Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/201303
in focus { s m a l l b u s i n e s s } By S haron Ve rbete n Good Old Fashioned idea Clintonville company gains a following with its bottled cocktails The perfect recipe Old Fashioneds, typically made with brandy or whiskey, bitters, sugar and soda, are the oldest cocktail invented, Pappin says. And it's a classic Wisconsin drink. "I knew that there was some general interest," he says. "Everyone thinks they make the best Old Fashioned." But when Pappin and Mijal considered bottling Old Fashioneds, they learned, much to their surprise, that no one else was doing it. Sure, there were some drink mixes out there (sans alcohol) and some flavored malt beverage cocktails. But their idea was 42 | Insight • N o v e m b e r 2 013 c o u r t e s y o f T i m o t h y Pa pp i n I t all started simply enough, like many great ideas for businesses do. A few summers ago, Timothy Pappin and his nephew Ryan Mijal were hanging out "up north," enjoying a few cocktails. When Mijal tried his uncle's drink of choice, the iconic brandy Old Fashioned, for the first time, he was hooked. After hours of talk – and a few more drinks – the duo concocted an idea that turned into their own business, Arty's. Now they bottle the cocktails that they enjoy so much. "We didn't have any experience in the industry," Pappin says. "We just had an idea." That idea, coupled with the public's acceptance and demand, has Arty's of Clintonville on the way to becoming a million-dollar business just 15 months since its launch. Timothy Pappin, left, and his nephew Ryan Mijal are the owners of Arty's in Clintonville, which mixes, bottles and markets Old Fashioneds in a bottle. to have a portable Old Fashioned – just open the bottle, pour over ice and enjoy. "There was a lot of research that probably took us 18 months while we held down our regular jobs," says Pappin, who previously worked in manufacturing, and also has a background in bartending and bar ownership. One of the first concerns was finding the proper liquor. "We are what is considered a distilled spirits product," Pappin says. They met with distilleries and finally found one in Madison that provides bulk spirits; all the ingredients are then mixed together and bottled at Arty's 7,500-square-foot plant in Clintonville under Mijal's supervision. Getting the recipe right was just as important as the liquor. "I wanted to put a real cocktail out there," Pappin says. After six months of tweaking and taste testing, they hit on a recipe worth mass producing. "Everyone's first reaction was, 'Wow! That tastes like a real Old Fashioned.'" Today, just 15 months after launching, Arty's bottles about 2,100 bottles an hour of three different flavors: brandy sweet, whiskey sweet and whiskey sour. Working with seven distributors, Arty's is sold in more than 600 locations, covering w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m