2 Towns Ciderhouse is getting into the RTD (ready to drink) cocktail business, with Craftwell Cocktails, a new line of canned cocktails created with real fruit. The cidery sent me samples of the four flavors to review as part of the rollout: Pineapple Margarita, Grapefruit Paloma, Blueberry Cosmo, and Strawberry Margarita.

Press release:

The Oregon-based team behind 2 Towns Ciderhouse today announced Craftwell Cocktails, a line of premium cocktails made with real fruit for exceptional taste and an authentic cocktail experience for any occasion. Prioritizing taste above all else, the ready-to-drink Craftwell cocktails rely on the expertise developed over a dozen years using real fruit to make delicious cider. They are crafted in the Pacific Northwest with carefully selected ingredients that lead to a refreshing and delicious taste.

With four distinct, foundational flavors blended from premium ingredients – Pineapple Margarita, Grapefruit Paloma, Blueberry Cosmo, and Strawberry Margarita – Craftwell Cocktails looks to deliver a modernized cocktail experience. Packaged in ready-to-drink cans that are easily portable, Craftwell will allow consumers to create a unique cocktail moment just about anywhere. From the bonfire social to a day of outdoor adventure to date night, Craftwell allows consumers to live life with flavor while on the go. Each is 10.5 percent ABV and will be available in 12oz ounce cans at retail stores, bars, and restaurants beginning March 1 in Oregon and Washington.

“When we started 2 Towns Ciderhouse a dozen years ago, we used the ingenuity that’s unique to the Pacific Northwest, and people loved it,” said Nels Jewell-Larsen, Co-owner. “We’re bringing the same spirit to Craftwell, inspired by our consumers’ spirit of adventure, to craft great-tasting cocktails that are ready to drink.”

The Pineapple Margarita uses Costa Rica Gold pineapple, Key lime juice, and agave nectar, giving it a ripe pineapple forward taste that is balanced with a kick of lime, and sweetened by the agave. Our Grapefruit Paloma blends Rio Grande Ruby Red grapefruit, California Meyer lemon, and agave nectar to produce a fresh-squeezed, citrus flavor with a quenching and mild bitterness, balanced by agave sweetness. Crafted with Pacific Northwest blueberries and California lemon, the Blueberry Cosmo tastes rich, ripe, and fruity, with a pronounced blueberry forward taste and a lemon-tang finish. The Strawberry Margarita relies on strawberry juice, Mexican Key lime juice, and agave nectar to reveal a distinctly West Coast margarita experience, with big, ripe strawberry notes and blends sweet with tangy.

“We take our cocktails seriously,” said Nels. “Ourselves? Not so much. Craftwell knows that cocktails are supposed to be about fun, and we bring an irreverence to our craft that helps our consumers enjoy their time with friends while feeling good about what they’re drinking.”

ABOUT CRAFTWELL
Embodying the spirit of the Pacific Northwest, Craftwell ready-to-drink cocktails are crafted with the same care and expertise that made the 2 Towns Ciderhouse team leaders in using real fruit to create award-winning ciders. Craftwell encourages consumers to live life with flavor and to create their own cocktail moments with easily portable canned deliciousness. Real, fresh fruit produces real, fresh flavors: Pineapple Margarita, Grapefruit Paloma, Blueberry Cosmo, and Strawberry Margarita. For more information please visit craftwellcocktails.com.

It’s not entirely clear as to what the base alcohol is for these drinks, though the labels say, “Wine cocktail.” Given that cider is, legally speaking, a wine (at least in Oregon, you need a winery license to commercially produce cider), it could be a concentrated (or possibly distilled) cider as the base. Or it could be wine. The Craftwell website also indicates these are all gluten free as well.

Watch for review notes soon.