Lifted Libations Sets Out To Woo White Claw Crowd

With organic craft cocktails in cans, this Colorado-based beverage company offers a Next Level alternative to the ubiquitous malt liquor-based drinks. Here’s why you should check out the new creations from Lifted Libations.

Spirited effort’s sweet start

Andrew Fulton and his partner, Moose Koons, launched Rocky Mountain Soda Company in 2008 in Golden, Colo. Yes, the very city is also home to the iconic Coors brand.

The Rocky Mountain Soda mission was to make high-end pop that would pass muster with creative mixologists. So, the unique flavors actually taste like blackberries, prickly pear and black cherry for which they’re named. The ginger beer has a considerable kick. And its Colorado Cola won first prize at the Colorado State Fair.

Fulton’s passion for making the best possible soda dates back to his childhood when he visited family in his native Virginia. “My grandmother got me interested in hunting for roots like sassafras,” Fulton said in a recent phone interview.

The family relocated to Colorado when he was in junior high and shortly after making the cross-country move, he met Koons. The lifelong friends share a love of skateboarding, snowboarding and other outdoor adventures. Before starting Rocky Mountain Soda, the two ran a music production company.

In 2018, they expanded with CBD-spiked sparking drinks and the following year, they applied for and were granted a distilled spirits production license and Lifted Libations was born.

The tasty difference

The team applied the same principles used in developing the craft sodas with the focus on organic, non-GMO ingredients that are also vegan and Kosher. It yields a drink that actually tastes like it was made by a bartender.

Take the Tee Time, for instance, a boozy version of an Arnold Palmer. Fulton and Koons turned to the organic tea purveyor, Teatulia. “We have a great relationship with Linda,” Fulton said. That’s Teatulia founder Linda Appel Lipsius, who has a sterling rep for sourcing responsibly grown ingredients. “She actually owns a tea plantation in Bangladesh,” Fulton said.

Before it becomes a key ingredient in Tee Time, that Teatulia black tea is brewed the old-fashioned way, with water heated to 185 degrees. It’s steeped until it’s strong, but not bitter. It’s then blended with organic lemonade extract, vegan cane sugar and organic vodka. It’s on the sweet side, but not sticky sweet.

“It’s got 12 grams of sugar and is under 150 calories,” Fulton said.

That’s not so far away from the wildly popular White Claw, weighing in at 100 calories for its fruit-flavored spiked sparkling water. But, Fulton said that’s where the similarities end.

“A lot of consumer don’t realize that White Claw and the other spiked sodas uses malt liquor in its drinks,” Fulton explained.

Malt liquor is basically beer with a higher alcohol content. Because it falls into the beer category, it’s taxed at a lower rate, making for a cheap buzz.

“You might pay a little bit more for our drinks, but you’re getting a better product,” he said.

Well, Fulton might have a tough time convincing the shredding crowd he used to hang out with. Unless, he insists, you pay attention to taste. “Most of those drinks include ingredients like stevia, giving them a funky aftertaste,” he said.

Lifted Libations cocktails are 5 percent alcohol. “We wanted to make them sessionable, like a can of beer, especially after talking with live music promotors who want to sell something that’s not designed just to get people wasted,” Fulton said.

This small company is looking at expanding its distribution, with the product currently available in Colorado, Missouri, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Florida and Texas. It’s been challenging to carve out shelf space during the pandemic.

“It’s tough because we really can’t sample it,” Fulton said.

But he’s not giving up on this ever-expanding line of canned craft cocktails: “I think quality is always going to rise to the top.”