Iowa's Favorite Canned Cocktail Was Discontinued

In the last 10 years, we've seen the rise of canned cocktails and mocktails permeate grocery and liquor store shelves across the country. Beverages like Twisted Tea, White Claw, and others are excellent alternatives for those who might not enjoy beer and don't want the harshness of something like whiskey or vodka.

Seeing the canned cocktail market explode has been both fascinating and overwhelming. In effort to try and put a lid on things and find the most popular all across the country, the website Upgraded Points did some research to determine the most popular variety in each state. Disappointingly, Iowa's favorited canned cocktail has been discontinued.

The Methodology Behind the Study:

Upgraded Points used Google Trends to determined the most popular canned cocktail/mocktail in each state:

To determine the most popular canned cocktails and mocktails in every U.S. state, we compiled a list of 74 popular canned cocktails and wines and 25 canned mocktails. We then analyzed the regional interest of the beverages on our list using Google Trends search data from May 2023 to May 2024. We used high search interest as an indicator of popularity. - per Upgraded Points' website

Iowa's Favorite Canned Cocktail is No More:

The fact that Iowa's favorite cocktail is no longer manufactured was a blow to me when I saw the news just a couple years ago. The most popular canned cocktail in Iowa is Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) Hard Coffee, which debuted in 2019 before being discontinued in 2022.

PBR Hard Coffee was an enigma on liquor store shelves. It tasted just like it sounds: like a spiked iced coffee, only the booze bite was minimal and the flavor was maximized. It was milky, chocolatey, and intensely drinkable. Sure, it found itself victim to joke and ridicule online, but having drank many with friends, I never found someone who said it didn't taste delicious.

Iowa's Trending Mocktail:

According to Upgraded Points, Iowa's most popular mocktail is a brand called Lyre's, which specializes in non-alcoholic spirits. Their branding and bottling looks unmistakably like traditional alcoholic beverages like American Malt Orange and Non-Alcoholic Gin, but they're packed with flavor fusions as opposed to booze.

The Most Popular Canned Cocktail in the US:

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the most popular canned cocktail in America is High Noon, which continue to be a staple at many functions, concerts, and bars in general:

Launched in 2019, High Noon has quickly become the most popular choice in 7 states. The cocktail’s appeal lies in its crisp, refreshing vodka soda variants, available in fruity flavors like peach and watermelon. High Noon’s light and satisfying taste is a perfect fit in Kansas and Oklahoma, where the summers are hot. But the popularity isn’t geographical, as this cocktail is beloved from Rhode Island to Wyoming and many states in between. - per Upgraded Points' website