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Belle Isle's newest infused moonshine, Blood Orange, is officially available in Virginia ABC stores as of Oct. 1.
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Head of Production Greg Brooks on the production line
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The top label is added to the cork at Belle Isle's manufacturing facility.
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Belle Isle's lineup of infusions: original, 100 proof, Honey Habanero, Ruby Red Grapefruit and Cold Brew
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Inside the production facility at Belle Isle
“There’s always three questions,” says Vince Riggi, co-founder of Belle Isle Moonshine, founded in 2013 and producing moonshine in its Manchester distillery since 2015.
People ask, “ 'What is moonshine? Does it taste good? And what do I do with it?' Once they try it and experience it and get it, they become advocates,” he says.
Riggi may be right. Belle Isle Moonshine is coming off gold medal wins at the SIP Awards in San Diego for its Honey Habanero and Cold Brew varieties; the distillery owners recently purchased another 7,000 square feet of production space adjacent to its current property; and their newest and perhaps most anticipated infusion, Belle Isle Blood Orange, is hitting ABC shelves today.
Back in June, I had the exclusive opportunity to sip on the not-yet-finalized "Blorange," as the Belle Isle team likes to call this latest variety. An enticing, vivid hue of orange, it's surprisingly quaffable, with citrusy sweet nuances, but still offers the comforting warmth sought by shine aficionados.
The blood oranges used are organic Sanguinellos from California and Arizona, pulverized into a pulpy juice and then shipped to Belle Isle. Greg Brooks, head of production and shine mastermind, says the juice is first mixed with water, then the spirit is slowly added so the citrus isn't shocked and the infusion maintains peak flavor.
“We looked at Blood Orange as our first product, in regards to our lineup, that’s more approachable, and it was super intentional,” explains Riggi. “Our goal was [to share] who we are [with those] who didn’t have the proprietary knowledge of what we’re about.”
Moonshine faces its fair share of misconceptions. Many tend to think of it in a Mason jar with an alcohol content high enough to put hair on your chest, not as a spirit that can substitute for vodka, or mix deliciously with Aperol, rosemary and lemon.
A peek at the bottling process at Belle Isle
Blood Orange is here to shake up the fallacy.
“Orange, who doesn’t like orange?,” asks Riggi.
Brooks agrees.
“Blood Orange was to set ourselves apart; it’s also kind of trending and a more natural product,” he says.
So when did Belle Isle know they'd found success and it was time to diversify their offerings?
"When every month became the best month,” says Brooks.
Riggi says that when Belle Isle first hit ABC shelves and restaurant cocktail menus, and the uniquely flavored Honey Habanero was embraced by spirit drinkers, he knew they were on to something.
"We realized this is an amazing canvas," he says. “This is more than just a liquid. We want you to embrace this when you are on the river, hiking, camping; whatever you're doing, we want this to be a part of your experience."
Although it's been a rewarding road, don’t expect Belle Isle to pump out more and more products. They want to stay in their lane and move forward in marathon mode.
“There’s a model of 'Let’s roll out 100 products a year,' but we're super [focused on] 'Don’t chase the shiny things,' ” explains Riggi. “We may not roll out another product for a while. A ton goes into rolling out a product, a lot of resource and a lot of effort.”
The team spent over a year toying with different infusions and bouncing flavor ideas off one another. Blood Orange almost didn’t come to fruition.
“We gave up on it at one point,” says Riggi. “On a scale of what we're doing, we're a small company, we're still a little guy.”
