“In Spain, there’s a tradition called la hora del vermut,” says Cueva Nueva founder Phi Peinado. “It’s a midday pause where people gather at their neighborhood bar, share salty snacks, good conversation, and a couple glasses of vermut.”

This tradition isn’t happy hour, he’s quick to emphasize, It’s about celebrating the day while it’s still unfolding. It’s also, according to him, unpretentious, communal and “uniquely Spanish”.

His brand, Cueva Nueva – which he set up together with co-founder David Neimanis – is a way of grabbing that feeling, bottling it, and inviting the world into a tradition that’s about slowing down and enjoying the moment.

Why don’t more people drink vermouth?

It’s fair to say that vermouth isn’t one of the buzzy drinks of the moment. And that’s a terrible shame because having tried Cueva Nueva, it’s exceptional.

According to Phi, it’s a very misunderstood drink. Most people don’t realise it’s a wine, he says, or that it can be enjoyed on its own. It’s also been seen as the least exciting part of many classic cocktails – the one ingredient it’s ok to cheap out on.

It’s actually a different story in Spain, where it is buzzy. Vermut culture was fading away with an older generation, but around 2007 younger drinkers started becoming curious about the category and reclaiming it, prompting a wave of new vermut bars across the country.

“People who travel to Spain usually understand the hype pretty quickly,” he says. “You’re hard-pressed to find a bar or sunny terrace where vermut isn’t being enjoyed. But there hasn’t been much effort to export that culture – not just the product – to foreign markets.”

Phi thinks there’s a huge space here. Consumers want lower-ABV drinks, they want global flavors, and they want more affordable ways to drink. “There’s a lot of room for vermouth to finally make some noise,” he says.

Ok, so how is Cueva Nueva going to do it?

Cueva Nueva isn’t reinventing a category, it’s borrowing from a much-loved and very successful culture. Phi says he’s not expecting Americans to stream into old-school Spanish tabernas at 11am and sup on a round of vermut (shame). But he does expect them to enjoy Cueva Nueva in dive bars, at aperitivo-focused wine bars and in neighborhood watering holes that have already mastered the same kind of vibe.

“Our job is to find how the spirit of la hora del vermut can live within the existing US culture,” he says. “We show people how we like to enjoy it, through happy hour events, parties, and an organic, culture-forward content strategy.”

Phi says European imports into the US market often play on ‘fanciness’. In contrast, Cueva Nueva is showing up where people are drinking, and taking the vermut culture to them.

QUICK FACT: that’s why it’s called Cueva Nueva, which translates to ‘new cave’. “It’s this idea that new caves aren’t created; they’re rediscovered,” says Phi.

What’s working?

Cueva Nueva’s strategy is disarmingly simple: it’s run by two guys living a great life in Spain, and that is the brand.

Phi says him and his co-founder have always been clear that they’re building the brand for themselves, and they trust their own taste. They’ve made a liquid that they love; they’ve put it in a bottle that they think looks great; they host parties they’d actually want to attend; and they create content that they’d stop scrolling for.

“Instead of over-analyzing what other people might want, we focus on doing what feels right to us, and doing it well. That mindset also helps when you’re operating with startup constraints. It keeps decisions simple and honest. And while it might sound a little conceited, the reality is pretty straightforward: if we’re not fully bought into the idea, why would anyone else want to join the party?”

This attitude comes through in their website, which shares thoughts on must-visit tapas spots and musings on why la hora del vermut is so special. It also shows up on their Instagram, where they share candid photos of people enjoying tapas, drinks and bars in Spain. It’s all very likeable.

“Unlike larger brands, our content strategy usually starts with a dumb idea and one of us saying, Okay, let’s do it right now before we talk ourselves out of it,” explains Phi. “The philosophy is pretty simple: if we want to win, we need to have more fun than everyone else.”

That fun part feels extremely important. In the world of big bev brands there’s a lot of lofty statements, and glossy film and overpromising. There’s something appealing about stripping it all back to something simple and real: two guys, enjoying some drinks in the sun, with some friends.

Finally, a word on distribution

Phi says that when they started Cueva Nueva, they partnered with an importer that focused on natural wines from Spain. It made sense, because vermouth technically lives in the wine category, and this partnership would give them access to cool kid wine shops and bars without massive marketing budgets.

But they were struggling to access the classic neighborhood bars they imagined themselves in – where vermouth would sit happily alongside a round of beers. These bars wouldn’t hit minimums with products that weren’t core to their business, says Phi.

So the brand shifted to a different partner that functions more like a traditional wine and spirits importer – and it’s working.

“At the end of the day, bars need to be able to add a case of vermouth onto their gin and whiskey order,” says Phi.

Finally, in New Rules tradition we asked:

What’s the brutal truth you’ve learned about building a bev/alc brand?

“Early on, it’s tempting to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way because you want to reach more drinkers. But if you can’t fully support a market, show up properly for a partner, or invest in an idea the right way, you end up stretching yourself too thin, and doing a mediocre job everywhere.”

And, is there anything you’d do differently or tell other founders to do differently?

“The main advice we’d give other founders is: don’t wait so long. Just get started and get people interacting with the product. Keep it simple. Once you start, there’s no turning back, and that’s a good thing. It won’t be perfect out of the gate, but starting sooner helps you understand what actually isn’t working and fix it along the way.”

THE NEW RULE

It’s tempting to think brand-building is long and complicated, and requires a lot of deep strategy. Sometimes it does. But sometimes you just need a simple philosophy, and the willingness to stick to it.

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The food and bev space, right now, is plagued by trend blindness. Entire brands are being built around protein, fibre, adaptogens, beef tallow… whatever founders can grab onto.

The truth is that humans are fickle, and it’s easy to mistake a flash in the pan moment for a long-term business strategy. Good brands don’t care about trends; they care about carving their own path, and ploughing their own furrow – in a field, two fields over.

