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Born from the bar.
A small crew of bartenders, designers and community builders, pouring the same care into every can as we do behind the bar.
If you know, you know.
THE FILM · 1:18 · CAPTIONS ON
OUR HISTORY
Lots of noes. Then one yes.
Before the cans there was a catering crew, a bar in Dartmouth and a lot of people telling us no. Here's how we got to yes.
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[YEAR]
Lots of noes.
Matt Boyle and Jeff Van Horne start Clever Barkeep, a cocktail catering business, out of a basement.
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[YEAR]
67 Portland Street.
They buy a space in Dartmouth to grow Clever Barkeep and, honestly, for storage.
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JULY 2020
A bar in Dartmouth.
Family and friends push them to open Dear Friend, mid-pandemic.
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2020
Cocktails to go.
Closed, open, closed again. Guests want cocktails to take home, so the team hand-cans them. Lines out the door.
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2020 – 2022
The turtles.
Dear Friend pushes to make cocktails to go legal. So many noes they start calling them turtles: they just take longer to get around.
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2023
"BEVERGAGE."
16,000 Espresso Martini labels arrive with a typo on the front. They keep a few as keepsakes.
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MAY 2023
First production day.
15,000 Espresso Martinis ship to Halifax-area shops and bars, on shelves from May 19.
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JULY [YEAR]
Melo Collins.
A splash of fun, with the turtle on the can.
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[YEAR]
The Holiday Mix.
A mixed pack built as a gift, no wrapping required.
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TODAY
When you know, you know.
Five cocktails, nearly 500,000 cans, and growing across Atlantic Canada.
