From Cocktail to Category Leader: How Blueberry Lemon Bar Became an Award-Winning, Scalable Asset

Case Study Presented by NY Cocktail Expo

The Launch Platform That Converts Creativity into Capital

At NY Cocktail Expo, market success is not a gamble — it’s engineered.The Blueberry Lemon Bar  from 3BR Distillery is a case in point. This cocktail’s journey from a one-night experiment to an NYCE People’s Choice Winner and top-selling product offers a blueprint for beverage brands, distributors, and investors looking for proven growth stories.

Founder’s Insight: The Origin Story

“Our most popular cocktail, the Blueberry Lemon Bar, was born from one of our most beloved events—Food As Cocktail. It’s a themed series where we transform a seven-course meal into cocktails. We’ve done everything from Thanksgiving dinner—with drinks like a honey-glazed ham cocktail and a clarified cornbread cocktail—to broader themes like summer.

Blueberry Lemon Bar, affectionately known as the Queen to 3BR owners and staff, was created for the very first of these events. Our prep guy, Mike, had just developed an incredible graham cracker simple syrup, and I wanted to build a pie-inspired cocktail around it. We infused blueberries into MENDEL, our 100% pea-based vodka, and paired it with lemon juice and the graham cracker syrup. It was close—but still missing something. After experimenting, we landed on full-fat kefir, a drinkable yogurt that gave the cocktail a creamy texture and a tangy acidity that perfectly balanced the sweetness of the berries and graham cracker.” — Robert Mattera, Co-Founder, 3BR Distillery

From One-Off Experiment to Market Leader

Initially, the Blueberry Lemon Bar was intended as a one-night-only feature.

But patrons and staff demanded its return.

When it came time to choose 3BR’s feature cocktail for NY Cocktail Expo 2023, the vote was unanimous — bring back the Queen.

The outcome validated the choice:

• Expo-Stage Validation: Winner of NY Cocktail Expo People’s Choice.

• Performance: Outsells the next closest drink 2-to-1, every year since its debut.

Scaling into the Ready-to-Drink Market

“Naturally, we began exploring how to turn it into a ready-to-drink (RTD) product. That’s how Lemon Beary Pie was born. It includes everything but the kefir: blueberry-infused MENDEL vodka, lemon, graham cracker, and a touch of vanilla. On its own, it’s a fantastic cocktail — but with just 1 oz of kefir, you’ve got a true Blueberry Lemon Bar in your glass.

Of course, we were hesitant. Would bottling our most popular cocktail hurt sales in the tasting room? Would the quality hold up? Would people want it if it wasn’t technically the full cocktail? We considered all of that carefully. But after extensive testing and guest feedback, we knew we had something special. And we’re proud to share it beyond our bar.”

The success of the Blueberry Lemon Bar illustrates what happens when a product meets its audience in the right environment. At the NY Cocktail Expo, brands have the rare opportunity to place their creations in front of a refined audience size of engaged consumers, industry professionals, and media — all in one concentrated, high-energy setting. Awards earned here carry immediate credibility into distribution and retail conversations, while real-time guest feedback offers a built-in focus group that can shape final recipes, packaging, and positioning before a full-scale launch. For producers, distributors, and investors alike, it’s a living marketplace where the next breakout product doesn’t just get discovered — it’s proven.

Celebrate the first annual Blueberry Lemon Bar Day on August 15, 2025 during New York Cocktail Expo Week by sharing a bottle, and shaking a few rounds of the People's Choice, Best Cocktail.

Attend The New York Cocktail Expo on Sunday August 17, 2025 by purchasing tickets here.