Belle Isle Moonshine's growing collection of spirits and canned cocktails
When asked what words of wisdom he would pass on to his younger self, Vince Riggi, co-founder of Belle Isle Moonshine, replies, “Understand that creating something from nothing is a volatile journey, and you’ll need to endure the lows while optimizing the highs.”
Since its inception in 2013, the Richmond-based craft spirits company had established itself as an offbeat, hip distillery, often seen at events around the city slinging fun libations and mixing alternatives to traditional clear liquors. They ditched the glass-jar, backyard-sipping moonshine stereotype, bringing a twist to modern cocktails with a core lineup of varieties comprising the flagship Black Label, 100 Proof, Cold Brew made with Blanchard’s coffee, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Blood Orange and Honey Habanero.
But in 2020, the business faced a turning point as the pandemic shifted the way people were consuming its beverages. Rather than taking in proceeds from restaurant sales or hosting events, for the first time Belle Isle found itself selling bottles direct to consumers online.
“Let’s just do what makes sense to us and what we know we can make well.” —Brandon Day, director of marketing at Belle Isle Moonshine
Director of Marketing Brandon Day
“We focused on the online platform and had a serious downsizing,” says Director of Marketing Brandon Day, a Virginia Commonwealth University graduate.
As the pandemic granted individuals the time and space for self-reflection and discovery, Belle Isle took the opportunity for introspection as well.
In the early years, its expansion from a local company to one offering nationwide shipping felt like an achievement, but while the strategy of working with large distributors and sales teams helped them grow, Day says it came at a serious cost.
“It’s hard to grow the way a small brand is supposed to when you’re putting on the facade and acting like a big company, and it was a rude awakening when COVID happened because we really realized what we had to work with, and we had to think like a small company.”
Thinking like a small company meant shedding expectations, and it meant sitting in the board room at their facility in Manchester, discussing flavor profiles and drinks they love to sip. Putting in serious R&D, the Belle Isle team returned to the drawing board with a much more relaxed attitude and were able to channel that same offbeat, do-it-a-bit-different approach that they had originally become known for.
“You look to the larger industry to see what the trends are and how you fit into that,” Day says, “and this was the first time we said, ‘F--- it, let’s just do what makes sense to us and what we know we can make well.’ ”
Part of the company for almost its entire lifespan, Day says the pressure was on.
“Every single thing has to hit,” he says. “We’re not at a place [where] we can mess up or have products that flop; it’s do or die now, and we had to have a strong comeback post-COVID.”
Apart from introducing canned cocktails to its lineup at the end of 2019, Belle Isle’s repertoire of spirits has remained consistent, averaging a new release approximately every two years. But between April 2020 and this summer, Belle Isle presented five new bottle releases, the first a botanical infusion, Lemon Lavender, in the spring.
“Almost a week before, we thought, ‘Should we cancel it?’ ” Day reflects.
But with risk comes reward, and Lemon Lavender would turn out to become one of the company’s top-selling products, proving that off-the-cuff drops had potential.
Belle Isle Moonshine’s new Pumpkin Pie flavor
Next came Strawberry Matcha, followed by a spur-of-the-moment, uber-seasonal infusion, Peppermint Patty. An ode to the winter season with fresh mint and real chocolate, it turned out to be a hit and will soon return for a re-release.
“For us that was the moment of … if we are willing to push ourselves and do something adventurous but still accessible in terms of flavor and use, then people are going to respond to it,” Day says. “Everyone was a little shy to say it out loud, but it feels like our comeback.”
Since then, Pineapple Coconut and Blackberry Lavender have also joined Belle Isle’s growing collection of flavors. On Oct. 1, they released a celebration of fall with Pumpkin Pie, available online only. Day says there are also plans to unveil a small-batch, red-oak-aged tart cherry infusion in the coming months.
“Direct feedback with customers and having real interactions with them has been so powerful,” Day says. “We have a new frame of mind and are so much more tapped into who we want to be and who the customer wants us to be.”