That’s where Esther founders Margaret Kerr-Jarrett and Emunah Winer (also the founders of Nihilo, the agency behind this newsletter) are right now, as they build a new kind of rum brand.

Why rum? It’s a huge category. The ultra-premium part of it is one of the only spirits categories that’s growing year-on-year, and around a fourth of cocktails consumed in the US are rum cocktails.

“Many people drink rum,” says Margaret. “But people don’t have any brand association with rum, and they don’t think about it in the same way as other categories like gin or vodka or wine, where they have brands they like and know and relate to.”

No pirates, thanks

Esther launched earlier this year (it’s currently on sale at 20 stores in Ohio - where the founders live - and shipping to most states at drinkesther.com) and it brings a completely different take on rum. It’s 100% Colombian rum - grass to glass - and it’s not sugary, it’s not covered in pirates and palm trees, and it doesn’t use any of the other lazy tropes.

Instead, Margy and Emunah made great, surprising liquid (its a unique blend of pot still and column still rum, and the flavor profile is a nod to reposado tequila), and then placed a bet on one major brand asset: that green cap.

“It’s cool to test real language and positioning in the market,” says Emunah. “And the thing that we set out to do is working: the green cap is capping. Everyone, from a mile away, is like ‘get the one with the green cap’.”

That cap was a very early decision, according to Emunah, who says they quickly realized that they needed a cost-effective, different way to disrupt the packaging. The business wasn’t at the point of investing in a custom glass mold, so they landed on the cap as a strategic solution. It would be the visual point of differentiation, and the thing to make Esther stand out on-shelf.

The big, beautiful cap

Getting the cap right took months of R&D. To start with, it’s huge (really, you have to see it in real life). “That meant we had to go in circles, finding the right bottle with the right threading to work with a screw cap that would still feel proportionally ok,” explains Emunah.

Once the practical wrinkles were ironed out, the pair started exploring more aesthetic considerations. The shape had to feel iconic and ownable – not a cube or an orb, but something identifiably theirs. And the color had to work equally hard.

“The green was something we landed on,” says Emunah. “It’s the colour of sugar cane, but that’s just a coincidence. The truth is it’s nothing like anybody would ever expect. We feel like it can cross generations between Gen Z, feeling like it’s punk rock, and older consumers feeling like it’s interesting and weird, but still appealing to them.”

The cap also plays well in the long-term as the brand scales and potentially changes bottles – it might get bigger or subtly change shape, but Esther will always be, as Emunah says, “the one with the big green cap”.

What is a disruptive brand, really?

We’re talking about the cap a lot because it does exactly what branding is meant to do – it stops people, it makes them ask a question, and it opens up a silent conversation.

“Most people aren’t walking around thinking about rum,” says Emunah. “We have to first make them think about rum, and the only way to do that is to grab their attention and make them be curious. I’d rather somebody engage with this from a point of curiosity than not at all, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“Often we get the question: why the green. The answer is because you’re asking why. That’s what being disruptive means – it’s not for the sake of it, it’s disruptive because the only way people are going to learn that they like rum is by us forcing them to think about it in some way.”

Think about what Patrón has done for tequila, turning it from a throwaway drink you’d do shots of to a spirit you can sip. Then think about the fantastical world Hendrick’s has built around gin, to emphasize that it’s not a dusty old person’s drink.

The right brand can upheave an entire category. That’s Esther’s ultimate goal.

Looking good won’t fix rum… but Esther might

It’s not that there aren’t other rum brands, also hoping to remind people why rum is so great. The problem is that many of them think designing a clean, neat label is enough to do so, says Margaret. Esther has the branding, yes, but it’s also addressing some of rum’s other challenges: flavor and narrative.

When it comes to taste, most rums have additives, they’re sweet, and they’re often found in sticky, sugary cocktails. In contrast, Esther is additive-free, and it’s smoother and more sippable, it has a unique grassy undertone that plays well in cocktails of all kinds, and its more likely to win over drinkers.

The second problem comes down to communication and storytelling. People don’t care about the tired old story of pirates, and unlike other spirits, such as tequila, rum can’t trade on a clear narrative around origins and making either. What Emunah and Margy are aiming to do with Esther is chart a new chapter:

Forget what you think you know about rum, ignore the same old story you’ve heard before, and try this instead.

THE NEW RULE:

There’s always room for a new voice in a category – the trick is finding the angle, narrative or iconic bit of branding that lets you tap into what’s missing, and create your own space to build from.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY TEXT ESTHER: 614-260-6707

www.drinkesther.com (ships rum to most states)

IG: @drinkesther

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Let’s set the scene: you’re in the Catskills, on a weekend getaway, and all you’re drinking is a homemade cocktail of vodka, fresh garden herbs and cold-pressed coconut water. It’s delicious. It’s refreshing. And suddenly you say: “It’s Mother’s Milk”. A brand is born.

Ok, it’s not quite as easy as that, but as origin stories go, it’s a good one.

A brand built for “better and smarter” partying

Founders Kristie Kish and Jennifer Roman-Matito describe this as the light bulb moment behind Mother’s Milk – an RTD brand that’s built around partying “better and smarter”.

“As we got older, of course, the hangovers became longer and harder and we wanted to be better to our bodies,” says Kristie. “We wanted to get cocktails during the week and still wake up for that early morning yoga class.”

This is the driving philosophy behind Mother’s Milk – and it’s one that’s resonating. Kristie says the response to their RTD coconut water cocktails is often “where have you been all my life?” Or, sometimes, “I need this at all my parties”.

“Mother’s Milk has proven to be cult-worthy,” she says. “It’s super-niche, different and oddly addicting. It solves a problem for today’s consumers who want to feel good AND have a good time.”

We love a niche

Undoubtedly, Mother’s Milk is in an interesting space of its own. It’s not alcohol-free, and it’s not low-alc, but it is bundling a sense of goodness and wellness alongside drinking.

