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RTDs Explained: What Is in the Can, and How Strong Is It?
RTDs explained: what is in a ready-to-drink can, how to read the label for strength, standard drinks and sugar, and the difference between 4.8% and 7%.
What is an RTD?
Spirit based or malt based.
An RTD, or ready-to-drink, is a canned drink that is already mixed. A spirit based RTD is a real spirit, such as vodka, gin or whisky, with a mixer. A malt based one is brewed like a beer and then flavoured.
The label tells you which. Look for the spirit named on the front.
How do you read an RTD label?
Four numbers worth checking.
The strength and the standard drinks matter most: they tell you how much alcohol is really in the can.
In New Zealand one standard drink is 10 grams of alcohol.
4.8% or 7%?
A 4.8% can
- In a 330ml can
- About 1.3 standard drinks
- Feels like
- A beer
- Best for
- A relaxed afternoon, with food
A 7% can
- In a 330ml can
- About 1.8 standard drinks
- Feels like
- A strong mixed drink
- Best for
- One, slowly
Does sugar change how strong it feels?
Sweet drinks hide their strength.
A sweet 7% can tastes like a soft drink, so it goes down quicker. Zero sugar versions taste drier and more like the spirit and mixer they are made from.
The Classic gift box
Giving a bottle as a gift?
Choose a bottle and we box it with treats, wrapped and delivered NZ wide.
- Includes
- Chocolate, savoury nibble, something sweet
- You choose
- The bottle
Quick answers
What is the difference between a 4.8% and a 7% RTD?
A 7% can has about 45% more alcohol. It goes down quicker than you expect.
How many standard drinks in an RTD?
A 330ml can at 4.8% is about 1.3; at 7% about 1.8.
What does spirit based mean?
It is made with a real spirit and a mixer, not brewed like a beer.
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