Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
PHOTO: DOUG ALLARD Blue Chair Bay Rum at Wild Wild West, Austin, TX Mark Easterling is Marketing Director for Associated Club Management, owners of the Midnight Rodeo and Wild West concepts. If anyone knows about rowdy summer fun and cocktails, it's him. Part of his job is to keep an eye out for amazing products that will excite the company's patrons. "When we heard about Blue Chair Bay Rum from distributors, we said, 'We want it!'" says Easterling. "We play 80 percent country music at a dozen locations, all in Texas, except for one in St. Croix. Easterling travels to the " PHOTO: KIRK WEDDLE Chesney's No Shoes Nation Tour, his deeply personal Life On A Rock CD and the Blue Chair Bay Rum launch are all happening this spring. From a calendar perspective, that's a strategic move that will reach more than 1.25 million people at his concerts alone. Montgomery still remembers the moment early in the discussions when he was tasked with capturing the spirit Chesney asked for aboard his boat. "He wanted to bottle the entire island experience, quite the ask . . . I still get chills from it," he says. "This is not something Kenny does—this is who he is and the passion and the care and commitment shows up everywhere in the product. Plus Kenny is putting out a record that speaks to the overarching lifestyle," says Montgomery of Chesney's April 30 release, Life On A Rock, which pays homage to the lessons learned, relationships forged and the way of life on an island. Putting the Pieces Together Once FLO had a clear vision and their internal structural team, they knew they needed an actualizer as potent as their own people. After looking across the nation for an organization that was as quick-responding, Wild Wild West bartender Emmy Robbin with two Blue Chair Bay Rum expressions. Caribbean twice a year—a trip that validated the company's choice to partner with distributors to offer Blue Chair Bay Rum, and to use the new product in the "Kryptonite, sold as a 32-ounce pitcher drink. " "Kenny Chesney's popularity both in our island location and in Texas is a natural for both and everyone is excited there and here, says Easterling. "We're " counting on our bartenders to come up with innovative drinks, and we're even sold as a 32 oz. pitcher drink giving prizes for whoever comes up with ◗ 2 oz. Blue Chair Bay Coconut Spiced the most creative cocktail. " One of the aspects that caught Rum ◗ 1 oz. peach schnapps Easterling's eye—and taste buds—is the ◗ 1 oz. melon liqueur uniqueness of the blend of the spice ◗ pineapple juice and the coconut. "Currently, he says, " ◗ Sprite "our 'Cruisin' Confusion,' a pitcher drink with five different rums mixed together, ◗ Pack pitcher with ice. Add first three attracts a lot of attention. For Kenny to come up with a mix of what's already ingredients, then fill to brim with popular in our drinks might just make this equal parts pineapple juice and our number-one rum. " Sprite. Sink an activated green glow stick deep into pitcher. Kryptonite april 2013 / the tasting panel / 63