Companies are now being built as a ‘sidecar’ to booze and partying - anti-hangover supplements, pre-drinking drinks that promise to soothe next-day scaries, powders that boost you post-rave. It’s a new sector of liminal brands, and we think they’re onto something.

“If you look at broader cultural and consumer trends, you’ll see a clear shift toward more mindful drinking,” says Kristie, “and that aligns perfectly with what Mother’s Milk is doing. We’re tapping into that moment by putting the good stuff directly into the drink, instead of asking people to fix the problem afterward.

“You see it with things like probiotic sodas - they satisfy a craving while also offering a functional benefit. We’re creating a new category that merges wellness and party culture.”

As we’ve written about before: drinking is being renegotiated.

A brand built by an animator and a hospitality pro

Neither Kristie nor Jen have CPG experience. Kristie is a former freelance animator for Nickelodeon, and Jen worked in the hospitality industry, running events for hotels.

However, Kristie’s background in design and animation was pivotal in shaping the visual identity, packaging and website, and Jen’s hospitality experience and knowledge of the NYC food and bev scene has informed how they show up via IRL activations, and on-premise strategy (or, as Kristie charmingly puts it: “cans in hands, sips to lips”).

That visual branding in particular, says Kristie, has been a major part of Mother’s Milk’s success. Rather than a tool to sell product, it’s intended to convey a feeling or experience – something aspirational and desirable. “It’s that daydream of being on vacation,” as Kristie says. “Or being the wellness girlie who also knows how to party.

“Consumers today want brands that feel authentic, cultural, and real - no fluff, no BS. I think MM feels refreshing because it doesn’t talk at people. It invites them in, and that’s something people genuinely connect with.”

Mother’s Milk knows its people

Beyond the visual identity, what’s working for the brand has been understanding exactly who likes Mother’s Milk and then doubling down on them. Jen says the brand has leaned into a highly targeted, community-driven approach – “a zipcode strategy if you will” – that places the brand in bars and restaurants in specific areas, and then activates nearby liquor stores or supports local events in close proximity.

According to her: “By concentrating our efforts geographically, we’re able to build real awareness, trial, and loyalty instead of spreading ourselves too thin.”

Finally, in The New Rules tradition we asked

What’s the brutal truth you’ve learned about building a bev/alc brand?

“I would have to say three things. One, it’s more political than I ever imagined! Two, foundationally, this is a relationship-driven business. Three, label transparency does not exist in alcohol. We aim to change that.” - Jen

With hindsight what would you do differently or recommend other founders do differently?

“If I’m being brutally honest, if the product is not incredibly unique, and new to the market, just don’t do it. I would also emphasize how often I taste a great product, but the branding and brand identity falls flat.

And vice versa, I’ve tried horrible beverages with horrible ingredients, but the branding and brand identity are spot on connecting with their target demographic.

In 2026, it is equally as important to build a well curated product while simultaneously launching a brand that speaks to it. You cannot have one without the other.” - Jen

NEW RULE

It’s ok to be in a slightly awkward, slightly niche category - if you know who your people are and how to connect with them.

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“Fermentation has always fascinated me,” says JIN JIN founder Sohn Supradya Aursudkij. “There’s something almost magical about the way it transforms simple ingredients into something layered, textured and alive with flavor.”

Let’s stop. What does that description remind you of? Maybe a fine wine? An aged whiskey? A craft beer?

The criticism of alcohol-free or non-alc options is often the same: they lack depth, they lack complexity, and they lack nuance. But JIN JIN has all those things in spades. As Sohn says, it has “a gentle complexity you simply can’t fake”.

“Alcohol sets a certain expectation around flavor: depth and a sense of indulgence,” she adds. “Many alcohol-free drinks don’t naturally offer that but fermentation does.”

Clear brand, clear story

Sohn set up JIN JIN in 2019 originally launching it as a personal project. The brand is deeply embedded in her own life – named after her mum, and inspired by her dad who first introduced her to fermented enzyme cordial (a traditional drink in East Asia). JIN JIN’s recipe is inspired by that experience, as well as Sohn’s research into centuries-old Asian methods of fermentation.

Fermented cordials are still relatively new to the West, and therein lies the brand’s power and its challenge. “When a drink doesn’t fit neatly into an existing category, people don’t know what to expect,” says Sohn.

How do you overcome that? It’s all the tried-and-test ways: stronger branding (JIN JIN rebranded in 2025), clearer messaging, more education, and helping people understand how to experience the drink (with sparkling water, in a non-alc cocktail, or as a daily ritual). As she says: “We learned quickly that storytelling is everything.”

And Sohn has seen “fascinating and often quite beautiful” responses to the JIN JIN experience. People have compared it to everything from ‘good’ Coca-Cola to balsamic, prune or plum drinks, as well as soy sauce. “What I love most is that people connect it to their own memories. That’s when you know a flavor has real soul.”

Our take? Being a bit divisive when it comes to flavor can be a good thing. Just think about Sylva (featured in our 2026 report). Or Mother Root. Or Laphroig.

How JIN JIN grows

The brand is on the menu at assorted wine bars and dining spots, as well as London department store Fortnum & Mason, but for now they’re focused mostly on direct-to-consumer. Sohn says their research shows people need to discover the drink from the brand first to really understand it.

Notably, JIN JIN is one of a wave of brands translating Asian flavors and traditions over to Europe and the US. “From soju to kombucha to regional drinks and ferments, they all have deep histories and beautiful craftsmanship behind them and people appreciate that now more than ever,” says Sohn.

“There used to be outdated perceptions about Asian products not meeting certain standards, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are so many premium, carefully made foods and drinks coming from Asia. People today care about authenticity and story, and Asian flavors offer both.”

Finally, in New Rules tradition, we asked Sohn:

What’s the brutal truth you’ve learned about building a bev/alc brand?

It looks glamorous from the outside, but it’s hard graft and endless resilience. Everything takes longer than you expect. Every detail matters. And you have to fall in love with the process, not just the product.

Also... no matter how good your drink is, without strong branding and clear communication, people won’t know why they should care.

