Whether it’s a camping trip, unwinding from a day at work, long waits at crowded bars, not having the right ingredients, or tailgates overflowing with beer, the cocktail enthusiast is often compromised. Childhood friends-turned entrepreneurs Neal Cohen and Yoni Reisman have presented Georgia with the remedy to those libation blues: Tip Top Proper Cocktails.
Noticing a void for ready-to-drink cocktails or simply “RTDs” especially during the numerous festivals they produced throughout the nation including Bonnaroo, Cohen and Reisman knew there was a market thirsty for innovation. The next step was finding someone ideal to craft their cocktails on par with the industry’s most elite. A mutual friend of Cohen and Reisman, David Stein—and co-founder of Creature Comforts Brewing—worked alongside a mixologist a few years prior at Decatur’s world-renowned beer bar, Brick Store; his name was Miles Macquarrie. Since punching the clock together, Macquarrie became world-renowned for his skills with the stirrer and shaker, co-owning Kimball House and Watchman’s Seafood and Spirits, and being a six-time James Beard Award nominee to further solidify his expertise. And even with all of the accolades and commitments, he knew Tip Top was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. The results were Macquarrie’s flawless interpretations of three classic sippers.
“We landed on the Old Fashioned, Negroni and Manhattan because they’re the trifecta of bitter, high proof cocktails that we knew could be shelf-stable in a can,” Cohen says.
Next was the packaging.
Esteemed design firm Sasso & Co produced miniature, 100-ml white cans so cute a grandmother would want to pinch, branded by a distinguished giraffe sporting a top hat and monocle who represented “convenient access to the highest quality” according to Cohen. By September of 2019, Tip Top was officially ready for sale. Bottoms up, Alpharetta!
Tiptopcocktails.