IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
A whiskey distillery in Redlands has reached an agreement with BevMo, one of the largest alcoholic beverage retailers on the West Coast.
J. Riley Distillery has two of its main products – California Clear, a basic whiskey, and 1775, a light whiskey – available upon request at approximately 150 BevMo stores in California, Oregon and Washington, said Brian Sevick, owner and chief executive officer of American Bootleggers in Redlands.
Approximately 70 to 80 of those stores are in Southern California, Sevick said.
The agreement, which began about two weeks ago, doesn’t put either of the two beverages on the shelves at BevMo, but it does make it possible for BevMo to order either of them through American Bootleggers, which is J. Riley Distillery’s lone distributor.
Such an arrangement is usually the first step towards a retailer making a product part of their regular inventory. Sales representatives from American Bootleggers hope to get California Clear and 1775 on BevMo’s shelves in six months to a year, Sevick said.
“The stores won’t just put something on the shelf,” Sevick said. “People have to start asking for it, but in this case it’s not a matter of if people start asking for it, but when they start asking for it. It’s a great product.”
Currently, J. Riley Distillery products are available at 85 liquor stores, grocery stores and restaurants in the Inland Empire.
American Bootleggers has reached a similar arrangement with Total Wine & More, another major wine and spirits retailer, on J. Riley Distillery’s behalf, but details on that agreement aren’t available, Sevick said.
