Building a new brand of canned cocktails.
As new RTD and hard seltzer brands emerge, ‘Merican Mule is standing out by focusing on they know — bartender-quality mules.
In an exclusive interview with Hard Seltzer News, ‘Merican Mule co-founder and CEO, Dean Mahoney, spoke about the RTD cocktail company’s decision to stick with — and perfect — the classic mule.
“We were all living out in Los Angeles…and we saw all these copper mugs really coming out [in] bars and restaurants in the area,” said Mahoney. “We kind of just realized A) these cocktails are really good, and B) we had just moved from the East Coast across the country, so we weren’t really too familiar with them.”
The mother of all mules, of course, is the Moscow Mule — a blend of ginger beer, lime, and vodka. In 2015, that’s exactly where ‘Merican Mule began their 7-month long journey to perfect the recipe.
“I would say our mission really quickly became to make the best Moscow Mule,” said Mahoney.
Options without losing focus
The brand’s focus on mules doesn’t mean they aren’t providing consumers with variety, however. Far from the truth; ‘Merican Mule’s current flavor line up includes the Tropical Style with rum and pineapple. There’s also a Mexican Style, made with tequila, and Southern Style, which has a bourbon base. And, they’ve even begun dabbling in seasonal flavors, including a Pumpkin Spice Mule for the fall and recently released whiskey-based hot cinnamon Fire Mule for the winter.
“These other flavors and using the other spirits, I mean that’s our brand in a nutshell,” said Mahoney. “That defines our entire brand, and it’s really about innovation and creativity and thinking outside the box.”
The crew learned that there were other things they could do with the mules from their experiences early on in their bar-hopping phase.
“Obviously, it’s no secret that we’re staying on trend with what matters to our company which is creating the best Mule, but that doesn’t mean that it can be the only way to do it,” Mahoney said. “We had seen quite a few restaurant menus branch out and do Mexican Mules that were at Mexican restaurants and Kentucky Mules…We ended up calling ours a Southern Mule, [with a] bourbon-base.”
Letting the brand define the category
Inspired by what was happening on-premise, the ‘Merican Mule team decided to follow in those footsteps, expand on the idea of what a mule can be, and bring those ideas to the RTD market. Customers appear to be loving the variety.
“Our marketing shtick early on was like, ‘We’re not just a one-trick pony,’” Mahoney said. “People are receiving [the spirit varieties] very well.”
Mahoney said he thinks the market is so happy to welcome alternative based mules because customers love having choices that reflect their personal tastes.
“The reality is…if you’re a tequila drinker, there’s a mule for you. If you’re a bourbon drinker, there’s a mule for you. If you’re a rum drinker, there’s a mule for you,” Mahoney explained. “Not everyone is a vodka drinker.”
So, while sticking to one cocktail category may at first seem limiting, ‘Merican Mule has transformed the mule into an asset of differentiation.
“We’re honestly just trying to build a brand rather than just put out another product,” Mahoney concluded.
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