Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails Hard Tea is now available nationwide, following a six-month test period in select markets.
Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails (JDCC) is a flavored malt beverage (FMB) brand from Jack Daniel’s Whiskey parent company Brown-Forman, which launched in 1992.
The offering is produced, sold and distributed through a partnership with Pabst Brewing, which took over production of JDCC cans in 2020. Brown-Forman produced the bottled versions of the FMB internally until the end of 2023, when production was moved to an “external manufacturing organization.”
The hard tea extension of Country Cocktails was launched in May in 13 states: California, Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania).
The 5% ABV offering is available in a 12 oz. can variety packs with four flavors: Original, Peach, Raspberry and Blackberry. Original and Peach are also available in 16 oz. and 23.5 oz. single-serve cans.
Hard tea has recorded the second-largest year-over-year dollar sales growth (+27.6%) in the ready-to-drink (RTD) segment for the 52 weeks ending July 13, according to market research firm NIQ. Only spirits-based seltzers (+29.9%) posted stronger growth.
The JDCC brand family has declined in both dollar sales (-6.8%) and volume (-7.4%) at off-premise outlets tracked by NIQ for the 52-week period ending August 10. With $203.1 million in dollar sales, JDCC is the 48th largest brand family in the beer category, according to NIQ data.
Boston Beer’s Twisted Tea is the best-selling hard tea brand family, with a 2.72% share of all beer category dollars, according to NIQ, and nearly 85% of all hard tea dollars, according to analysis from financial services firm Bernstein.
The nationwide expansion coincides with a partnership with Lauren Alaina, a country musician and the youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry. Alaina is no stranger to bev-alc partnerships; she was tapped as a spokeswoman for Yuengling Flight when it launched in 2020.
To support the hard tea’s launch, JDCC and Southern Living magazine have partnered on a consumer sweepstakes to give away a trip to Alaina’s concert in Las Vegas next month.