This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.
(From left) Cirrus Director of Marketing Tom Ellington and business partner Remi McDonough (Photo by Ash Daniel)
They say not to judge a book by its cover — or, in this case, a bottle of booze by its label — but drinkers tend to reach for the familiar, or at least the intriguing, new or fun. With an obtrusively tall, frosty bottle that made it appear like a Grey Goose doppelgänger, Richmond-based Cirrus Vodka wasn’t necessarily attracting customers.
Tom Ellington came on board in 2018 as director of sales and marketing after years with Coca-Cola. He’ll admit that he was slightly green in the position and at a crossroads in his career, but what he did recognize was that, despite winning accolades and being available for two decades, the local spirits company hadn’t been landing on the bar cart at home.
“My first year was gathering all that feedback, taking it to heart … and trying to reimagine where we would go,” Ellington says. “We felt Cirrus was stalled in a certain subset of Richmond and wanted it to be synonymous with the state of Virginia, in the direction Hardywood [Park Craft Brewery] was going. I felt like we needed a complete makeover.”
Enter Cirrus 2.0: beginning with a smaller, stouter — some might say just plain cuter — bottle. Instead of towering in the back behind other bottles on store shelves, its decrease in height demanded that it be showcased front and center. The distillers also knocked a few bucks off the price.
Cirrus Vodka introduced its new bottle in 2019. (Photo by Alexis Courtney)
Since the redesign, Cirrus has emerged as the vodka of choice for local cocktail bars including The Jasper and Emerald Lounge, is a sponsor of Richmond Restaurant Week and can be spotted on drink menus across the city; it’s now the No. 2 Virginia-based spirit behind Bowman Brothers whiskey.
The garnish on top: Cirrus is on the cusp of unveiling a new cocktail lounge as part of the forthcoming Ballast development at 1320 Summit Ave. (the former Blue Bee Cider space). Helmed by the team behind Yellow Umbrella Provisions, the future site will feature an outpost of the market, as well as a restaurant.
“With a heavy concentration of breweries, a cidery, a distillery and a meadery all within the bounds of Scott’s Addition, we felt a vodka tasting room would be a great addition to the neighborhood,” says Yellow Umbrella Provisions owner Tucker Brown. “The goal behind Ballast is to create a unique food and beverage experience for the community.”
Set to open in August, it’s one of the latest food and beverage concepts to unfold in ever-growing Scott’s Addition. The forthcoming restaurant, Slack Tide Fish Co., has been dubbed a global, coastal concept and Caleb Shriver, former owner of Dutch & Co., will serve as captain of the kitchen.
“We’re doing it because the rebrand has allowed us to,” Ellington explains. “I think having a showpiece for your brand, like any winery or vineyard, it’s cool to have a retail storefront to showcase who you are and get people involved with the brand.”
One of those people was Christie Thompson, a partner at Richmond design agency Campfire and Co.
“I feel like one of the most interesting parts about the growth of Cirrus and watching it happen is that the product has never changed,” Thompson says. “He came to us like, ‘They put the effort into creating a high-quality product, but the people we want drinking it don’t know it exists or aren’t interested in putting it on their shelves. How do [we] shift that perception?’ It was really a project about awareness and perception.”
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A rendering of the Cirrus Vodka tasting room at Ballast (Image courtesy Campfire & Co.)
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A rendering of the Cirrus Vodka tasting room at Ballast (Image courtesy Campfire & Co.)
Campfire worked to develop Cirrus’ brand, aiming for a fun, approachable, “bring it to the backyard cookout but also use it in a martini” identity. “If the brand was to be brought to life and hang out with us, what would they be like, what would they be like if we went to happy hour with them? For Cirrus, I feel like that was missing, that tangible personality aspect,” says Christina Kern, Campfire’s creative director.
Cirrus operates a tasting room on Ownby Lane, next to Main Line Brewery. Initially, that tasting room will remain open when the space at Ballast debuts, but Ellington says they need to assess the building’s long-term plan.
The planned 70-plus-seat lounge will feature bay windows, soft seating and curvy light fixtures that tie into the Cirrus design, along with bold colors and pops of tile. A spacious patio will offer plenty of outdoor seating.
“I feel like this new space will be such a showpiece for our brand, and more people are going to see us and want to use us,” Ellington says. “They’re going to see high-end space compared to what we have now, and I think that will translate that Cirrus is premium vodka. We want to be approachable, but we have a great product and want people to not just say, ‘That’s a local Richmond brand,’ [but] ‘That’s the vodka I order.’”
