May Your Glass Be Full of Celebrity Cocktail

Celebrities have been lending their names, taste preferences, and sometimes financial backing to the canned cocktail category for at least five years in a noticeable way, and the sector has really been gaining steam in the last year or two. 

The increase in celebrities’ collaborative offerings has mirrored growth in the ready-to-drink cocktail category in general. The Distilled Spirits Council found that, while spirits suppliers’ dollar sales as a whole in the U.S. were down 1.1% in 2024, sales of premixed cocktails were up 16.5% in the same time period — following a 27% spike in 2023 — ranking as the fifth-largest category of spirits after vodka, tequila/mezcal, American whiskey, and cordials. The category’s $3.3 billion in sales in 2024 represented a nearly 9% share of the total $37.2 billion spirits industry. 

Many of the celebrity deals announced just this year, including the examples outlined below, reflect the recent interest in margaritas, palomas, and other tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails, both in general and for celebrity tie-ins. The list of 2025 introductions also gives an idea of the range of celebrities getting involved in this space: 

• Actress Hailee Steinfeld launched Angel Margarita, a tequila-based ready-to-drink cocktail brand, with Premium Beers Group of Mexico. The initial roster of flavors in the line include Lime, Grapefruit Paloma, Ranch Water, and Wild Berry. 

• Hip-hop duo Run the Jewels announced a new RTD cocktail company, Juice Runners. The first release was Paloma Remix, a sparkling grapefruit, agave nectar, and mezcal cocktail, made with artisanal mezcal from El Tinieblo Ranch in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The Juice Runners name takes its inspiration from Run the Jewels’ fans, known as Jewel Runners. A second release, a pineapple rum punch called Sea Legs, made with Two James Spirits’ Doctor Bird Jamaican rum, is in the works. 

• Former NFL quarterback Joe Montana introduced a canned cocktail with Gold Bar Whiskey. The drink, which is the first release in this format for Gold Bar, is a variation on a mule, featuring whiskey, ginger, lime, and orange juice, and is available at Northern California retailers and online. Each can includes a QR code for a free vintage-style Montana t-shirt. Montana and Gold Bar previously released a whiskey collection. 

• Influencer Alix Earle entered the canned cocktail category through an investment in SipMargs, a ready-to-drink margarita brand. SipMargs offers five flavors: Mango, Coconut, Mezcal, Spicy, and Classic. Earle is involved in the creative direction and marketing for the brand. 

• The Casamigos tequila brand, co-founded by actor George Clooney and now in the Diageo portfolio, launched its first cocktails in the form of four canned margaritas. Casamigos Margaritas, in Passionfruit & Prickly Pear, Guava & Hibiscus, Strawberry & Colima Lime, and Classic Lime varieties, contain real juice, along with tequila and triple sec.  

• Kam Chancellor, a safety on the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, paired with San Juan Beverage Company, known for its alcoholic sparkling seltzers, for a canned Bammarita Cocktail. The lower-calorie and gluten-free margarita-style drink is made with San Juan’s Island Shine base beer and comes in Lime, Cadillac, Mango, and Kiwi Strawberry varieties. Some of the proceeds will go to a nonprofit called Charity: Water. Chancellor co-founded Legion Sports Bar in Bellevue, Washington, and the drink is inspired by the margaritas sold there. His Bammarita trademark takes its cues from his nickname, Bam Bam Kam.

• Comedian and talk show host Chelsea Handler partnered with Owl’s Brew, a maker of better-for-you hard seltzers, hard teas, and spirit-based canned cocktails, to launch an RTD range of vodka lemonades in Classic, Mint, and Pink varieties, the latter featuring rose hips and cranberry. All three include fresh lemon juice and fresh-brewed organic lemon verbena. 

Other celebrities who have entered the canned cocktail category have included reality star/entrepreneur Kylie Jenner, golfer John Daly, drag performer RuPaul, actress Sarah Jessica Parker, Real Housewife Bethenny Frankel — a pioneer in the space, who launched her Skinny Girl RTD cocktails in 2009 — and many more. The non-alcoholic canned cocktail sector is also increasingly attracting the interest of celebrity partners, with singer Katy Perry and actors Tom Holland and Blake Lively among the players.  

A heads up that Raugust Communications’ monthly e-newsletter comes out next Tuesday, October 21, 2026. The Licensing Topic of the Month takes a look at some unexpected retail collaborations, and the Datapoint research spotlight examines licensing activity in the denim apparel category. If you do not yet subscribe to this free publication, you can do so here.