Pre-mixed beam and coke?

[bourbonNOOG]

This is new to me but may not be to most. I do live in the south and we are usually the last to adopt anything. I saw that beam had partnered with coke and was now offering a Jim beam branded pre-mixed beam and coke in a tall can. Comes in a six'r and has some pretty well designed packaging.

Never seen this in the states, anyone else seen this or had it? I might pick up a six pack just to see what its like. That use to be my drink in HS.

Really wish jack had odopted this before beam because I prefer jack and they would make great Christmas gifts for all the friends who only mix their bourbon with coke.

[trumpstylz]

I think its really overpriced, and I'm also a bit old fashioned. I'm also guessing they're a bit weak.

[squire]

Not new Adam, they've been in our part of the South for years, just what you'd expect, about the alcohol content of a beer and costing quite a lot more.

[B.B. Babington]

I don't remember if it was beam or another, but I used to drink one of these type products 35 years ago.

[craigthom]

I worked in an Atlanta liquor store in the mid '80s, and we sold (or, rather, attempted to sell) Jim Beam and Cola. It came along during the wine cooler craze (remember Bartles & Jaymes?).

The problem with RTDs in most, if not all, of the U.S. is that, while they are targeted at the beer and wine cooler audience, they have to be sold at liquor stores, not the place where people usually buy beer and wine coolers.

(Do fortified wines also have to be sold in liquor stores? If not, then why do RTDs?)

[cowdery]

They exist in the United States but aren't very popular. They're regulated as spirits even though they have about the same alcohol content as beer. Beam relaunched theirs in the U.S. a few years ago -- by which I mean they actually spent money marketing them -- but it didn't do much good.

The category is huge in other countries, Australia in particular.

The Cuervo pre-mix margarita is pretty good.

They're commonly called ready-to-drinks (RTDs) and they contain actual whiskey (or tequila, whatever) as opposed to the malternatives such as Smirnoff Ice, which are flavored beer.

[ThomasH]

I remember Beam and cola in the 80's. In Ohio, it was sold in convenient stores and grocery stores as it was less than 42 proof!

Thomas

[bourbonNOOG]

Sorry for being so naive to think this was somewhat new to the US. They're definitely trying to bring it back because the branding has been significantly updated.

[camduncan]

The category is huge in other countries, Australia in particular.

I'm about to grab one from the fridge now while I cook some meat on the grill. I see it as honouring my teenage years Aussie style... and it's a damm fine thirst quencher after a warm Autumn day at home :grin:

[cowdery]

Ohio is the only American state in which alcohol is regulated primarily by bottling proof, not by type, which is that rare case of Ohio getting something right that the rest of the country has got wrong. Distribution-wise, RTDs have a level playing field there, but I think malt beverages still have a tax and, therefore, price advantage.