Zacal Mezcal has launched the Zacalita, a new bartender‑quality canned cocktail created in collaboration with the teams behind London’s Dram Bar and Paris’s De Vie — a move that marks the Michoacán mezcal producer’s first step into the fast‑growing ready‑to‑drink category.

Bartender-built twist on the Margarita

The Zacalita is positioned as a less‑ordinary take on the Margarita, built around Zacal’s triple‑distilled Manso Sahuayo mezcal and lifted with High Fidelity Triple Sec and a black cardamom distillate. The result is a lightly carbonated serve with a smoky, savoury, aromatic profile that aims to deliver genuine bar‑quality flavour from a can.

The lower‑than‑category ABV is intentional — designed to create a more refined, refreshing, easy‑drinking serve without compromising flavour.

Built by leading bartenders

The Zacalita was developed by a team with deep roots in European cocktail culture:

• Chris Tanner, founder of Dram and All My Gods, led the recipe development.
• Rory Shepherd, co‑owner of De Vie and partner at Avant Agency, co‑created the serve.
• The Triple Sec component was co‑developed by acclaimed chef Ashley Palmer‑Watts, co‑founder of Soho’s The Devonshire.

Tanner describes the goal as creating a drink that “tasted like it had come from behind the bar, not off a production line,” with black cardamom providing the unexpected savoury lift that sets the Zacalita apart.

A mezcal with a distinctive origin

The cocktail is anchored by Zacal’s multi‑award‑winning triple‑distilled mezcal, produced in the volcanic highlands of Michoacán — a departure from the Oaxaca‑dominated mezcal landscape. Zacal is made in partnership with third‑generation mezcalero Milton Ochoa, who distils each batch at his family vinata.

The can design draws inspiration from Parícutin, the world’s youngest volcano, and was created by Zacal’s creative director Aldo Álvarez Tostado and James Fleming of Gigantic Creative. The packaging is fully recyclable.

Zacal’s move into RTDs reflects the evolution of canned cocktails from convenience-led “train tinnies” to a format capable of delivering serious craft credentials. Bartender-led releases like the Zacalita are helping redefine expectations of what the category can deliver.

Co-founder Phil Clayton says the idea accelerated after the Zacalita debuted at Zacal’s Day After the Dead party last November: “People couldn’t believe the serve came from a can. That reaction moved the whole thing forward.”