Hard water. A low, ABV drink that’s not sugary, has no carbonation and is made from a grain-neutral spirit, not malt. It’s an idea that intrigued Central Standard Distillery founders Evan Hughes and Pat McQuillan, and it got them thinking about the possibilities.
“It seems like such an easy concept that someone should have already done it,” says Hughes. “We kept wondering, ‘Why is no one else doing this?’”
But after both Hughes and McQuillan moved past the wondering stage and into the development process, they realized why no one had come up with a spirit-based, hard water before: because it was really hard to develop. The two, with their distiller, Greg Diny and Jesse Jonas, packaging expert, had to experiment with flavors, with alcohol by volume levels, and with packaging. “It took us three years of research and development,” McQuillan says.
“And Pat and I learned more about microbiology than I ever thought I’d learn,” Hughes adds.
Both Hughes and McQuillan say several times over the last three years, they thought they might be ready to launch their water, but it wasn’t yet perfected. “We had to be really patient,” Hughes says. “We spent a lot of time and money in lab research.”
Their perfectionism, they say, was worth it, as their new hard water is being launched all over Wisconsin in time for Labor Day celebrations, and Hard2O is the first ever, still vodka-water. There is one, alcoholic still water on the market, but it is not made with a spirit, it is malt-based, Hughes says.
“We are building a new category,” Hughes says.
Hard2O itself is smooth – it tastes of fruit and water and just a hint of vodka, but without any harsh aftertaste. Each 12-ounce serving comes in plastic bottle, not unlike regular bottled water, and each serving has only 40 calories, is 5 percent alcohol by volume, contains absolutely no sugar, no carbohydrates and is gluten-free. It will be sold in four-packs and 24-packs, and some places, including bars and taverns, may sell it by the individual bottle. Hard2O comes in four, naturally-derived flavors: berry, mango, citrus, and dragon fruit-pear. It’s also sold in completely recyclable packaging, too.
“Those flavors were just, by far, our favorites,” Hughes says. “Initially, we were just going to launch with three flavors, but then we tasted the dragon fruit-pear, and we couldn’t give any one of them up.”
The genesis for the idea for the product comes from one simple preference: “We don’t like bubbles,” says Hughes.
The two also didn’t like fake flavors. “You know what those watermelon candies taste like, and there’s no watermelon anywhere that tastes like that?” Hughes says. “We didn’t want our product to have sugar or unnatural flavoring.”
“This is a lifestyle beverage,” Hughes says. “It’s perfect for boating, the beach, tailgates, golf, barbecues, after working out. It’s sessionable.”
And it’s ABV settled out at 5 percent. They tested out hard waters that came in as high as 12 percent, but those waters didn’t taste right to them. “We wanted it to be subtle,” McQuillan says.
As for the very low, 40 calories per 12-ounce bottle, they initially thought it would come in around 80 or 90 calories, but because it doesn’t have any sugar or artificial flavorings, its actual calories were much lower than they expected. “It hits a lot of categories” that are trending in both beverages and lifestyle, Hughes says.
The rollout of the product on Aug. 22 in Wisconsin will help them prepare for a national campaign that will unveil sometime in 2020. “The more people we show this product to, the more people have different ideas of how to use it,” McQuillan says.
For Denver mixologist Sean Keipper, national distribution or at least distribution to Colorado can’t come fast enough.
“Hard2O is going to play well here in Denver, but also poolside out in Vegas, at golf resorts in Arizona, on both coasts and basically anywhere folks get fanatical about working out,” Keipper says. “I envision most people will drink Hard2O chilled, straight out of the bottle, but it’ll also make a great cocktail ingredient, not to mention be refreshing served on the rocks with a lime.”
Tavern owner Mark Collins, who operates The Irish Rail Bar & Grill in the resort town of Manasquan, New Jersey, predicts Hard2O will be a hit with his patrons.
“My customers are always looking for low-cal alternatives and 40 calories is the lowest I’ve ever seen,” Collins says. “Folks will definitely be intrigued when Hard2O comes out here to the East Coast.”
Though its national launch is months away, Hughes and McQuillan decided to market their product directly to their beer-related competitors, as they’ve placed billboards directly across the street from a large national brewing company’s operations in both St. Louis, MO and Newark, NJ. The billboards read: “Your AB boss never has to know" with the email, tryit@hard2o.com or "Work at AB?" with the email.
“Who better to score the first taste of our 40-calorie industry-changing product than those making 95-plus-calorie beverages each and every day,” Hughes said. “We can’t wait for employees of those competing in this, as well as the flavored-malt-beverage space to taste Hard2O.“
Additionally, the distillery is seeking anyone in the United States who is named Michael, Michelle or Mickey Ultra to reach out to them to secure a first taste and perhaps become their product’s new ambassador.
“We wanted to have some fun with how we launched Hard2O,” Hughes says. “This isn’t the corn-syrup wars or anything like that. We think of it more as a creative way to showcase Hard2O and secure unexpected influencers for the next great drink in our industry.”
