Boulevard Brewing Co. is one of the oldest, most respected names in craft brewing today. For 30 years, the Missouri company has built a reputation for brewing a diverse portfolio of ales, pales, and everything in between. And we have been proud to be a part of their journey across the nation (and beyond), bringing beloved beers to the consumers who crave them.
Today, we are delighted to announce that our friends at Boulevard have undertaken a new and exciting “side hustle,” one which holds great promise for any business with a refrigerator: Fling Craft Cocktails.
This exciting new lineup of canned, RTDs delivers the same high-quality, flavor-focused drinks Boulevard is renowned for creating, opening up new and fertile fields of taste for Boulevard’s expert team to explore.
CAN it Get Any Better?
Boulevard knows how to elevate beverages, and that’s just what they’ve done with the Fling. According to the company, Fling Craft Cocktails are all-natural and gluten-free, which have proven to be powerful motivators for younger, health-conscious consumers.
The portfolio so far includes flavors such as Blood Orange Vodka Soda, Cucumber Lime Gin and Tonic, Mai Tai, and Margarita. Not only are these cans packed with flavor, they’re also lighter on calories and carbs, with the lightest, Orange Vodka Soda, coming in at only 100 calories and 2.4g of carbs per can.
In a recent statement, Boulevard’s President Jeff Krum shared his excitement, saying “Our little side hustle started as an interesting diversion, but it’s taken on a life of its own. While we’ll always remain first and foremost a craft brewer, sometimes you just want something different. We have the facilities and the equipment and the talent to make all kinds of interesting and delicious beverages, and we’re excited by the opportunity to give consumers more choices, to go where they go.”
The Boulevard Way
Diversifying their portfolio to include cocktails was a big decision for Boulevard, and not one taken lightly, according to Krum.
“We spent 30 years developing a reputation for only producing superior beer,” he said. “We were sure not going to squander that by simply trying to rush something to the market that in itself was not exceptional. We were much more concerned in getting it right and having really outstanding cocktails that we’re proud to put our names on than rush it and do it quickly.”
That process included a lot of experimentation, and pushing the envelope, by Boulevard’s experienced team of beverage artists. It got a little weird, according to Natalie Gershon, Boulevard’s Vice President of Marketing. “Some were wildly different and esoteric and some were more familiar,” she said. “We kind of had to innovate around those … and step back and ask who we want to be? It was a process to get to four.”
Those four are built upon some incredible local ingredients, too. The Blood Orange Vodka Soda includes 360 Vodka, while Cucumber Lime Gin and Tonic is powered by Builders Botanical Gin — both local spirits to the Kansas City, Mo. area. The Margarita is also based on a local spirit: Mean Mule American Agave spirit. The Mai Tai, on the other hand, delivers an exotic experience with Virgin Islands rum.
POPular Demand
RTDs and canned cocktails are big business and getting bigger every year as consumers look for high-quality, portable, and easy options for their drinking experiences. At Breakthru, we are excited to see how Boulevard’s “side hustle” capitalizes on this growing demand now and in the coming years. Call your Breakthru Sales Consultant today to find out more about these awesome cocktails and how they can help grow your business.