Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Nevenglosky.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My background is in consumer brand marketing and innovation – I hold an MBA from NYU Stern and spent my first few years in the workforce building the Danimals brand at the Dannon Company. I later moved into the beverage space with a position as Brand Manager at Red Bull North America, where I oversaw multiple successful marketing campaigns and retail initiatives. All the while, I held a general, consumer-based interest in spirits and cocktails, with a specific curiosity for drinks with unique geographical identities and cultural traditions. My first encounter with cachaça, a sugar cane spirit that would change the trajectory of my career, was at Miss Favela in Brooklyn, NYC, where I immediately fell in love with the flavors and sense of place that the Brazilian spirit offered. After a chance encounter with the venerable Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey, my business partner Nate Whitehouse and I were inspired to share our passion for cachaça with the world. Beginning in 2012 with the launch of Avuá Cachaça, our team has spent the last nine years championing underrepresented spirits with help from our wide network of top bartenders, industry experts, and bar owners. Under the Drifter Spirits umbrella, we now offer Avuá, Svöl Aquavit, the soon-to-launch Paladar Tequila, and Drifter Craft Cocktails, our new line of canned cocktails that feature high-quality ingredients from around the globe. I also run Tiki by the Sea, a three-day event for bar professionals who are interested in becoming educated in sugar cane spirits and tropical drinks.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Nothing comes without its own set of challenges. Because we work with esoteric spirits like cachaça and aquavit, I would say the biggest challenge had been making believers out of people who misunderstood these products for a long time prior to our introduction. Fortunately, we’ve continued cultivating relationships with industry tastemakers and top talent who champion our brands and act as collaborators, which has helped add credibility to our spirits and lifted us to category leaders. The pandemic has undoubtedly done damage to our bar partners, which has also been a bit of a struggle. With that said, it also gave us the opportunity to refocus on launching Drifter Craft Cocktails, which had been a project in the back of our minds for years before we took the steps to make it a reality.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Founded in 2019, Drifter Spirits is a sales management company that has helped to introduce niche, beautifully crafted products to the modern bar program. In our work with exceptional spirits across various categories, we realized that consumers also deserved exceptional ready-to-drink options, all of which tell a story, are transparent in their ingredients and offer a sense of place like our existing drink offerings. Drifter Craft Cocktails is driven by a mission to use the best possible, small-batch spirits that transport consumers across the globe with each sip. We’ve partnered with some of the best craft distillers and bartenders in the world to create unique twists on classic recipes, all inspired by their creators’ love of adventure.
Any big plans?
We’re in the process of launching Drifter Craft Cocktails, which is just making its way to our distributor warehouses in California, New York, and Florida. In the future, expect to see more great cocktails from major international bartenders added to our RTD portfolio, with expansion to additional markets. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to grow the Drifter Spirits umbrella, welcoming both our own cultivated brands and existing products from producers worldwide.
