Barr Hill Gin, made by Montpelier-based Caledonia Spirits, is partnering with Waitsfield brewery Lawson’s Finest Liquids to distribute a canned gin and tonic.
The drink will be sold in Vermont grocery stores thanks to Act 177, which originated as H.730 and was signed by Gov. Phil Scott last year. The law allows drinks with an alcohol content of less than 12% to be sold through retail stores, rather than restricting them to outlets run by the Department of Liquor and Lottery. The gin and tonic is 9.3% alcohol.
The cans of gin and tonic will be distributed by The Beer Guy, the distributor owned by Sean Lawson, owner of Lawson’s Finest Liquids. Lawson said he founded his own distribution company in 2008 to ensure that his beers would stay cold from brewery to store or restaurant.
“None of the other wholesalers in Vermont at the time were able to keep the beer cold at all times,” Lawson said.
Lawson said this is the first time he’s widely distributing a product other than his company’s beer.
Ryan Christiansen, head distiller and president of Caledonia Spirits, said his team had been experimenting with extracting quinine, which is frequently used to treat malaria, from the bark of cinchona trees, which grow in South America, to make a house-made tonic syrup.
The syrup is blended with the gin, and sparkling water is added to make a gin and tonic. It had become one of the distillery’s best-selling craft cocktails.
Christiansen said Caledonia Spirits buys the cinchona bark from several regions around the world but declined to say which.
“Tonic products are often just clear, and the reality is that real tonic, it’s full of flavor. It’s full of color,” Christiansen said. “Depending on where you’re sourcing and what variety you’re sourcing, it’s going to be wildly different.”
The drinks are canned in Vermont, but Christiansen declined to say who is canning them.
Christiansen said the suggested retail price for a four-pack of twelve-ounce drinks is $19.99. He expects to ship to stores April 28.
Christiansen said the distillery had also started to make the gin and tonics as a to-go cocktail in a can. To-go cocktails must be sold with food.
