How Long Do You Really Have Before Your Canned Cocktail Goes Bad?

Canned cocktails are a common sight on liquor store shelves these days — from canned whiskey highballs to ready-to-drink Moscow mules and daiquiris. These beverages come pre-mixed and require no bartending knowledge, with all the extras added right in for you. Canned cocktails are certainly compact and convenient, and they last much longer than the juices and syrups you might use to make a cocktail at home. But exactly how much longer do they last?

If you store your canned cocktails properly, these beverages have a decently long shelf life. Canned cocktails, at their maximum, typically last between 18 and 24 months depending on ABV. (However, some may only last six months.) This means you can continue enjoying your canned beverages for months or even years to come (though many are too delicious to last that long in our fridge). There's usually a "best by" date stamped on the bottom of alcoholic beverages, so refer to that if you're unsure. And be sure to read the packaging before putting the drinks away — knowing how to store your cans properly will help increase their shelf life, as some beverages will need to be refrigerated versus stored in a cool, dark place.

If you let that canned cocktail sit a bit too long, what happens? Over time, alcohol will start to degrade, mixers will start to lose their punch, and the whole drink will lose its flavor. While alcoholic drinks won't expire in the traditional sense (they don't typically go bad in the same way that foods can go bad and make you sick), the loss of quality will still be noticeable. It's always best to eat food and drink beverages sooner rather than later (aside from rare cases, like aging cheeses and wines), as the fresher, the higher in quality.

Luckily, it takes a long time for canned cocktails to get to that point. Bottled cocktails, on the other hand, go bad quite a bit faster. Rather than lasting for over a year, these drinks usually only last a few months before quality starts to take a nosedive. This is because light and oxygen can get into bottles much more quickly than cans, causing oxidation and degradation.

Of course, the above all refers to canned alcohol that is still sealed. Once you've opened a canned cocktail, it's important to drink the contents as quickly as possible. Once the seal on the can breaks, light and air flood in and can degrade the quality in just days or even hours. If there's any carbonation in the can, this will also go flat quickly, just like with beer and soda — leaving you with something far less delicious than what you started with.

If you can't finish that canned cocktail, you can put it back in the fridge with some cling wrap around the top, or a plastic can lid to seal out as much light and air as possible. You'll still want to finish it within the next 24 hours at most. Or you could share your drink with a friend to make sure it gets consumed before going bad. Either way, remember to drink responsibly and enjoy.