The VinePair Podcast: Will This Be the Summer of the Canned Vodka Lemonade?
Big beverage brands are rolling out canned vodka lemonades left and right. It started with Surfside, which launched its vodka-spiked hard teas and lemonades in 2022, propelling the brand into a stage of exponential growth over the following few years. Then, in early April 2025, Anheuser-Busch jumped in on the action with Skimmers, its own line of non-carbonated hard teas and vodka lemonades. Within the few weeks since, both Boston Beer Company and E. & J. Gallo have also announced vodka lemonade RTDs. Executives at Stateside Brands (Surfside’s parent company) have even gone on record saying that they expect Surfside’s Lemonade Variety Pack to become the company’s best-selling SKU by July 4.
Perhaps Fishers Island Lemonade was ahead of its time, but the sudden influx of vodka lemonade RTDs on the market has us wondering: Why now? And why are so many brands rolling out canned versions of a simple drink that consumers can easily create at home?
With Joanna on jury duty, Adam and Zach take this episode to discuss how some of the biggest drinks companies are launching or expanding into the canned vodka lemonade category, each betting not only that it will be the drink of summer 2025, but that they can stand out in an increasingly crowded category. What’s driving this trend, and why does this kind of simple canned cocktail succeed where others fail? Tune in for more.
Zach is reading: Jukebox Blues: The Songs Every Bartender Is Sick of Hearing
Adam is reading: Utopias, Nuclear Penguins, and the Quest for the World’s Strongest Beer
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