Cirrus Vodka Rebrand Positions Distillery to Open New Tasting Room
RICHMOND MAGAZINE FEATURES THE CIRRUS REBRAND STORY AND IT’S PART IN THE GROWTH OF THE VIRGINIA-MADE SPIRIT
Cirrus Vodka is opening a new tasting room this Summer in the Ballast Point development in Scott’s Addition. The Campfire & Co. team has been working with Cirrus Vodka since 2019 on the development and reintroduction of their brand and packaging and now are helping their team bring this new tasting room to life.
Over the past 5 years, we’ve had the pleasure of watching Cirrus grow and embrace their new brand, leading to their current place as the #2 selling Virginia-made spirit. This growth and brand awareness has contributed to more than just sales, it has been a big catalyst for their growth into the new tasting room.
We shared coffee with Eileen Mellon at Richmond Magazine earlier this Spring and chatted about where Cirrus started and what’s on the exciting horizon for the brand. Read a few excerpts below and find the full article here.
Original and Jalapena Infused Cirrus Vodka packaging design, see more here.
From Richmond Magazine:
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.
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.
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.
Rendering of the new Cirrus Vodka tasting room, see more here.
“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.”
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.
