It's no secret that I love a good drink. I enjoy few things more that a good spritz by the pool, margarita on the porch or hell, a rum punch for no reason at all. What I don't love is always being the one having to make them. For all of Shep's qualities, being a good mixologist just isn't one of them which means that more often than not, I'm the one serving him.

Over the past few years, the wine and spirits community has gone through some really cool changes, one being pre-made cocktails that don't taste like ass and are actually a joy to drink. When you think about it, having canned or easily portable drinks readily available makes a lot of sense. For one, because they travel so well it's easy to take them along to cook outs, beach trips and even on family walks (as I do almost every evening).

Canned cocktails also allow people to try out different drinks made with ingredients or spirits they might otherwise not be open to, without requiring them to by a bunch of crap they might never use again. In a word, a delicious portable buzz is something we all deserve.

I've got a fair amount of travel coming up this summer and I'm so excited to venture into the world with cocktails that are fun to drink and ones I didn't have to make. Here are a few of the brands I've gotten to test out and am absolutely in love with.

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I hope you find them tasty as too.

Straight Away Cocktail

If you follow me on Instagram then you know what a huge fan of Straight Away Cocktails I am. The Portland based company specializes in ready-to-consume cocktails like their bottled Old Fashioned, Paper Plane and Negroni as well as some canned sprtizes. The company was kind enough to send me a four pack sample of their most popular canned offerings and I was such a fan I literally ordered $300+ dollars worth of their stuff (shhhh do not tell this to Shep). I usually have a spritz every evening when we go for our family walks. While all of their cocktails are hitters, my favorite of their spritzes are the Apicco and Fiore. Cocktail wise, I'm loving The Swizzle, a rum based drink with fruity/tropical flavors and the Lintik which basically tastes like my dream gimlet.

Phreshly

This young Black-owned company is coming for their rightful place in your hands this summer. This majority women-led brand hopes to introduce consumers to flavors that are inspired by the founders Ghanian and Louisianan roots. As a descendant of Louisiana myself, I was always going to rep this company, but their cocktails are seriously AMAZING. Again, Phreshly sent me two samples to try but I actually truly love them (this isn't sponsored at all btw, I would have just left them out of this round up if their drinks were trash). So far, Phreshly offers two canned cocktails with plans to expand. The Bay Lemonade is a bourbon based sipper with bright elements like freshly squeezed lemon juice, floral lavender and sweet strawberries. The G'iddem  tastes like someone blended up just picked blackberries and thought "hey, let me blend this with some rum and see what happens." The result is a beverage that isn't syrupy sweet, just damn good. Oh, did I mention they're based in Atlanta? All my locals run to get a few cans before everyone else finds out. If you normally go for sweeter, balanced cocktails, Phreshly is right up your alley.

Tip Top Cocktails

Wait, does Atlanta have the market cornered on bussin canned cocktails cause....Tip Top's offering certainly make it seem like it. This company is the brainchild of a few music execs who got tired of shitty cocktails at large festivals. They reached to out Atlanta mixologist legend Miles Macquarrie of Kimball House and boom...perfection was born. I got a chance to try a few of Tip Top's cocktails at a oyster festival last summer and loved them immediately. In my humble opinion, their best drink is the daiquiri. Literally all you need to do is chill it and pour it into a coup glass. I also really like their Old Fashioned but I think it could use a little something, maybe a little Luxardo cherry juice? My girlfriend got us all the Manhattans as a party favor for her 35th birthday and I thought that was really yummy too...no notes. I can't wait to try the Bee's Knees and Negroni and let you know my thoughts.

On The Rocks

On The Rocks was my first foray into pre-made cocktails and honestly, it was an accident. The Cinco De Mayo that got me pregnant (yup), I had gone to a liquor store to grab a bottle of tequila to a batch of my famous margaritas. I saw these cute little bottled cocktails and decided to try a few. Once I got home, I cracked them open and holy crap...yumminess in my mouth. We tried the Mai Tai and the Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita. Both were delicious. One of my favorite things about the brand is that they partner with well known spirit producers like Knob Creek, Cruzan and Hornitos to craft their incredible creations. If you're unsure of what you or your friends would like, by a few different bottles and throw them into the cooler. Trust me, someone will like something