Cider Corner: Distilling An Option For Growth-Minded Cider Companies

Capturing the attention of the open-minded drinker is truly trending on the adult beverage marketplace. 

Breweries are making hard seltzers and cideries are trying their hand at NA sodas and THC beverages, but some companies are working to go beyond the world of lower ABV offerings.

Count Atlanta Hard Cider Company and Distillery in that group. Originally a hard cider company that made its products in a co-packing facility and did most of its business through distribution, it has since expanded to include a distillery and taproom in Marietta, Georgia and is working to raise awareness of its gin, vodka and brandy.

Last year was the official launch of the distillery, lead cidermaker Lane Williams said, and it figures to be a key piece of the growth puzzle for Atlanta Hard Cider.

“We’re making anything you can make with apple juice,” Williams said. 

Paying attention to crossover opportunities is truly one way to further your brand, he added.

“If you’re walking through the liquor store, you’ll see us in the gin section, you’ll see us in the vodka section and then you go to the beer cooler and you see our cider,” Williams said. “It shows people that we’re not just a cider house. We can be anything apple.” 

Another reason they’re growing is a focus on working to enter new markets. Launching their product in a large city like Atlanta is helping them there.

“We’re long established in Georgia,” Williams said. “Atlanta is the heart of the south — it’s like New York City in the north. We’re hoping in the next two years to break ground on a new facility. We’re talking about building a new cidery to accommodate the volume. We have a good footprint in Georgia and we’re trying to expand throughout the entire southeast.”

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