We're Bringing Spirits Back - May 23rd, 2022

We're Bringing Spirits Back 

As you may recall, in 2021 we had made the decision to adjust our general strategy and to move our focus away from spirits as we anticipated moving our focus towards beer and canned cocktail in the new year.  I am pleased to announce that this plan has changed and we are bringing spirits back.  
This was our plan, and this is how it's changed. 
To be brutally honest, our plan was to take our two core whiskeys, Chocasmoke and Five Pounds, to a flavor house and to have a stock whiskey from MGP flavored to taste like Chocasmoke and Five Pounds.  We were then taking these two flavored whiskeys and using them in two unique canned cocktails to ensure that we would have a constant supply of whiskey to keep up with canned cocktail production. 

Unfortunately, after several months of bench trials, attempting to get the flavor right, the quality of the products wasn't even close to meeting the standards we have for our whiskeys.  

For this reason we have made the decision to resume producing Chocasmoke and Five Pounds whiskeys in-house from our distillery and will be using these whiskeys both for our canned cocktail production, as well as laying down some additional barrels for future whiskey packaging.  
 
Although using a stock whiskey would have made this whole endeavor much easier, it's like the old saying goes, nothing worth doing is ever easy.  
We have just completed our first production runs of Five Pounds whiskey, and have rested 16 barrels of whiskey that will begin maturing in 53 gallon barrels.  Beginning in June, we'll begin producing Chocasmoke for our canned cocktail production, in addition to several new spirits including a new batch of gin, a rum, and some other new and exciting craft spirits to use for future canned cocktails.  
We are thrilled to announce that as of today we have received approval for Raley's.  Raley's operates over 124 stores in Northern California and Nevada, and were our primary retail distribution target for our recent expansion throughout the greater Sacramento area.  
As of this week we have also begun distribution with Bevmo and Total Wine, and have authorization to begin distribution throughout Southern California.  The addition of Bevmo will add 166 points of distribution to our footprint throughout the state, and the addition of Total Wine will add 32 points of distribution.  Similarly, we will begin selling our core six packs of beer into these new chain accounts and will be able to begin distributing our canned cocktails throughout their network upon completion of our first batches in August.  
Current Goals and Targets
We have submitted our presentations to Trader Joe's and Savemart and are optimistic of inclusion in both of their chains state-wide by the end of the year.  And we are very excited to be presenting to Safeway for inclusion in the Fall schematic state-wide for Safeway/Vons/Albertsons.  The addition of Albertsons would add on up to 2,277 additional points of distribution for us throughout their network in the coming 1-2 years.  

We are in final discussions with our potential distribution partner for Southern California and are hoping to have our contract finalized by June 1st, and are in contract negotiation with a key distribution partner for the peninsula to Fresno.  

The importance of state-wide coverage: 
Although building a distribution network of independent distributors is much more difficult, it allows us to find partners that align more closely with our brand values and vision for our company growth.  The addition of these two potential distributors will give us nearly full coverage of the state of California.  By having full distribution we will have the ability to present to our chain retail partners for inclusion in their statewide schematic and receive mandates for both our beer and spirits for statewide distribution.  
We look forward to sharing more updates with you all in the coming weeks and months as we continue to make progress towards bringing our line of Craft Canned Cocktails to market throughout California!  Thank you to all of you who have reinvested through WeFunder already.  If you haven't had a chance to view our progress yet, please view the campaign here.  

Thank you as always for your support!
WeFunder
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