Happy 2019! It’s been a minute since we gave you news of Proud Mary’s progress, and we know you’re, ahem, thirsty for it. Strap on your steam engines, here we go!
Last October, we completed our first large (for us!) Proud Mary production run at a bottling facility in Santa Cruz. Working alongside our co-packer, we navigated many a difficult challenge to make sure our product still had the integrity and taste profile that has made it an instant success and propelled us on this journey.
For example, the bottling facility was not equipped to make the brine that is such a key flavor element in Proud Mary. After considering several options, we ended up pulling a couple of very late nights mixing 125 gallons(!!!) of pickle brine in the McVicker Pickles Bayview kitchen, then transporting it to the bottling facility near Santa Cruz.
We also had to create a custom spice mix, blending all the spices that make Proud Mary special into one ingredient. As it turns out, the spice mix is delicious as a seasoning on it’s own--we’ve been eating a lot of Proud Mary-spiced popcorn and nuts this holiday season, and have plans to offer it as our newest product soon!
Finally, the day of production arrived and we were pretty damn nervous. But as soon as our feet hit the factory floor, we immediately realized we were in good hands. The facility is operated by some of the baddest ass women we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, who have been doing this work for decades. Rose and Leti brought us into the lab to taste a sample. With our fingers crossed and our hearts in our throats, we tasted it. Delicious!! All the notes were there—the heat, the pickle brine, and the savory smokiness of our custom spice blend. (Rose and Leti liked it, too) We signed a few papers, pressed play, and watched our babies spin into life.
Check out a video of the bottling process on our IG!
It was thrilling to watch over 270 cases come off the line in a matter of a few hours, something that would have taken us multiple days, if not weeks, to accomplish ourselves.
In December we launched this new & improved website, complete with an online store. Here you can see our ever-expanding list of retailers and you can FINALLY purchase and ship Proud Mary & selected McVicker Pickles products directly to you and your loved ones.
What you can do to help:
-Do you live in the Bay Area? Have a wonderful relationship with your neighborhood grocer, liquor or corner store owner? Drop us a line, and we’ll drop them a bottle.
-Work at a company with a budget for entertaining? Have us come into your office for a Bloody Mary Bar the morning after a big win for the team, or simply stock our product in the work pantry.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us on this journey so far. We are adding new stores & restaurants every week, so we hope to see you in your neighborhood very soon.
Keep on burnin’,
Kelly & Gill