Yellowstone’s Dutton family may be on a strike-imposed hiatus, but the show’s 6666 Grit & Glory beverage-alcohol brand keeps rolling.
6666 Grit & Glory – named for the Four Sixes Ranch that Yellowstone creators Taylor Sheridan and David Glasser purchased in Guthrie, Texas – has launched a $3 million media campaign and sweepstakes for a walk-on role on one of the franchise’s productions once the writers and actors strikes end and the Duttons return.
Sheridan and Glasser partnered with L.A. Libations to launch three craft beers – a pilsner, an amber lager and a hazy session IPA – under the 6666 Grit & Glory brand in Texas last year.
The brand has since expanded to include four ranch waters, and now boasts distribution in 38 states through 175 Molson Coors wholesalers and a handful of independents, Tom Larsen, CEO of 6666 Grit & Glory holding company Homestead Libations, told Brewbound. The brand now has authorizations in 1,500 Kroger grocery stores and a total of 8,000 retail locations.
This week, 6666 Grit & Glory rolled out spirits-based canned cocktails on both the high end and the low end of the ABV spectrum. The 5.9% ABV vodka cocktails (Strawberry Daiquiri, Margarita and Paloma) sold in 12 oz. slim can 4-packs ($9.99 suggested retail price) started in Meijer stores in the Midwest and Save Mart in Northern California.
The brand also launched higher ABV items, including a 26% ABV Old Fashioned and 15% ABV Margarita and American Mule in 200 mL 4-pack cans ($19.99 SRP).
“The high ABVs are kind of grounded on the principle of bar drinks without bartenders,” Larsen said. “So you just literally pour your 200 mL Old Fashioned, 26% ABV, just over ice and you’ve got everything you need.”
By the end of the year, Larsen expects the brand to be available in 15,000 retail accounts as it expands to the northeastern U.S.
“We ramp up when we get to fall resets,” Larsen said. “Walmart’s launching us in 1,200 stores. Publix is launching us, and in SoCal, Ralphs.
“We’re really building infrastructure for the spring resets,” he added.
Bolstering those expansion plans is a $3 million media plan featuring a sweepstakes for a walk-on role in one of Sheridan’s productions. The sweepstakes runs July 16 through December 31, with heavy promotion this summer via in-store displays, traditional TV and cable, over-the-top services, billboards and digital media.
L.A. Libations managing partner Danny Stepper called the sweepstakes a “money can’t buy opportunity” for retailers, wholesalers and consumers “because only we have access to Taylor Sheridan.”
The timing of the campaign comes as the writers and actors unions – the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) – are on strike, leaving future productions in limbo. Larsen shared that Sheridan questioned how the promotion would work with the strike. For 6666 Grit & Glory, the campaign is a way to keep both the brand and the Yellowstone properties “relevant” and “top of mind,” Larsen said.
Keeping consumer interest is critical for young brands such as 6666 Grit & Glory. The goal is to garner more than 1 million entries in the contest and maintain the momentum for the brand, which is on pace to do around $2 million in sales this month, Larsen said.
“It’s the authenticity and the believability and the heritage of the ranch is what gives us kind of a sustainable business model beyond the TV show,” Larsen said.