New spirits company celebrates after successful soft launch

-- Nooga.com

After a soft launch, new local spirits company Lass & Lions sold out more quickly than expected at area stores.

“This has been years and years in the making … The response from the community on the products has been amazing,” CEO Danette Newton said Wednesday. “We are blown away by the positive feedback.”

Tonight is the company’s official launch party, which is open to the public.

Lass & Lions makes an 80-proof grain vodka that’s distilled and filtered from Appalachian Mountains spring water.

The business’ owners named the herbal vodka blends to reflect the functionality of the infused herbs.

For example, the product called Desire is infused with Madagascar vanilla beans, hibiscus and damianas, herbs known to possess aphrodisiac properties.

After tonight’s launch party, Newton hopes that more area restaurants and liquor stores will pick up the products.

“We are very small now; we just have a small pilot facility,” she said. “Once we get our feet on the ground, establish the brand and build a little bit of capital, we’ll look to build our own, bigger facility with a tasting room and event space.”

Athens Distributing recently put the products in some local stores and restaurants, such as Riverside Wine & Spirits, Jax Liquors, Imbibe and Southside Social.

Most sold out already, but Newton said customers can expect those locations to be restocked by next week.

“If it’s not in their liquor store, [customers] should ask the retail owner to ask for it from their distributor,” she said.

Natural Infusions

We make innovative spirits that are sure to disrupt the spirit industry.

We are a new craft distillery and alcohol beverage manufacturer located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We make Lass & Lions vodkas. We handcraft each Lass & Lion blend in small batches melding age-old techniques with contemporary processes to produce an exceptionally smooth and crisp spirit. We use only premium quality herbs and ingredients sourced from ideal growing locations and demand fair trade practices and responsible farming techniques.

We have four different, very unique vodkas: 

Premium Vodka - 80 proof, 6-times distilled, 6-times filtered vodka handmade from Appalachian Mountain spring water; 

RUSH - that same premium vodka infused with a proprietary blend of all-natural herbs that contain stimulating/energizing properties; 

UNWIND - our premium vodka infused with a proprietary blend of all-natural herbs that contain relaxing/sedative properties; and

DESIRE - our premium vodka infused with a proprietary blend of all-natural herbs that contain aphrodisiac properties. 

Lass & Lions is very much a craft brand, and we pride ourselves on our innovative products and female progression through our co-founder and CEO Danette Newton. 

We think Lass & Lions exemplifies spirit innovation and female progression. “Lass” denotes our female founder and CEO. “Lions” denotes our male founders and our founders involvement with and appreciation for the Lions Clubs - the world’s largest public service club organization. We will continue to support the Lions Clubs through the Lass & Lions brand and business. 

We plan to follow our vodka line with gin, moonshine and whiskey -- all with Lass & Lions' innovative twist. 

We will start with our production facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but plan to develop a larger facility capable of increased production, hosting events, accommodating tours, and a tasting room in the near future.