With hindsight, Is there anything you’d do differently

I’d tell founders to invest in brand clarity earlier. It’s not about fancy design; it’s about communicating who you are and why you exist. As a founder, you know your product inside out but the world doesn’t. And when you try to say everything at once, you end up saying nothing clearly.

---

THE NEW RULE:

If you’re operating in a new category, forget how great your product is for a second. Communicate with absolute clarity first and foremost, and then let your exceptional liquid do the talking.

The New Rules is a labor of love by nihilo.agency

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For decades, aragh sagi1 has been banned in Iran (the country has been dry since 1979).

That doesn’t mean people aren’t making this raisin-based spirit, however. Speak to SAG founders Amir, Sasan, Siavash and Saman, and they’ll tell you the generations-old recipe went underground, passed down through families and made by uncles and friends behind closed doors.

It’s a recipe they’re now making in New York – and building as a bev/alc brand. The label, the dog mascot, the excellent playlists they share on their website? It’s all part of the SAG brand world, and it’s all extremely charming.

A brand born out of homesickness

The four of them haven’t been back to Iran for 14 years, and they found themselves missing aragh sagi; not just the drink, but the experience of getting together with friends to enjoy it.

“Aragh sagi is like a smooth, Iranian version of Grappa,” explains Amir. “Every society or culture will turn their sugary fruit into delicious alcohol. You can think of sag like an unaged brandy, but made with raisins.”

Sassan started making it only to share amongst themselves at first, but friends loved it. The SAG brand was born.

And because both Sasan and Saman are artists, it was born with a deep level of love, care and artistry. They’ve created the brand world themselves, designing the black-and-white label (and pulling in an artist friend to create the linocut dog’s head at the heart of it). They also manage SAG RADIO: a set of playlists that we couldn’t recommend more (why don’t more bev/alc brands do this kind of thing?)

Let’s talk about the dog

That dog mascot (sag in Farsi literally means the dog) references an iconic Iranian aragh brand that had a beagle photo on the bottle – which was so popular people would go to liquor stores and say: “I want that doggie”. This New York interpretation is an homage to that, according to Amir.

“We’re bringing a piece of memory of the Iranian drinking culture,” he says.

And that bottle design has worked as a major selling point, with Amir saying bar managers see the bottle and are “already locked in”.

7,000 pounds of Cali sun-dried raisins

To make aragh sagi you need raisins. A lot of raisins. According to Amir, 7,000 pounds gives you only around 1,000 bottles. Sasan isn’t making that by hand anymore – these days, SAG’s liquid is made in a distillery in New York, by a Jewish-Moroccan couple who make a similar kind of spirit, instead using figs.

And the four founders are uncompromising about this recipe. “We could have made shortcuts,” says Amir, “in the alcohol industry they add flavor to it. But it’s not what we wanted to drink ourselves.”

Storytellers love storytellers

SAG’s distribution strategy is similarly deliberate. They’re not chasing down any old bar, according to Amir. “We’re going where they’re open to storytelling,” he says. “There’s something about the culture or heritage of the rooms.”

That approach has found them homes in more than 50 bars including Superbueno in NYC, and in the NYC and LA offshoots of the London-based Persian restaurant Berenjak. In fact, any bar or restaurant that’s sharing a story about cultural heritage has quickly warmed to SAG.

“This is not a VC-backed project”

While Sasan and Saman handle the creative side of the brand, Amir leads the ‘business’ end. He comes from a corporate career and admits he’s a competitive person. For him, the biggest challenge for the brand is to keep it all feeling natural.

“This is not a VC-backed, cashed-up project,” he tells us. “It mean a lot to us.”

But despite the four founders coming from very different backgrounds, they trust each other completely. If Amir is worrying about margins or pricing, his co-founders are more philosophic: “If it’s going to work, it’s going to work.”

“If you have a good product and you’re kind to people,” says Amir, “good things are going to happen to you.”

If you’re wondering if that strategy feels a little naive, consider: some of the best bars in New York already serve SAG. Mixologists love it. The business is finding new partners overseas. And all of that without spending money on a brand agency, marketing or paid social. They just show up, talk to people, tell the story and that’s enough. Sometimes, simple works best.

For our usual NEWBIES rite of passage, we asked:

What’s the brutal truth you’ve learned about building a bev/alc brand?

“Because we’re artists, we’re busy... spending more time is one of the challenges. But we’re working, finding ways.” — Saman

“For me, the biggest challenge is that I get really competitive. So I try to just let go of that and think about this as... it has to feel natural. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be talking to us.” — Amir

With the wisdom of experience, what would you tell other bev/alc founders?

“Don’t start a business. Just make art.” — Saman

“Really put all your effort in creating a high quality product. The product that we’re making was for us, not for others. Do what you want, really believe in it, and make something that you would want for yourself. And then be generous.” — Amir

“Trust your vision and do it slowly... work towards your ideas and learn as you go.” — Sasan

THE NEW RULE:

You don’t need to chase every single partnership with every single bar. Find the people that will understand your history and your narrative, and give it the love it deserves.

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Imagine: you’re at a bar and you ask them: “do you have anything African to pour?” The answer is no. And it’s no at the next bar, and the next and the next and the next…..

“The continent is full of incredible flavors, traditions, and stories,” says Spearhead Spirits co-founder Damola Timeyin, “so why isn’t it represented in the spirits world?”

Such frustrations are what brands are made of. After years of asking the same question and getting the same answer, Damola – whose background is in banking, tech and (handily) advertising for big drinks brands – got together with long-time friend Chris Frederick. Spearhead Spirits was born.

But before we get into the story there’s one huge question:

Why is Africa so underrepresented?

Obviously, it’s not that African countries aren’t making great bev/alc options, it’s just that very few of them (aside from maybe Amarula, a cream liqueur made from the marula tree) have broken through to mainstream global distribution, or found a meaningful place on the backbar.

Fixing that is a huge challenge.

