CODO Design, a leading food and beverage branding firm, is launching NEAT® Cocktails, a “spirit-forward” canned RTD cocktail brand.

Neat is a line of uniquely positioned, disruptive, canned RTD cocktails that features whiskey—and nothing else. “The beauty of Neat Cocktails lies in its simplicity,” explains CODO cofounder Isaac Arthur. “It’s just whiskey. We’ll offer different kinds of whiskey—bourbon, rye, and so forth—but at the end of the day, it’s not so much a cocktail as it is just whiskey in a can.”

We’ve seen a lot of RTD brands boast about being spirit-forward. Well, we’re taking that idea to the next level,” proudly states CODO cofounder Cody Fague. “The thing is, we don’t really know that much about mixology. But we do know a thing or two about whiskey. So we focused on what we know, ditched the rest and are ready to saturate the market in Q2.”

When developing the NEAT brand, CODO explored several different initial concepts. “We looked at making an active lifestyle beverage—think electrolytes + whiskey. We considered mixing kombucha and whiskey, but that ended up tasting a bit brackish. We even briefly considered canning milk and whiskey,” recalls Fague with a wince. “But we found that to be… not particularly shelf stable.”

The can shortage plaguing the beverage industry has delayed the project, but CODO remains optimistic for a strong Q2 launch. “It [the can shortage] has definitely been a challenge,” reports Arthur. “We’ve had to pivot and use a variety of different formats, essentially purchasing any type of aluminum we could find, including crowlers and stovepipes.”

After months of market testing, CODO found a crowler of whiskey to be a tad too large a serving size, whereas the 19.2oz format suggests sharing this whiskey with “no more than a single friend.”

“Nearly 20 ounces of unadulterated whiskey in an attractive can? What bartender can compete with that?” Arthur boasts.

Look for NeatCocktails to hit the market on April 1, 2021 and debut with its flagship RTDs, Neat Rye and Neat Bourbon.