Swilled Dog masters cider, takes on spirits

Swilled Dog Hard Cider has come a long way in a relatively short time. Growing from a tiny locally-focused garage cidery in 2016 to a mid-sized, regional competitor today, the company shows it has what it takes to succeed in America’s craft beverage alcohol market. West Virginia Beer Roads presents an interview with Swilled Dog’s leader and co-founder, Brooke Glover, in an A-to-Z review of their business operations.

It’s an impressive story how they developed a successful cidery in rural Pendleton County that now markets its products in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, and Indiana in addition to WV. Not content to rest on the cidery’s success, the owners have now also opened a small distillery at their Upper Tract, WV, production facility. Check out Episode 32 of West Virginia Beer Roads to hear this comprehensive report.

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Some of the info you’ll find in this interview

• Swilled Dog was early in the market putting their cider in cans instead of bottles and it has paid off in distribution and sales.
• They keep their cider prices lower than one might expect ($8.99/six pack) because they must to compete with major brands such as Angry Orchard and Bold Rock.
• They decided to focus primarily on fruited and flavored ciders because that’s where today’s market is if you want to get wide distribution for your product.
• Learning the ins and outs of cider/wine distribution was one of their top challenges starting out, but they have now mastered it.
• They are introducing three merchant-bottled small-batch whiskey products that should appear in West Virgina liquor stores very soon. These products all scored highly at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
• Swilled Dog’s tasting room at Upper Tract in Pendleton County serves both the cidery and the distillery.
• Their first in-house produced bourbon is now resting in new, charred WV white oak barrels, where it will remain until it’s ready to drink.
• Expect apple brandy to be another featured product of the distillery operation.
• A line of Swilled Dog ready-to-drink, vodka-based canned cocktails is in the works and should hit the market in the next couple of months.
• Swilled Dog Infusions are natural flavoring packages to which you add whiskey and then let the flavors infuse to make specialty cocktails.