It’s not just about making an incredible brand. It’s not just about distribution, or education or competition. It’s all of those things at once. Categories have been dominated by other brands for decades, which means African spirits have a huge job ahead of them, if they want to crack open these categories. It means going up against global giants with some of the deepest pockets in the biz.

“For us, being new to the industry has really been a case of building the plane while learning to fly it,” says Damola. “But that’s what makes it exciting. You’re not just launching a brand, you’re helping to rewrite the narrative and open the door for a whole continent.”

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Storytellers love selling stories

Now five years old, Spearhead Spirits started out building locally in South Africa and France, but Damola says the US has quickly become their biggest market (he tells us that their Bayab Gin sits among the top 50 gins in the US according to Nielsen).

To start with, Spearhead found partners – like importer and distributor Winebow – that had the confidence and appetite to bring newness into long-established categories.

On trade has also been successful, becoming a place to connect with advocates and build credibility with bartenders. And as a business that’s got a story to tell, says Damola, Spearhead’s brands have really thrived with accounts that value storytelling (like Disney).

“The common thread across all of this has been community. Whether it is bartenders, local retailers, or consumers, community has been a real growth engine for us. It is what we will lean on as we move into e-commerce this fall. For us, it is not just about shifting cases, it is about creating demand and advocacy that lasts.”

It’s not marketing – Spearhead Spirits really is all about place

Lots of brands like to say they’re ‘rooted’ in things: tradition, often, or values, or a commitment to something bigger. In Spearhead’s case, it’s not empty marketing speak – they are absolutely powered by Africa’s flavor-rich produce.

-Bayab Gin is made using botanicals from across the continent, and baobab fruit – which Damola says has a “bright African citrus character”. (Bayab Gin comes in a choice of appealing flavors: African classic dry, burnt orange and marula, African rose water and palm and pineapple.)

-Sango is made from wild African agave, which is “fresh, earthy and unlike anything else in the agave world”. (Agave grows wild across the continent, but Spearhead grows their Blue Webber agave in coastal South Africa).

-And Vusa Vodka is made using African sugar cane, giving it a “smooth slightly sweet finish”.

Delicious, we’ll take all three.

That clear sense of place is magnified by Spearhead’s branding

It’s not just a story told through ingredients. Spearhead’s branding is driven by what Damola calls “authentic African codes”, reinterpreted for a contemporary audience.

“It’s not the outdated imagery of Africa that people have been shown for centuries, but Africa as we know it to be,” he says.

Vibrancy is a huge part of this design language, according to him, but he emphasizes that’s not as simplistic as color. It’s bold wordmarks. It’s striking glass shapes. Its Zulu-inspired patterns etched into the bottle.

“We take that vibrancy through the touchpoints as coherently as we can. There is still a bit of chaos in places, but as we grow we are aligning and tightening everything so that wherever people experience our brands, it feels cohesive and intentional.”

Finally, as part of our regular NEWBIES rite of passage, we asked Damola:

What’s the brutal truth you’ve learned about building a bev/alc brand?

“The brutal truth is that no one cares by default. I actually learned that in my advertising days, and it is just as true, if not more so, in the drinks world. People are not sitting around waiting for your brand to show up. It is our job to make them care.”

Then we asked: with the wisdom of experience, what would you tell other bev/alc founders?

“For me resilience isn’t some abstract quality, it is a set of habits. With the team, it’s about creating momentum and celebrating small wins so people feel progress even when the big picture feels tough. It’s also about being honest when things are hard, but reframing setbacks as fuel rather than failure.

Personally, I’ve had to get comfortable with constant problem-solving. Fundraising through Covid forced that into our DNA as a business. Now we expect challenges, and we see them as part of the process rather than a derailment. That mindset shift is what hardwires resilience, it stops you from being shocked by the hurdles and helps you use them to keep moving forward.”

THE NEW RULE:

Provenance can absolutely be your brand story. People care about ingredients, they care about roots, they care about where you come from and what’s influencing you – and they want to hear you talk about that. Double down on that place. Especially if it’s not the same place as everyone else.

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Mario’s Hard Espresso is a bottled coffee liqueur, established in 2021 by founder Joe Grasso and built and named for his late father’s time-honored recipe (he’s the grinning man on the label).

“Every bottle we produce feels like a little piece of him, and I still get goosebumps when I see it on a menu, back-bar or store shelf and customers tell us how much they love it.”

A quick bit of back story

Every year, for as long as he can remember, Joe Grasso’s dad made his hard espresso. He only ever made a dozen bottles for family and friends, but by the time Joe was a teenager people were asking: “Hey Mario, am I getting a bottle this year?”

Mario passed on the recipe to Joe, who kept up the tradition (with his son, Aaron) and started adding photos of his dad – sadly now passed – to the label.

The story might have ended there. But Joe found himself wondering, “could this really be something?”

From family tradition to business

Joe – who’s a writer, director and cinematographer by trade – spent three years researching distilling, licensing, ingredients and compliance, and in 2021 partnered with a contract distiller in San Diego to produce his first batch of 1,500 bottles.

“We had no customers, no distribution – just the brand, the recipe, my dad’s story. I put a bottle in my backpack and started walking the streets of LA, sharing it with any bartender or store owner who was kind enough to listen.”

How the brand has grown

Despite humble beginnings, Mario’s Hard Espresso now has 900 accounts across five states and, as of 2023, handles all their own production. Bartenders are mixing it into classic cocktails (using true espresso means there’s no bitter edge, so it blends well), and bakers are adding it into truffles and tiramisus.

Joe says that bars and restaurants have been great partners, as have off-prem accounts open to featuring small-batch, handcrafted brands. But building a direct relationship with consumers has been the real growth-driver. The brand uses a mix of “awareness and availability”: social media, advertising and word of mouth, as well as getting liquor-to-lips at consumer-facing events.”

