Long Road Distillers has rolled out a new line-up of canned craft cocktails. The Grand Rapids distillery based the new offering on a few of their most popular cocktails since opening their doors over five years ago.

“We’ve always had a dream to put some of our favorite cocktails into a ready-to-drink format,” said Jon O’Connor, co-owner and co-founder of Long Road Distillers. “We were finally able to focus on fine-tuning recipes and acquiring the licenses and equipment necessary to can a product that lived up to our exceptionally high standards.”

Four packs of the following cocktails are now available for purchase:

• The Polish Falcon ~ Long Road Original Vodka, house made ginger beer and lime juice.
• Long Road GnT ~ Long Road Dry Gin and house tonic.
• Teta’s Lemonade ~ Long Road Original Vodka, house lavender syrup, fresh lemon juice and rosewater.

The canned cocktails offer a convenient way to enjoy Long Road spirits without the legwork of mixing up a drink at home. Simply crack open a chilled can and enjoy. Each offering is 10% alcohol by volume in a 12oz can, containing the equivalent of slightly more than one cocktail per can.

“We understand that convenience is king, particularly during the summer in Michigan,” said Kyle VanStrien, co-owner and co-founder of Long Road Distillers. “We’re excited to bring some of our favorites to market, and we look forward to expanding offerings and distribution footprint in the future.”

To start, Long Road canned cocktails will be available for purchase from their tasting rooms in Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Boyne City.

A group of 86 Michigan restaurant and bar owners today announced a new initiative to ensure the health and safety of their employees, customers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. By signing the Michigan Restaurant Promise, restaurant and bar owners commit their establishments to upholding the State of Michigan and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention safety guidelines.

“COVID-19 has had a significant impact on West Michigan and many businesses – particularly bars and restaurants – have suffered,” said Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss. “It’s great to see this group rally together to protect the health and safety of their employees, customers and our community.”

“It’s frustrating to see bars and restaurants not enforcing the health and safety guidelines laid out to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities,” said Chris Andrus, owner of Mitten Brewing. “Those establishments threaten to undo the many sacrifices our community and industry have made and undermine the hard work of establishments like mine committed to keeping the public safe.”

“As restaurant owners and managers, we feel a sense of responsibility for the health and well-being of our employees, our guests and the community at large,” said Kris Spaulding, owner of Brewery Vivant. “That’s why we started this initiative – to show our communities we are taking this seriously and are committed to protecting their health and safety.”

“Though our entire industry is fighting for survival, our greatest concern is the safety of our team members and guests,” said Kyle VanStrien, owner of Long Road Distillery. “We are committed to working together and holding one another accountable, and I am proud to sign onto this pledge.”

“Small businesses are the heart of West Michigan and it’s great to see this group of local restaurant and bar owners be leaders in putting people first,” said Hanna Schulze, president of Local First. “The Michigan Restaurant Promise can serve as a model for other communities to hold their local businesses accountable and encourage them to prioritize the health and wellbeing of their employees and customers above all else.”

Learn more about the initiative by visiting MiRestaurantPromise.com.

Over the course of the last month, Long Road Distillers has shifted from producing Michigan-made craft spirits to Michigan-made hand sanitizer in order to help meet the tremendous needs of the community during the current outbreak. To help speed up the process, the Grand Rapids distillery has partnered with several Michigan breweries to provide beer that can be distilled and converted into ethyl alcohol, the primary ingredient in hand sanitizer.

“We have all of the equipment on site to produce hand sanitizer from scratch,” said Jon O’Connor, co-owner of Long Road Distillers. “Our two large stills allow us to take fermented grain or fruit and turn it into 190 proof neutral spirit, much like we do in the process of producing our vodka.”

For Long Road, the pinch point in speeding up production is fermentation capacity. To overcome that roadblock, they are now working with several Michigan breweries who are providing beer that can be run through the still. To date, Long Road has partnered with The Mitten Brewing Company, Founders Brewing Company, Perrin Brewing Company and Shorts Brewing Company. Some of the beer had been kegged for restaurant use, while some was brewed by the companies specifically for the purpose of distilling into sanitizer.

“The craft beverage world has always been about creativity, excellence and service,” said Chris Andrus, co-owner of The Mitten Brewing Company. “This effort is just a natural extension of that; quickly working together to solve problems and meet a need in our community.”

So far, Long Road Distillers has worked with nearly 300 health care providers, nursing homes, grocers, social service agencies and other essential businesses to provide sanitizer to keep patients, residents, employees and customers safe. Their ability to offer this is due in large part to those who have come to the support of the distillery at this time.

“We’re fortunate to have such a collaborative beverage community in Michigan!” exclaimed Kyle VanStrien, co-owner of Long Road Distillers. “The willingness of our friends to step up and help us in this effort has certainly been one of the brightest silver linings during these difficult days.”

Long Road Hand Sanitizer is available for purchase in individual spray bottles and in bulk refill jugs, with primary focus given to front-line providers and essential businesses and their employees at this time. Interested organizations may submit inquiries about procuring sanitizer through Long Road’s website: www.LongRoadDistillers.com/handsanitizer/

A limited number of individual spray bottles are being sold to the public through the distillery’s weekly take-out service, and orders must be placed in advance through the takeout link on their website. Pick-up of sanitizer, as well as cocktail kits and bottles-to-go are offered Thursdays (12-5p) and Fridays (12-6p) in Grand Rapids, and Saturdays (10a-2p) from their Grand Haven location. Long Road Hand Sanitizer can also be found at several local retailers.