With the sun of spring fully upon us, golfers around the Commonwealth are dusting off their drivers and putters and heading out to the links.
Sharing a few beers or cocktails has always been a part of the rituals of the golf course, and now golfers in Virginia and beyond have an easy option to fill their coolers with a bevy of delicious, pre-made cocktails.
Fore Craft Cocktails—with the clever tagline, “Sip, swing, fore”—is the brainchild of Turner Lewis, a local radiologist and golf enthusiast.
Every new product or invention has that seminal moment of inspiration, and not surprisingly, this one came to fruition on the links. In the middle of a 36-hole day on a golf trip in Florida, Lewis stopped for lunch and a Transfusion cocktail, typically made with grape juice, lime, vodka and ginger ale (this popular golf course hangover remedy was popularized and perhaps invented by Dwight D. Eisenhower).
“The struggle of trying to balance a taco lunch, my drink and a pushcart was too much,” says Lewis. “I had the [lightning strike] moment asking myself: Why doesn’t someone make a canned cocktail for the golf course?”
During pandemic downtime, Lewis started tinkering with some recipes for the Transfusion.
“I had an idea of what I wanted it to taste and look like, but at the time I had no idea of the steps it took to go from a back of the napkin sketch to a finished product,” says Lewis.
After ample internet research and many emails, he found a flavor house to partner with. The recipe development was an iterative process with many rounds of tweaks and tasting before getting it right. “I knew I wanted something that was gluten-free and natural with no artificial flavors or coloring,” says Lewis.
Within a year, Lewis had his version of the Transfusion on the shelf.
Lewis has added a few other flavors to his canned cocktail lineup including Fore Tea, his take on the Arnold Palmer (vodka, sweet tea and lemonade); the ubiquitously refreshing ranch water (tequila, lime and sparkling water); bloody mary (vodka, tomato juice and some spicy delights); the limited addition Masters-inspired Forezalea™ (vodka, lemonade and a splash of grenadine); and the Southside (vodka, lime juice and mint.)
Lewis has found some promising overlap between the golf and pickleball audiences and is currently working on a new flavor to reach that crowd. Think ranch water with some pickle juice—a refreshing and restorative post workout treat.
Fore Craft Cocktails has plenty of competition in the growing RTD (ready to drink) beverage space, including other Virginia-based companies. Richmond’s Belle Isle Moonshine and Waterbird out of Charlottesville each launched their own canned cocktail lines in 2019. Waterbird was recently acquired by global powerhouse E&J Gallo.
But Lewis’ brand really homes in on the golf crowd, setting it apart from competitors. They have been a welcome addition to many courses without bars: cocktails in a can are a turnkey solution to serve patrons without staffing a bar or holding up golfers on the course.
To promote the brand, Lewis has partnered with many local courses, including wrapping their beverage carts with the Fore Craft Cocktail branding. Lewis connected with a Chicago-based designer with craft beer experience to express his vision—the vibrant, multi-colored can designs evoke iconic golf holes around the country.
Available in 13 states currently, with more on the way, you can find Fore Craft Cocktails in the Richmond area at golf courses, grocery stores, restaurants and ABC stores. In some states with more conservative laws around the sale of spirits, Lewis is producing a malt version that mimics the flavor profile of their spirited cousins.
Taste test
I had the opportunity to do a little taste testing and was impressed by the clean, fresh and vibrant flavors of all the samples. My favorite is the Transfusion, refreshing with sweet accents from the grape juice and a spicy note from the ginger ale. The bloody mary is well-balanced and spicy, with a great mouth feel—not too thick and not too thin. It rivals any bloody mary mix in the market and is perfect for an early morning tee time, tailgate or trip to the river.
The grenadine gives the Forezalea™ a beautiful hue, and the lemonade is refreshing and not too sweet. The ranch water was a welcome relief on an 85 degree day with a citrusy undertone, the Fore Tea is a good interpretation of the classic Arnold Palmer and the Southside brings a mojito vibe with vodka replacing the rum.
