Why Jim Beam, Deep Eddy, & More Are Betting On This Tropical Favor

Forbes

14-05-2025

Liquor brands and bars are finding inspiration from the tropics for their next big flavor bet.
Ahead of the summer season when popularity swells for sweeter libations, Deep Eddy vodka, Hornitos tequila, and Chinola liqueur are among the major brands that have launched new pineapple expressions. 'Everything tropical right now is doing incredibly well,' Noah Winterer, VP of marketing at Deep Eddy owner Heaven Hills Brands, tells me during a virtual interview.
Suntory Global Spirits, the liquor giant behind Jim Beam and Hornitos, points to data from research firm NIQ that shows pineapple-flavored liquor sales leapt 30% in 2024 from the prior year across U.S. liquor and convenience store channels.
For Jim Beam, which also sells honey, apple and other flavored whiskeys, the pineapple launch is the first new expression in four years. Flavored whiskeys tend to pull in younger drinkers, who are also more ethnically diverse. They also lure consumers who aren't loyal to traditional bourbons.
Pineapple also made sense for Hornitos, given that it is the go-to mixer for 44% of tequila drinkers, according to Jing Mertoglu, VP of insights and analytics at Suntory Global Spirits.
'We're very comfortable not to be the first to market, but we were beginning to see that there's a lot of tropical escapism,' Mertoglu tells me during a phone interview. 'It's a very fun, versatile flavor.'
Similar to Suntory Global Spirits, Talkhouse Encore had kept a close eye on pineapple. It was on the ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand's radar since Talkhouse first started formulation development back in 2021. 'Getting the formulation down took time, but the bigger question was whether consumers would resonate with the flavor,' says Rudy Honerkamp, founder and CEO of Talkhouse Encore, in an emailed statement.
Honerkamp says the brand reached out to restaurants and bars to gain industry insights and validate their bullish thesis on the tropical flavor. Through those conversations, they learned that pineapple was consistently ranked in the top three most-requested flavors.
Pineapple cocktails are also getting a star position on bar menus, including at The Bedford Stone Street bar in downtown Manhattan. 'They are a great source of vitamins and antioxidants that help you have a boost of energy with great sour/sweet citrus flavors,' José María Dondé, beverage manager and head mixologist at The Bedford, says in an email. 'It's also a tropical fruit that makes you feel like you are laying down at the beach.'
His current drink lineup includes a cocktail called the Ondatrópica, which is inspired by the tepache, a traditional fermented pineapple drink that's popular in Mexico. There's also the Prime Meridian, a concoction that Dondé bills as a 'Piña Colada Vesper.'
The piña colada is a key cocktail that Deep Eddy has been promoting for the company's new pineapple flavor, which launched in February. Deep Eddy Pineapple is the vodka brand's first new flavor since lime debuted more than four years ago.
Winterer says the innovation process requires extra thoughtfulness because of Deep Eddy's commitment to using real pineapple and all natural ingredients and avoiding high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors. 'It is like you were taking a bite out of a juicy, ripe pineapple,' says Winterer, regarding the focus of the new flavor.
He says bartenders have been pairing Deep Eddy's vodka with habanero or jalapeno, as the combination of sweet and spice has been increasingly on trend with drinkers. All of Deep Eddy's vodkas are also intended to be extremely versatile, intended to blend in with complex cocktails, simpler drinks like a vodka soda and as a shot.
Deep Eddy has eight expressions on the shelf today, including grapefruit, orange, cranberry and the top-selling lemon. But pineapple helped the brand address a big gap in the existing portfolio.
'A lot of our big SKUs that we currently have, they are really citric and really tart,' says Winterer. 'Even though pineapple is going to have that acid, there is more of a sweetness there that comes naturally from the pineapple that is delicious. And it is certainly on trend with consumers.'