A pop-up bar dedicated to serving hard seltzer is now open in downtown Chicago. The Chicago Seltzer Shop, which offers “an immersive seltzery tasting experience,” is located inside the Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago’s dynamic Loop area.
The Chicago Seltzer Shop, which opened July 16th and runs through August 8th, showcases 11 hard seltzer brands and more than 30 bubbly flavors. The pop-up bar was designed by the Rose Gold Collective, an events and marketing agency based in Miami, and features a vintage aesthetic reminiscent of a 1950’s era malt shop.
“At the Kimpton Gray Hotel, we create memorable and unique experiences for guests every day,” stated Nabil Moubayed, the luxury hotel’s general manager. “The Seltzer Shop is an extension of who we are and the one-of-a-kind encounters we create for those visiting or staying at the hotel.”
The Seltzer Shop’s offerings include popular hard seltzer brands such as High Noon
, Mike’s Hard Lemonade Seltzer, and the #1 seltzer brand by market share, White Claw. But many brands on the bar’s menu are just starting to gain traction in the crowded seltzer market.
For instance, Sesh
, a brand that describes itself as “cocktail meets seltzer,” just launched in February of this year. The pop-up features Sesh’s Paloma and Mojito flavors, both of which contain 1 gram of carbs, no sugar and an ABV of 6%.
The Seltzer Shop also serves Claffey’s Seltzer Cocktails. Claffey’s launched a line of boozy freeze pops in 2014 but its wine-based seltzers only debuted earlier this year. Claffey’s Lime Time, Blackberry Acai, Modern Mango and Tropical Paradise flavors are included as part of the bar’s menu. All flavors contain 2 grams of carbs, 2 grams of sugar, 100 calories and an ABV of 5%.
PRESS Premium Seltzer is represented at the pop-up experience as well. The brand, which launched in 2015 is female-owned and operated by founder and CEO Amy Walberg. Press recently won “Best Hard Seltzer” in 10 different cities at Seltzerland, the traveling hard seltzer festival. Two Press flavors, Blackberry Hibiscus and Pomegranate Ginger, are available at the seltzer pop-up.
Another female owned brand, Two Chicks Cocktails, was founded by Meghan Hanna and is run by CEO Linda Dow Cash. The brand’s mission emphasizes inclusion and gender equity. The Seltzer Shop stocks four Two Chicks flavors including Vodka Fizz, Paloma, Lemon Strawberry Kiss and New Fashioned. The brand has won numerous awards for its repertoire of flavors since it launched in 2019. All featured flavors are low in calories and contain an ABV of 5%.
The Seltzer Shop’s full menu also includes four flavors of Flying Embers Hard Kombucha, as well as four flavors of Spiked Hard Seltzer, three flavors of Jack Daniel’s Canned Cocktails
and one flavor of Long Drink.
Guests can reserve the complimentary 1.5 hour seltzer experience featuring a curated tasting flight, a full can of hard seltzer and popcorn via OpenTable. The bar is open Fridays from 5 PM to 9 PM as well as Saturdays and Sundays from 2 PM to 7 PM.
The Seltzer Shop provides an amazing opportunity for Chicagoans and visitors of the Windy City to explore an array of exciting seltzer brands, all while normalizing hard seltzer as a legitimate drink option in on-premise locations.
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