brewing Co. The brewery branched out into the RTD space to provide consumers a tasty canned alternative that could be purchased through grocery stores because spirits-based canned cocktails cannot be. In the time they’ve been on the market, Docktails have become popular within Colorado and the 9.5% ABV beverages can be enjoyed over ice and served in a glass or sipped straight from the can. While they are currently available only in Colorado, Dry Dock co-founder, Kevin DeLange says the company is considering expanding the popular cocktails into other states.

The Family Jones 

The Family Jones Spirit House located in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver is a must visit for anyone who appreciates a meticulously crafted cocktail in the comfort of an intimate bar setting. Those who visit may leave wondering, “I wish I could make cocktails like this at home.” Thanks to the Automatic Jones lineup, that wish is granted. The ready-to-pour cocktails include an Earl Grey Negroni, a smoked Old Fashioned, Rock & Rye and an Espresso Martini. Each one is fantastic and the bottles will stand out on any home bar with the eye-catching images of Denver photographer Jack Ludlam on the labels.

This story is from our winter 2025-2026 issue. Read the entire issue online here, and find our full magazine archive here.