“When we’re out at festivals, markets, cigar nights, or pouring tasters anywhere that people gather, that’s when the real magic happens, and so we’ve really leaned-in to consumer awareness and DTC sales. People hear the story, take a sip, and more times than not, they’re all-in.”

The story is the thing

It helps that Mario’s Hard Espresso is an easy sell (four ingredients: 100% Arabica dark roast espresso, organic Madagascan vanilla, cane sugar and triple-distilled GNS – what’s not to like?). But the real hook is the narrative that sits behind it. As Joe says: “Our story is genuine, and so our truth does all the heavy lifting.”

That story shines through the branding, packaging and the language. It’s hard not to like that flat bottle with its big orange type and Mario beaming out from it. And it’s hard not to smile at the setup of the family story – a secret Sicilian recipe, a man who made a small amount every year for the most special friends, and a son carrying on the tradition. Job done.

Sometimes, brand is just instinct

Maybe it’s because founder Joe has worked as a writer, but he says he knew his dad’s story would be at the heart of the business from the get-go. This was instinct, not strategy. As he says: “For me, a lot of it has just been going with my gut. That particular photo of my dad just felt right. It felt familiar and iconic”

Maybe it’s worth remembering that instinctive feeling of something just being right, particularly in a time when so much branding and marketing is numbers first, humans second.

Finally, as with all our Newbie founders, we asked Joe:

What’s the brutal truth you’ve learned about building a bev/alc brand?

“Well, first off – it’s hard. Really hard. If you start a brand, you’ve got to go all-in: long hours, endless days, constant hustle, so you better love it. Bev/alc is a volume game. We’re three-and-a-half years in, with over 900 accounts across five states, which I’m very proud of, but truthfully 9,000 would sound a lot better! Luckily, I’ve got a small, dedicated team of believers working their tails off every day to get us there.”

“It also takes enough capital to stay consistent, and every dollar has to translate into sales. You’re always hustling, building awareness, moving cases, creating and maintaining relationships. Some days it’s exhausting, some days it’s terrifying, but most days it’s deeply satisfying.”

And then we asked: is there anything you’d recommend other founders focus on or do differently?

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned for sure while building Mario’s Hard Espresso is how important story and ethos are. Every brand needs a brand-story, a backstory, a clear sense of who you are, what you stand for and what makes you different from other brands. It’s not just about why you make your product—it’s about why it should matter to your customers.”

“That’s really what I’d tell other founders; know your story, be passionate, work really hard, learn from everyone you meet, show gratitude, and make sure to be nice along the way. Find your Northstar, and follow it relentlessly.”

THE NEW RULE:

It’s easy to be cynical about ‘storytelling’ as a business strategy, but humans love a good yarn. Go to consumers with a true, relatable, appealing (and quite lovely) narrative, and that’s half the battle won.

The New Rules of Bev/Alc is a newsletter, an annual report, and an approach. Nihilo is a branding agency. Curious to learn more and/or partner? Reach out: hi@nihilo.agency.

❤️,

Nihilo

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Wild Mannered is a RTD soju cocktail brand that prides itself on being free of artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. It’s founded by a pair of ex-tech workers (Meta and AbleTo) who are also childhood friends (they were born in the same hospital).

We quizzed co-founder Michael Gu on how Wild Mannered is introducing people to soju drinking culture by tapping into the joy of communal experiences.

“We set out to create a beverage that kept the easy drinkability and communal nature of the drink, but with fewer additives and real fruit flavors.”

The brief back-story

Picture it: a pair of young post-grads, working their first corporate jobs in New York and supping soju over Korean BBQ, or at karaoke, or in a friend’s apartment before a night out.

These are the roots of Wild Mannered’s origin story, according to Michael, who says him and co-founder Perry Ya fell in love with the spirit’s “easy-drinking, communal-friendly nature”. As he says: “Soju was always part of the moment”.

There was one hitch though: over time, the flavoured sojus they’d loved so much suddenly started getting a bit harder on the body the morning after. Naturally, the pair decided to try and make something that was less sweet and less artificial tasting, by infusing unflavoured sojus bought from the corner store with fruit – and then sharing that with friends.

“The real fruit flavour was such a refreshing contrast to the artificial ones we were used to that we knew we had something worth building on.”

It’s all about the ingredients

Purity of ingredients is something that’s absolutely essential to the Wild Mannered brand. As founders that love food as much as they love soju, Michael says him and Perry were clear with their manufacturer from the get-go: nothing artificial.

Wild Mannered’s recipe uses a distilled grape soju and wine base, combined with real fruits and botanicals that creates a 13% cocktail that’s a little more drinkable than trad cocktails like negronis or old fashioneds.

A moment for soju

Before we get deeper into the brand story, we should chat about soju itself. There’s a growing interest in Asian spirits that Michael attributes to “the globalization of the American palate and the increased visibility of Asians and Asian Americans in media (think Squid Game, Shang-Chi, Everything Everywhere All At Once).”

If we travel back to his early years living in New York, soju was mainly something found at liquor stores in Asian enclaves. Now there’s soju in most of the city’s liquor stores, and LA’s Dodgers Stadium has a dedicated soju bar.

Even so, Michael says one of the challenges of building Wild Mannered is educating people around what soju is. Their product doesn’t fit neatly into legacy categories such as beer, wine or spirits, which means they sometimes feel as if they’re creating a category of their own.

“For some of our customers, our product may be the first accessible entry point into soju, and we hope our approachable presentation helps them understand what made us fall in love with it in the first place.”

“Non-traditional but deeply personal”

Part of that soju education is complicated, says Michael, because most commercial versions today use neutral spirits distilled from sweet potato, tapioca or other sources rather than the traditional method of rice distillation using a nuruk starter*.

“As a non-traditional brand — and as Chinese-Americans rather than Korean-Americans — we’re intentional in how we present it. We make a point to honor and acknowledge soju’s Korean origins, while being clear that what we’re creating is non-traditional but deeply personal.”

