Back Bar Project has announced the national launch of Covalle Tomato-Water Gin, the company’s first domestic venture.
Covalle Tomato-Water Gin captures the vivid freshness of a tomato garden at peak season through a pioneering aroma-transfer technique developed to preserve the fruit’s most delicate green notes. Tomato leaves and stems are pulverized into an apple-cucumber pulp, then pasteurized, clarified, and blended into a London dry gin. This allows Covalle to carry the essence of the tomato plant without compromising its fresh and fragile character. Bottled at 46% ABV, using low-pH water to accentuate freshness, the result is a strikingly fragrant, green, and herbaceous spirit. The gin botanical card includes juniper, angelica, coriander, lemon oil, grapefruit, cardamom, orange, wildflower honey, cinnamon and anise, and is designed to balance a classic gin profile with the evocative expression of a tomato plant in peak season.
“We champion brands that are shaping the future of the spirits industry—built on quality, heritage, and innovation,” said Kaj Hackinen, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder, Back Bar Project. “Consumers are craving distinctive, nationally available distilled spirits. Covalle delivers something entirely new, adding a fresh, herbaceous twist to gin-based cocktails.”
Covalle was developed by the liquid and packaging design firm Project Optimist. To date, it has been part of the Small Victories Imports portfolio. William Schragis, who founded both Project Optimist and Small Victories, has held various positions in the wine and spirits industry, including work as a sommelier, product development specialist, whiskey blender, and national sales director for a bourbon producer spanning all 50 U.S. states.
Long before Schragis ever dreamed of working in cocktails and spirits, he was obsessed with tomatoes. As a kid, his family grew tomato plants in pots on the balcony of their New York City apartment. In his 20s, he worked on organic farms in Italy and even hosted a tomato-themed birthday potluck called “Tomato-Fest,” after which he decided to use surplus tomato water in a cocktail for the first time.
Covalle debuted in New York and New Jersey in Spring 2025 via Small Victories Imports —a boutique distribution portfolio. The niche brand entered the market during a period of contraction in the liquor industry, yet consumer demand for this distinctive spirit proved remarkably strong. Produced in small batches, it sold out quickly, driving an exceptionally high reorder rate among early-adopting retailers.
Covalle’s packaging features a hand-drawn label as beautiful as the brand itself, depicting a beach in the fictional tomato-famous town that Project Optimist considers Covalle’s “spiritual storybook home.” It was drawn by Creative Director Eli Dreyfus as part of Project Optimist’s guiding philosophy to keep brand development and commercial launch work in-house, driven collaboratively by the same core team that will ultimately take it to market.