New Cirrus vodka bottle. (Photo courtesy of Cirrus)
As your eyes scan ABC store or bar shelves in Richmond, you may notice a familiar name on an unfamiliar bottle. Ditching its tall, frosty vodka vessel, Cirrus Vodka recently upgraded to a sleeker, shorter bottle, with bold, blue lettering and cloud-like designs. As the local spirit company nears 15 years, the rebrand doesn’t simply mark the move towards a new, fresh-faced product, it signifies a more focused future.
“When you walk down the vodka aisle at an ABC store, there are not only hundreds of options, but the shelves are filled with generic, uninspiring designs,” says Tom Ellington, Cirrus' director of sales and marketing. “The new design intends to create a cool, unique package that clearly reflects the Cirrus brand, evokes the quality of the spirit, and stands out on a bar.”
Ellington, 29, joined Cirrus in September 2018 and says he saw an opportunity to grow a local, Richmond brand. He spent his first year at Cirrus gathering feedback from everyone from bartenders to ABC store customers. One message was clear: a rebrand was priority.
Ellington called on local designer, Campfire & Co. to assist.
“Cirrus Vodka has always been an exceptional product," says Christie Thompson, lead strategist at Campfire & Co. "Now the graphic identity and brand experience are aligned with the with the quality and personality of the brand.”
The changes at Cirrus extend beyond the label. Paul McCann officially started production of the potato vodka in 2006. In 2013, Cirrus ceased production until the company was brought back to life two years later when Sterling Roberts and Gary McDowell of Parched Group LLC stepped in to assist McCann, also introducing a larger distilling system. In 2017 the tasting room at their production facility at 1603 Ownby Lane opened.
This past March, Roberts and McDowell stepped down from the Cirrus executive team to focus on a brewery, and now Ellington works directly with Parched Group advisors.
During the internal changes, Cirrus watched as other beverages moved toward the imbibing spotlight. With the number of local breweries teetering around 40, beer became the unofficial beverage of the city, and in the spirit world, vodka became less prevalent on area cocktail menus.
But the same year that Ellington joined Cirrus, so did another key player: 25-year-old head distiller Eliad Gebrehiwot, a VCU chemical engineering and chemistry graduate.
“I never thought I’d be going into the alcohol business,” Genrehiwot says, laughing. “It gives me exposure to things and I’m always trying to improve and get more alcohol out of the ferment. I want to increase yield but offer that same taste.”
Gebrehiwot is able to use his degree in a non-traditional way as head distiller, while also learning about operating a business. He uses an eight-step filtration and triple distillation process with local russet potatoes to make the vodka.
“Eliad is a very sharp guy and is a valuable addition to the Cirrus team,” Ellington says. “I love…a homegrown VCU chemical engineer hand-making a spirit in the city where he studied.”
Cirrus Vodka is seeing its efforts pay off as the company approaches 2020 backed by a young, relentless team. In 2019 it tripled its sales growth from the previous year and is considered the top-selling Virginia-made vodka, as well as one of the fastest-growing vodka brands in Virginia.
Ellington says, “The spirits industry is hyper-competitive and our goal is to continue gaining market share locally and establishing Cirrus as a craft, community-minded brand that values giving back.”
The new Cirrus Vodka bottle is currently available in Virginia ABC stores and in select stores in Washington D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