What’s working? Grassroots comms, community, behind-the-scenes stories

The Wild Mannered brand is growing through a mix of digital marketing and in-person hard work. Michael says off-premise sales channels have been key, because soju is the kind of drink that’s centered on hosting and gathering – meaning most customers are buying in-store for those occasions.

“Our approach has been to grow regionally and go deep, building a loyal customer base and strong following. One early mistake (probably out of naivety) was targeting trendy restaurants with a ready-to-drink product served straight up. In hindsight it probably made a lot of sense why we faced headwinds there because their margins are much better on freshly made cocktails and that’s what their customers are looking for.”

On social media, the brand focuses on behind-the-scenes moments and founder-led content (btw, this is something that a lot of brands have had success with).

Wild Mannered also benefited from a grassroots launch campaign, which saw the founders place stickers near retail locations – “not scalable, but memorable and something we could only pull of at our current size”.

Finally, Michael says a partnership with NYC’s Green Tile Social Club – one of the largest mahjong clubs in the city – has been a very natural way of introducing Wild Mannered to a likeminded community.

Finally, we asked Michael, what’s the brutal truth about building a bev/alc brand?

“So many lessons…but one that stands out is just how critical distribution is, and how gatekept it can feel at times. The business of bev/alc, like any industry, has its difficulties on multiple fronts: navigating complex regulatory and legal hurdles, securing the required licenses to sell, dealing with funding challenges like ‘vice clauses’ that prevent some investors from backing bev/alc brands, and operating in what’s been a challenging year for the industry overall, just to name a few.”

Then we asked: with the wisdom of experience, is there anything you’d tell other bev/alc founders?

“I’d advise founders to really think through their go-to-market strategy and clearly define their target consumer - then focus on meeting them where they are.

Consider the occasions when your product will be consumed and whether you’ll displace existing options (because yours is better) or create entirely new occasions around it - and how you’ll make that happen. Also, do more user interviews and customer surveys! There’s a wealth of insight in those conversations, people are usually more than happy to talk about a product they’ve purchased with their hard-earned money and I learn something new every time I talk to someone who’s bought a bottle.”

The New Rules of Bev/Alc is a newsletter, an annual report, and an approach. Nihilo is a branding agency. Curious to learn more and/or partner? Reach out: hi@nihilo.agency.

❤️,

Nihilo

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The Original Southside is a RTD cocktail brand that specialises in one thing: a good, old-fashioned, gin, lemon and mint cooler. For founder Meredith Mills-Merritt the brand is part family recipe and part historic revival (something that’s apparent in Southside’s vintage-leaning visuals, but more on that later). 

“Our company ethos is to bring back the best of the best cocktails that were lost in time for a revival of the fittest, if you will (a play on Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest).”

The brief back story

Meredith – who previously worked in brand management and product innovation in the beauty industry – knows a good Southside when she drinks one. She based her brand’s recipe on the summertime cooler her mom makes to combat Oklahoma’s roasting hot summers – and it was over a year in development, with the final combo including organic cane sugar and Southside’s proprietary gin, compounded in the US.

“Many times, we think of cocktails in a can as being less satisfactory,” she says, “so my mission was to redefine for the consumer what they could expect in terms of a ready to drink cocktail.”

*A quick note on south sides

Side note: Meredith is super-enthusiastic about the Southside cocktail’s origin story. As she says it’s much-debated – some people cite Hugo Ensslin’s 1917 Recipes For Mixed Drinks, and some say it was created by Long Island’s South Side Sportsmen’s Club.

She’s sticking to the Prohibition-era tale, set in Chicago, which claims that the gangs of the north smuggled booze over the Canadian border, leaving the south side of the city to make the most of locally made spirits such as bathtub gin. Citrus, herbs and sugar were essential to disguising how disgusting that tasted, and so the south side cocktail was born. 

What’s working

Although Meredith says she came into the spirits industry with zero experience, she’s quickly learned that liquid to lips is the most effective strategy for the brand – and it’s something the business prioritizes above all else. Their go to market and success strategies are:

• Turning up at industry festivals

• Setting up key partnerships (eg, the brand is partnered with Blade in New York, The Florida Panthers Hockey team and the LSU Tigers Athletic Department)

• Running branded liquid to lips events including market tastings at local stores, and co-hosted dinners.

“Introducing the drink, having a few seconds of the consumer's time to educate them on Southsides, and getting them to try it are our only priority. Obviously, I’m biased, but it tastes pretty good and once people give us a shot, we work on building their mental availability to us as an option and work on creating more behaviorally loyal buyers.”

Branding is a big part of it

Clearly, Southside’s look and feel is another major part of Meredith’s business strategy. It’s got enough vintage flavour to stand out in a very busy RTD market, but it still feels current. That’s thanks to graphic designer Eric Warning. 

“I told him that this was a ‘pie in the sky’ moment as it relates to design, and there really were no guardrails. The question we asked ourselves was: how do we make something look like it has been around for forever on shelves, but also feel new and fun? And that got us a good starting point.”

And when it comes to RTDs, a niche is essential

RTDs are experiencing a major surge in the US. Big names are expanding into this sub-category, new brands are launching in it, and it’s an area that’s continuing to grow year on year, even as wider alcohol sales struggle.

Meredith has been very deliberate in carving out a place for Southside and her advice is simple: “find your niche.”

“With our premium ingredient approach and choice of gin as the base spirit, this has allowed us to remain competitive and grow at a relatively quick pace. Retailers and distributors have many vodka- and tequila-based RTDs, but fewer gin-based ones. Same with certain partnerships in arenas and large venues that work with other brands.”

What’s not working

Online marketing and e-comm can be tough platforms for bev brands, and Meredith says Southside’s digital efforts haven’t seen great returns. They run the brand Instagram as more of a moodboard and place of discovery, but don’t bother with digital ads or other major investment into social media. TikTok is also off the menu, she says, because alcohol/bev content like theirs gets restricted. 

“Rather than waste our time ‘feeding the beast’, as I call it, we turned our efforts and spend back to tastings IRL.”

