Navy Hill
The women-owned company is bringing pizazz to the beverage game
Jenny Lucas and Katie Williams go way back. The friends and founders of Navy Hill originally met in college, but it was over cocktails where they would develop the recipe for their future business. Out for a night of imbibing at Quirk Hotel rooftop, the duo ordered their go-to drink, a vodka with half soda, half tonic. The bartender’s response: You want a sonic?
“That was our lightbulb moment that this can be a recognizable drink,” say Lucas of the combo. “We thought this is a thing, how come no one has bottled it?”
So nine months later, the University of Virginia alum did it themselves. Settling the classic cocktail debate of soda versus tonic, in 2017, they combined the two bubbly bases to create Navy Hill’s flagship half-and-half mixer, Soda+Tonic.
“Tonic can be so sweet and sugary and full of calories and horrible for you, but diet tonics aren’t good either, splitting them gets half the calories and sugar, and tastes delicious,” explains Lucas. “We added electrolytes, so there is a functional benefit as well. That’s kind of where it all started.”
Eventually the entrepreneurs rolled out other versions of traditional cocktail bases, including a robust ginger beer and citrus-spiked ginger ale. They have also debuted a botanical-forward “sonic” destined for gin, a bright and tangy sparkling blood orange and a grapefruit club soda perfect for a Paloma. For the sober curious, they also offer a nonalcoholic gin and tonic.
One of the first local stores to stock Navy Hill’s small batch mixers and canned cocktails was Ellwood Thompson’s.
"The leadership was so kind, and they sat down with us and talked with us about pricing and distributors, we were selling out of the back of our car for the first six months,” says Lucas with a laugh. "They were just invaluable about offering advice and time and just a really great partner, and so generous.”
That feeling of support is echoed by Williams: “I think it gave our brand a lot of credibility when they put us on their shelves, it means something to their customers, and so it was certainly the validation we needed.”
The other form of validation came when they realized their products, which boast no artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup, were flying off the shelves, consumers drawn to it familiarity and Navy Hill’s health-conscious approach.
"Pretty soon after we launched, we realized this needs to be a full-time deal,” says Williams, who formerly worked in real estate.
The latest release from Navy Hill — and just in time for sunny summer days — is a line of super sessionable canned tequila sodas ranging from blood orange and grapefruit to a classic with a squeeze of lime. Available in four-packs and ringing in at a 4% ABV, we envision them packed in the cooler and enjoyed everywhere from poolside to the beach.
“It’s just a pure tequila soda, so that was where this came,” says Lucas. “And that’s the beauty of our mixers, too, you don’t need to add anything but your spirit.”