o ho ho, and a can of cocktail! In a first by the spirits industry, Diageo (www.diageo.com) is testing ready-to-drink cocktails in 12-ounce cans with the same alcohol content as most beers. And the returns are enough to leave the makers in high spirits. Retailers in the test areas said the canned rum, vodka and whiskey cocktails were selling briskly.

While ready-to-drink cocktails are largely absent from the US market, they've been widely accepted in countries like Australia. Beam Global Wine & Spirits sells seven million cases of Jim Beam Bourbon Whisky and Cola each year. But Diageo's apparently successful test so far, expected to run until next spring, could potentially pave the way for a much larger ready-to-drink spirits presence in the US. The move is being looked upon as an infringement by spirits majors on the turf of beer makers. The move is also expected to spawn protests and complaints by advocacy groups that pre-mixed cocktails may have appeal among young drinkers.... more