Welcome to our Happy Hour Question & Answer series, where we ask questions to interesting people in the alcohol world.

This week’s spotlight is on Dixie Spirits and Kyle Harder. With over 10 years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry, Kyle Harder is a passionate and innovative marketer who specializes in building and growing brands that connect with consumers and create value. As the Chief Marketing Officer at Grain & Barrel Spirits, Kyle leads the strategic vision and execution of the marketing mix for a portfolio of award-winning spirits, including Chicken Cock Whiskey, Dixie Spirits, Elvis Whiskey, Tequila Eterno Verano and High Goal Gin.

Hops & Spirits: How did you all get into the alcohol industry?
Kyle Harder: I first started in the alcohol industry as a marketer with a passion for building brands consumers care about, want to tell their friends about and ultimately make the consumer feel good. Unlike many other CPG categories, alcohol, and more specifically spirits, brings people together. Spirits are something people love to talk about, especially over a drink. Being part of that industry and crafting brand stories supported by high quality, great tasting spirits was where I wanted to build a career alongside building brands.

HS: What drew you to Dixie Spirits/Grain & Barrel?
KH: Grain & Barrel Spirits is a platform for incubating and growing spirits brands.  Dixie Vodka, now Dixie Spirits, is a great example of how we have been able to create something from nothing. Dixie Vodka is sold throughout the southeast and represents the best of Southern culture – hospitality, craftsmanship and flavor.

Dixie Vodka is a range of Southern vodka made from high quality, real ingredients, and our flavors set us apart from many competitors. For example, Dixie Pepper uses Serrano peppers from Joseph & Helen Fields farm in James Island, Charleston, SC.  Instead of using flavors or essences, we are using real peppers. This is true across all of our flavored vodkas.

When you start with a high-quality product, it becomes a lot easier to curate and craft a brand story and to therefore connect with consumers. This is why Grain & Barrel Spirits was interesting to me – there is a high degree of attention to detail, plus the desire to curate brands that consumers care about. This is true for every brand in our portfolio, including Dixie Spirits, Chicken Cock Whiskey, Elvis Whiskey, Tequila Eterno Verano, High Goal Gin and See the Elephant Amaro.

HS: Why change the name from Dixie Vodka to Dixie Spirits?
KH: We saw an opportunity to go beyond vodka and develop a spirits brand that delivered on hospitality, craftsmanship and flavor across spirits categories. During the summer of 2023, we launched the first whiskey as part of Dixie Spirits and viewed this as an opportunity to communicate to the market that Dixie was no longer just a vodka brand.

HS: Dixie Delight, the brand’s first whiskey, how did that come about?
KH: Dixie Delight was born from the brand values and the consumer insight around the growth of whiskey. Whiskey is naturally part of Southern culture, and we saw an opportunity to enter the whiskey category with a flavored whiskey strategy. The two fastest-growing flavored whiskey flavors are peanut butter and banana, separately. We wanted to bring those flavor profiles together with Dixie Delight, a peanut butter and banana-flavored whiskey. This savory yet sweet-flavored whiskey pairs well with peanut butter pie or banana pudding, making us feel like we are sitting down with friends for a summer picnic.

HS: Will there be more whiskies? Different flavors?
KH: We sure hope so! We launched Dixie Delight in South Carolina, our home market, to much success. We are planning to expand the footprint for Dixie Delight in 2024 to a few additional states. We are also exploring some concepts for new vodka flavors and new whiskey flavors. Some may be in partnership with other great Southern purveyors similar to the Fields’, while others may be more opportunistic given where consumer taste trends are headed. Another reason why Grain & Barrel is a great platform is that we are able to respond quickly to consumer preferences.

HS: Dixie Vodka is still there, what can folks expect when trying its variety of expressions? Any other products coming down the road?
KH: Quality, craftsmanship and great flavor! Everything we do for Dixie Spirits will be ‘ridiculously Southern’ so any new flavors, mashups, partnerships or otherwise will be true to the best of what the South has to offer.

HS: If folks are interested in purchasing Dixie Vodka or Dixie Delight, how can they do that?
KH: If you’re in SC, FL, GA or NC you should be able to find Dixie Vodka in your favorite liquor store. Dixie Delight is currently only available in SC, but is coming to other states soon. Of course, no matter where you live sometimes you need a bit of the South in your life – so we offer shipping to 46 states through our website www.dixiesouthernspirits.com.