How Lake Hour Became a Canned Cocktail Favorite

Wyatt Russell is just a short time removed from filming Thunderbolts, next year’s Marvel movie tentpole (I have no spoilers, sorry). But today, he’s taking care of his four-month-old and talking to me, excitedly, about a 5% ABV canned cocktail that evokes the culture around North American lakes.

“We wanted to be more of a beer replacement that’s also easy to drink,” says Russell, who founded Lake Hour with friend and movie producer Richard Peete less than two years ago. The conceit? Sessionable drinks that lack the heaviness of IPAs or the artificial nature of most hard seltzers while aesthetically evoking a timeless, decidedly North American pastime of hanging out by the lake (or, as they cheekily put it on the Lake Hour website, “like Alan Jackson water skiing in jeans”).

I discovered Lake Hour last year at Bar Convent Brooklyn, drawn in by the throwback packaging while knowing nothing about the brand’s Hollywood-ish background (which is purposely muted; see below). The flavors hooked me — Watermelon Cucumber, Rosemary Yuzu, Peach Jasmine and Honeysuckle Ginger. Everything I tried was delicious, easy to quaff and came in some really fun cans. Since then, I always have a few in my fridge.

Lake Hour’s growth since that Brooklyn event has been slow and steady. The company is currently bootstrapped and they’re concentrating on building an audience in seven states that fit the cool water vibes of the can. Helping matters is a line of merch that’s developed its own following.

We spoke with Russell and Peete about how they’ve found early success in a crowded ready-to-drink marketplace.

The Origin Story Is Rather Innocuous

“I moved to the Finger Lakes, and I was spending a lot of time out on a boat,” Peete says. “I was finding that as an IPA drinker, it was tough to drink IPAs all day. The seltzer craze was happening then; I thought it was a good idea but I didn’t like any of them except the ranch waters. I made a joke that because I grew up on the lake and was spending so much time there, I should make one called Lake Water. I laughed, but Wyatt was like, ‘no, I’m in.’”

It’s Honestly About Lake Vibes

“I’ve never promoted a product,” Russell says. “I just make movies and TV shows. But this felt authentic. I grew up on a lake in Ontario. We’d spend three months a year there every year. And every great thing that ever happened to me happened there. It’s a timeless quality.”

The Founders Quickly Learned From Their Mistakes

“We wanted to use real ingredients and not have a Stevia-like aftertaste,” Peete says. “The first one we tried was sea salt and lime. It was like a Margarita had melted into the glass. It tasted like the ocean. [Laughs] It was so bad.”

From there, the company concentrated on a few basics. “I noticed that with flavors like black cherry or pineapple, those canned drinks don’t actually taste like black cherry and pineapple,” Russell says. “So we only picked flavors that taste like the thing you put in the drink. We also paired fruit and floral, cut the sweetness, kept the ABV at 5% and lowered the carbonation. That last part allows more of the taste to come across, and you’re not getting a mouthful of bubbles.”

One problem? Rosemary yuzu might be tasty, but it’s also a bit mysterious for beer or seltzer drinkers. “We grew up on lakes but lived in NYC and LA and like fancy foods,” Peete admits. “It’s country living mixed with rosemary yuzu — that might be a hurdle for some people who are like ‘what the f— is yuzu?’”

They’ve (Semi-) Hidden the Celebrity Aspect

I drank Lake Hour for a year without realizing the founders’ story. And at public events, the duo doesn’t always mention their backgrounds (Russell has been in several big projects, but even the Lake Hour website notes “he’s that actor you know from that one thing”).

“We did a tasting at Tower in Atlanta, which is like the biggest liquor store in Georgia,” Russell says. “They didn’t promote that I was there, and maybe only seven people knew who I was. But we got a lot of people to try Lake Hour, and they said we sold more product in that two-hour window than the store had sold since 2016.”

The Drinks Are Great. The Merch Is Spectacular.

While the cans and marketing are clever, Lake Hour’s boating apparel is just as fun — particularly the line of unironic dad and grandad hats. “There’s a lifestyle aspect to Lake Hour that can live almost on its own,” Russell says. “There’s something about it that speaks to people beyond the drink.”