Tasty Guides

Tif’s Spiked is Making Waves Across the Country

Karen Asp, Get Stocked Craft Beer Contributor

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How many times have you returned from a vacation wishing you could bring something specific about the experience home? For Tif Trevethan, she didn’t just wish for it; she did it.

Here’s the kicker, though: Not only did Tif recreate the vacation experience at home, she brought it to homes across the country. Today, Tif’s Spiked is on its way to becoming one of the most popular canned cocktails on the market.

Where There’s a Pitcher of Tif’s, There’s a Crowd

It’s hard to come back from any vacation, let alone a tropical one, without wishing you could bottle up the experience. Tif had the same thought, and after falling in love with a cocktail she enjoyed while on a tropical vacation in 2011, she turned to her bar at home to see if she could replicate it.

She spent hours tinkering with different concoctions, putting her own spin on them until she landed on one mixture she liked best. In fact, Tif loved her boozy lemonade so much that she kept a pitcher of it in the fridge at all times. Soon, it gained a mass following among her friends and family. They’d frequently stop by for “a cocktail at Tif’s,” even if they were on their way out.

“People would come over to the house and make a beeline for the refrigerator, sometimes even calling before they went out to ask if my mom could have a pitcher ready."

“People would come over to the house and make a beeline for the refrigerator, sometimes even calling before they went out to ask if my mom could have a pitcher ready,” says Kelsey Trevethan, Tif’s daughter, and Co-Founder/COO of Tif’s Spiked. However, there were two golden rules — “You couldn’t pour it until you stirred it first,” and it always had to be served over ice. What Tif didn’t know at the time, though, was that she was laying the foundation for her new business.

In 2019, Tif and her family began thinking bigger. If this cocktail was so beloved and arguably famous among people they knew, why not cast a wider net? “We created an LLC to see if we could bring it to market, and it was slow going at first, especially since we started during the pandemic,” Kelsey says. In 2021, the brand started producing its first product, and in August of 2022, Tif’s Spiked was officially launched.

Putting Experiences on the Palate

Canned cocktails are so popular that they make up the fastest-growing segment of the ready-to-drink category, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. With competition growing denser by the day, what makes Tif’s Spiked stand out? It all comes back to that singular vacation experience. “Ours are truly vacation cocktails like you’d find on a tropical beach,” Kelsey says. “Each sip transports you somewhere with their fun and unique flavors.”

That uniqueness is evident in Tif’s Spiked Lemonade, the signature cocktail that was introduced first. It’s the same recipe you would have found in Tif’s fridge back in the day, with one difference. “Because there’s light carbonation, you don’t have to stir or shake it,” Kelsey says.

Tif and Kelsey post next to a shiplap wall

Yet when the brand decided to branch into other flavors, Tif turned to her children and husband. Together, they collaborated on the new flavors, each one putting their flavor preferences into the mix if you will. In the end, the group created three new flavors, including the Spicy Marg, which contains jalapeño flavors, tequila, and passion fruit. Meanwhile, the Punch contains a blend of rum, strawberry, and pineapple flavors, and the Cooler contains vodka, cucumber, melon, and lime flavors. The Cooler contains 8% ABV versus 12% in the others, which is another unique selling point of Tif’s Spiked. “Many of the other canned cocktails on the market tend to be iterations of classic drinks or have lower ABVs,” Kelsey says.

There are also no preservatives in any of Tif’s products, and all of the products are gluten-free. Customer responses include “it tastes like summer” and “it tastes like spring break” — which makes it obvious that Tif’s Spiked is onto something. “Consumers have gotten used to expecting low-quality, poor-tasting cocktails, so they’re always surprised when they taste how good ours is,” Kelsey says.

Just ask celebrity Adam Sandler, who showed up at a Tif’s tasting in Los Angeles. “He said it was phenomenal.”

Going Back to Its Roots and Giving Back

Currently, Tif’s Spiked is distributed in California and New York, and you can purchase it online through Get Stocked. California makes sense, given that Tif’s Spiked is headquartered in Tahoe City, and the state’s climate makes it an ideal setting for these cocktails. But why New York?

“With summers spent packing picnics for Central Park and the West Side Highway or out in the Hamptons and Long Island, Tif’s is the perfect New York City drink to pack along and share with friends,” says Kelsey, who used to live in New York City and saw an opportunity to bring a piece of California to the East Coast.

The proximity of these states to water also makes Tif’s Spiked a good match. The company donates one percent of its profits to water-based organizations, including Surfrider Foundation and Clean Up the Lake.

“The focus on these organizations stems from my family’s passion for the outdoors and our roots,” Kelsey says. “We grew up close to the beach, watching surf competitions and wakeboarding and surfing on the lake, so helping these two organizations is at the heart of who we are.”

Of course, you don’t have to live in either of these states to sip Tif’s Spiked. “Tif’s is perfect for anybody who’s going to a beach or a park or just wants to sip a quality drink,” Kelsey says. It’s also well-suited for individuals who don’t want to buy all the ingredients to make a cocktail — something Kelsey appreciates having at dinner. She’ll often garnish it with jalapeños or a lemon wedge. Because it’s so easy to drink, she’ll sometimes pace herself and get two cocktails per can by adding some seltzer and fresh-squeezed lemon or lime.

While Tif’s Spiked is still in its infancy, they do have big plans for the future. Not only does the team hope to expand its distribution, but they also want to foster more community around the brand. “We are actively working to bring people together behind the brand by hosting events in our local communities, including beach clean-ups, concerts, and more,” Kelsey says.