Drop Needle Drinks is a new entry into the ready-to-drink cocktail market, with three sparkling wine and fruit-juice-based products now available at many local restaurants and liquor stores.
During the pandemic Nallely Suarez Gass, an Oak Park resident, and three colleagues at a national beer company started thinking about shifting trends in alcohol consumption and began to dream about making their own products.
“People are shifting to wanting to have a cocktail in their hand and we saw beer sales going down. We saw even some of the seltzers going down, which is why we saw an opportunity to make something that was wine based,” Gass said.
Ready-to-drink cocktails currently make up 12% of the U.S. alcoholic beverage market, according to several groups that study the industry. That percentage is expected to grow in the coming years. While this sector of the market has historically appealed to women, according to Gass men are starting to pick up pre-made cocktails as well.
Drop Needle Drinks come in three flavors, all made with real fruit juice: The Modern Mimosa is a blend of orange, tangerine, and clementine juices. The Berry Rosé Sparkler features blackberry and raspberry juices. The California 75 is a riff on a French 75, this time with lemon juice and notes of juniper and elderflower. All are made with sparkling wine from a family vineyard in Paso Robles, California. Each one is less than 9 grams of carbs and is gluten-free.
The first step for the company was to secure distribution in the Chicago area.
“Right now, we are door-to-door selling, knocking on every bar door, every restaurant door, every liquor store, every convenience store. Trying to build the brand so that then we can pursue the bigger stores,” Gass said.
Local distributor Burke Beverage was the first to deliver the drinks to market. Robert’s Westside was its first retail account. Now cans can be found at Sugar Beet, where a four-pack sells for $16.99, Carnival Grocery, La Tequileria, Taco Mucho, The Beer Shop, plus almost 100 other locations and counting.
“I felt really loved, because the local places have been really, really supportive,” Gass said. “Our goal is to cover the Chicagoland area, then we’ll branch out to other markets.”
Gass grew up in the city of Chicago and later moved to Texas to work for PepsiCo. When she moved back to the area, she knew that she wanted to settle in Oak Park.
“I just love how it feels. We rented for a little bit while we found our dream home. And it’s been 13 years now.”
Feeling the groove of a place, time or event is exactly what the name Drop Needle means.
“It’s about that moment when the party reaches a different level. When you’re having a good time and then, something happens. You’re with the right people. You have the right drink. And all of a sudden, you hear a song, or someone takes out a guitar and it’s like you feel this shift in what you’re experiencing.”
That’s a Drop Needle moment to Gass.
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