Wooing distributors is also tricky

Meredith says one of the biggest hurdles for Southside is getting attention from strong distributors. Despite having consumer demand and multiple chain authorization in some markets, it’s still difficult to persuade certain distributors to take their product. 

To address this, Meredith is adopting a market by market strategy, and says she works, quite literally, week by week to keep distributors updated on Southside’s progress in the hope that eventually she can win them over. According to her this tactic is paying off in some states, where Southside has built relationships with smaller indie distributors and is gradually upgrading to broader distribution networks.

Finally, we asked Meredith:

1)What’s the brutal truth about building a bev/alc brand?

If you want to build a brand in the United States you need to treat each state as a separate country. The laws and regulations as it relates to beverages are absolutely insane and unless you’re a subject matter expert in those areas, you’ll definitely need some help. 

Additionally, it’s an expensive endeavor. It’s a lot of up-front capital consumption with the production runs, etc. so having some financially savvy skills or team members are a must. 

2)What would you tell other bev/alc founders?

I would tell other founders to make sure that their product doesn’t just taste good, but is commercially viable. Going into the RTD and alcohol industry feels really sexy and fun (because it can be, at times) but it’s also exceptionally cutthroat. 

Most of my time and most of my days are spent doing the non-sexy stuff just so we can survive and scale. 

Keep your wits about you, dream big, and good luck! 

The New Rules of Bev/Alc is a newsletter, an annual report, and an approach. Nihilo is a branding agency. Curious to learn more and/or partner? Reach out: hi@nihilo.agency.

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Nihilo

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Vigie is an all-natural limoncello that’s made in California using a tried-and-tested family recipe. It’s a slightly lower ABV than many other limoncellos, which means it pairs well with Prosecco, mixers and spirits and, according to founder Samaria O’Brien, makes it popular for adding to desserts and salad dressings. Her quick summary of Vigie:

“An old-world recipe created for modern drinking occasions. It’s a way to honor tradition while bringing new life to a category that hasn’t seen much innovation.”

Vigie is tapping into something of a moment for limoncello in the US. What was previously a holiday novelty is now appearing on menus and as a tinned RTD option on shelves. Samaria says it’s part of a rise in spritz culture – thanks to Aperol for pouring huge sums into educating consumers – as well as a growing interest in lower-ABV cocktails, and a general desire for drinks that feel “elevated but easy”. As she says:

“Limoncello is a perfect option – it’s citrusy, bright, and doesn’t have a bitter edge.”

So, let’s get into Vigie:

The back story: lemon orchards and a family recipe

Samaria (who has a background in private equity, strategy consulting and investment banking) fell in love with limoncello in a place that must have been idyllic: her uncle’s seaside lemon orchard. He’s been making lemon liqueur using a traditional Sicilian family recipe for years, and once the two of them got together to make a batch, Samaria says she was hooked.

When she got back to the US she started looking for an all-natural limoncello but could only find syrupy versions produced by mass conglomerates, made using artificial colours. And so, Vigie was born. 

Cali lemons, organic cane sugar and no artificial extras

It might follow a trad recipe, but Vigie is made using hand-zested Cali lemons, organic cane sugar and no artificial colors or flavours – which means the focus is on the zesty citrus flavor, rather than the aggressively sugary taste of a lot of mass-market limoncellos. As Samaria says: 

“People are paying more attention to what’s in their drinks, and they want something that feels good to serve and sip. Vigie is meant to be sipped, mixed and spritzed.”

The journey so far: tradition, but not

Samaria says she’s had to work hard to tap into a “notoriously insular” alcoholic beverage community, which has meant experimenting to find out what works, and what lands. 

“Nothing humbles you faster than being shut down by a bar manager because you didn’t explain how your product fits their cocktail menu in 20 seconds or less.”

She’s also experimented with the look and feel of Vigie. As she points out: heritage is a key part of limoncello, and even the mass-produced brands began as family recipes, so that’s an essential selling point and part of the story.

“Early on, Vigie’s branding leaned more traditional, but I realized there was a real opportunity to reimagine what limoncello could look like. I wanted something that honored tradition but felt fresh, Riviera-inspired, and modern – something that clearly indicated Vigie was different and someone would be proud to display on their bar cart or bring to a dinner party.”

What’s working? Tastings, in-person, careful spending

Vigie’s biggest wins have come from in-store tastings and restaurant placements, although the brand has also gained momentum through word-of-mouth, in-person events and good relationships with accounts. Splashy activations and creative projects are tempting, but the brand is entirely self-funded – which means Samaria is being super-strategic with time and resources, and laser-focused on putting money towards accounts that show strong sell-through. 

“Right now, we’re outselling legacy limoncello brands 5:1 and selling two cases per tasting, which is almost unheard of in this category. 

But DTC is a tough nut to crack

According to Samaria, the biggest challenge is cash flow and making sure every dollar goes towards the highest possible return. She’s still figuring out how to profitably and authentically scale Vigie’s online store, for example. 

“DTC is tough in alcohol because of the three-tier system, shipping costs and rising digital ad prices. Success online is still possible, but it means leaning into community-driven strategies like email marketing and nurturing the funnel carefully. The goal is to build smart and raise capital once the foundation is solid.”

We asked Samaria:

1)what’s the brutal truth about building a bev/alc brand?

“It’s not just about making a great product. It’s about selling it, again and again. Getting into a store is only the beginning. You have to drive velocity, offer support, and build real relationships to stay on the shelf.”

2)and, with the wisdom of experience, is there anything you’d tell other bev/alc founders?

Don’t wait for perfect – get your product out there and start learning. Focus early on your margins and whether the product truly fits the market. And prioritize relationships. In this industry, people matter just as much as the product does.

The New Rules of Bev/Alc is a newsletter, an annual report, and an approach. Nihilo is a branding agency. Curious to learn more and/or partner? Reach out: hi@nihilo.agency.

❤️,

Nihilo

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