Milwaukee-based Central Standard Craft Distillery announced the release of Pour Ready Premium Cocktails, the distillery’s line of craft, ready-to-pour cocktails.
“Our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails are true game-changing products,” said Evan Hughes, co-founder of Central Standard. “We aren’t just unveiling a great tasting new beverage, we are introducing a whole new category to the industry today: Ready to Pour Craft Cocktail. Think of them as the convergence of ready-to-drink convenience with the handcrafted quality and elevated ingredients you’d receive from a veteran bartender at our Crafthouse.”
The first premium cocktails in the lineup being introduced today are the Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade and the Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Mule. They’ll hit retail shelves starting mid April.
“Simply pour our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails over ice for the perfect at-home, in-the-backyard, at-the-beach, on-the-boat, at-the-tailgate, wherever-you-are cocktail,” said co-founder Pat McQuillan. “They are craft cocktails without all the hassle or fuss of mixing them yourself.”
Pour Ready Premium Cocktails from Central Standard Distillery are 15% ABV, 30 proof and will hit retail shelves starting in April. Each 750-ml bottle makes about four cocktails. We have also created 1.75L unbreakable bottles to ensure you don’t run out of Pour Ready at your tailgate, beach or backyard party.
When McQuillan and Hughes served a Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade and Mule at their Crafthouse & Kitchen last summer, they became top sellers. The Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade and Mule are based on those original crafthouse preparations.
“Our Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade is made from a simple, yet proprietary blend of our Central Standard Door County Cherry Vodka, 100% organic lemon juice and botanicals,” Hughes said. “It’s smooth, balanced and refreshing, no matter the weather or time of year.”
The Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Mule combines Central Standard’s Door County Cherry Vodka with organic ginger juice and lime juice. It’s a perfect blend of ginger spiciness with the cool refreshment of cherries and lime.
The taste of Central Standard’s first Pour Ready Premium Cocktails all starts with the source of the main ingredient in the distillery’s award-winning, 100% hand-crafted Door County Cherry Vodka: cherries from Door County, Wisc.
“Tucked along Lake Michigan in northeast Wisconsin, the weather conditions in Door County are literally tailormade for growing cherries,” Hughes added.
This small but vibrant county in Wisconsin is responsible for 10% of all the cherries grown and harvested in the United States.
“Simply put, our Door County Cherry Vodka is the ultimate taste of Wisconsin,” McQuillan said. “Fifteen pounds of fresh Door County Cherries go into every batch. The vodka is then mellowed with fresh Wisconsin Honey. And, you can really taste those nuances in our new Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Lemonade and our Pour Ready Door County Cherry Vodka Mule.”
From a business perspective, Hughes and McQuillan have formulated Pour Ready specifically for on-the-go consumers who crave craft quality, but also the convenience of ready to drink options.
“For us it all boils down to our Pour Ready tagline of ‘craft, convenient and cooler ready,’” McQuillan said. “With our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails, you can turn your home or any occasion into your very own Crafthouse & Kitchen. It’s like having your own bartender in each bottle.”
Hughes summed up his and McQuillan’s anticipation best. “We can’t wait for folks to try our new Pour Ready Premium Cocktails,” Hughes concluded. “People are going to be floored by the taste and will appreciate the convenience. Pour Ready is truly creating a whole new craft category worth tasting.”