What is in that can you’re holding? Anchovies? Someone’s tuna lunch? Or is it an inconspicuous (and linguistically genius) tin martini?
Martinis, traditionally served in conical glassware or a cocktail stem, are being reappropriated to be served from industrial tins or cans; building off the trends of craft packaging and premixed cocktails, mar-tin-is are gaining momentum in Australia, London and beyond.
For true can-on-can pairing, Newtown, Australia’s Continental Deli Bar and Bistro offers tinned martinis paired with traditional canned counterparts—sardines, anchovies, corn and peas. Part exotic import delicatessen, part restaurant and cocktail bar, Continental Deli places equal emphasis—and design consideration—towards beverage and snack.
On the other side of the globe, London’s Hotel Megaro offers a nautical spin on the canning trend with the Fisherman’s Can Martini. The drink is a sultry mix of Plymouth Gin, dry vermouth and the bar’s house essence, Old Man and the Sea — an aromatised Vermouth, infused with dried kelp and umami reduction for a oceanside flavor. Served as a pour-your-own cocktail, Fisherman’s Can Martini strikes a balance between salty seafaring and smooth, sophisticated gin.
Is there any benefit to preserving cocktails in canning? Theoretically, no. The water-based polymer coating inside tins and cans stops alcohol from ever coming into direct contact with aluminum, preventing contamination or container erosion. Some drinkers, however, swear they can taste the novelty difference.
In fact, pre-mixed cocktails—whether in bottles, tins or cans—are resurging from the days of unrefined grocery-store margaritas to emerge as a dominant industry trend. As most novelty food packaging movements go, form is free to play, as long as ingredients and careful preparation remain the true stars of the show.
