OldKnow Beverage Co. launched Verte Absinthe Spirited Seltzer last month, an absinthe-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTD) that the Rabun Gap, Georgia-based company believes is the first on the market.
Made at the distillery in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia, the spirit-based seltzer combines local mineral water with the “herbaceous elixir,” to create a 5% ABV RTD, available in 12 oz. 4-packs.
For anyone wary of the beverage due to the hallucinogenic reputation of the spirit, OldKnow co-founders Mary Catherine “MC” Matheny and Ryan Warner Wood assure consumers those ingredients are a thing of the past, and “the only real difference between absinthe and any other distilled spirit” today is a “coloration step,” in which fresh herbs are used to add a distinct green color and “a little more body.”
The flavor of the “fairy water”-inspired beverage includes notes of fennel, honey and lemon.
“It’s definitely a love it or hate it flavor, but we’re leaning into that, because I feel like it’s so common now to make something for the masses, when so much beauty is found in those moments that are for the individual,” Matheny said. “We’re giving people an opportunity to try [absinthe] for the first time at an affordable price point and decide for themselves ‘do I like this?’”
“It is kind of a gateway for absinthe for people to put their toe in and not be completely bombarded by its potency,” Wood added.
The release is the first offering in OldKnow’s Obscura line, which will feature other RTDs with “rare spirits” and uncommon herbs. The company intends to release future Obscura offerings with scotch and mezcal.
“Our dream is to bring rare spirits to the more casual drinker, because ultimately, when you are a casual drinker and you’re not an aficionado, you end up feeling out of place,” Wood said. “And that is not what drinking spirits is about, it is about having a good time. And I think the more we can bring the casual laymen drinker towards these rare spirits, the more fun everyone’s gonna have.”
OldKnow launched in 2021 with its Botanical line, which includes Vodka Seltzer (with notes of oolong, grapefruit and lychee) and Gin Seltzer (with notes of cucumber and “mountain mint”). The company said it intends to add RTDs with tequila and rye whiskey to the line.
OldKnow’s co-founders were inspired to enter the spirits industry after mixing fresh produce and herbs from a friend who made homemade cocktails. Graphic designers by trade, the two started a bar tricycle cart to serve cocktails locally. Matheny began working on an Atlanta bar and the two started teaching themselves to ins and outs of spirits, and in 2021 they launched OldKnow.
“We wanted to curate an experience for people without having to have all the tools and the ingredients, and make something really approachable and accessible, but in that elevated flavor profile,” Matheny said.
“There’s a lot of people doing really amazing bottled spirits, but what we really wanted to do was bring a cocktail profile into the seltzer space,” Wood added.
Asked to characterize an OldKnow consumer, Wood said cocktail lovers young and old appreciate the beverage, with a shared love of an elevated cocktail experience and with health and wellness in mind, as each offering is about 100 calories per can.
“Where we fell in love with absinthe is going to some of these higher-end bars and trying an absinthe service where it’s dropped over the sugar cube and louched and it’s a beautiful thing,” Matheny said “So it’s really cool to be able to offer that in a ready to drink experience.”
Oldknow is now available in Northern Georgia and the greater Atlanta area. Once “seltzer season” hits this summer, the company hopes to explore expansion into one or two nearby states.
Although the hard seltzers OldKnow hopes to compete against have primarily found growth in off-premise retailers, the company said its products have particular success in the on-premise channel.
“We’re actually finding a lot of on-premise accounts accepting the idea of bringing a seltzer on where they had formerly been like, ‘we won’t carry a seltzer at all,’ because we are really focused on quality,” Matheny said. “We’re focused on spirits and beautiful water, and they recognize that, and it’s an opportunity for them to ease into the seltzer market without offering something that is more generic and common.”
Wood added that OldKnow has received a great deal of support from accounts with “elevated culinary experiences,” where a consumer would have a “convenient option” that’s on the “same level” as the food they are enjoying.