CÎROC Ultra-Premium Vodka is extending its savory martini push beyond the bar with a multi-channel retail and experiential campaign built around the Messy Martini, a trademarked brine-forward cocktail that combines CÎROC Vodka with pickle and banana pepper brine. The rollout pairs an on-premise pop-up with a brick-and-mortar necker program and an Uber Eats bundle — a three-pronged structure increasingly common among premium spirits brands looking to connect consumer trial moments directly to purchase occasions.
Retail & DTC Mechanics
The in-store component centers on complimentary Filthy Foods neckers attached to CÎROC 750ml bottles at select retail locations nationally. Filthy Foods, the Miami-based premium garnish and mixer brand distributed through Total Wine, Publix, Albertsons, and Meijer, brings existing shelf presence and a loyal mixology-forward shopper base to the collaboration. The necker format is a cost-efficient way to drive incremental velocity at shelf without requiring additional planogram space or slotting investment — a practical trade mechanic for a limited-run partnership. Separately, beginning November 1, consumers in select cities who order a 750ml CÎROC bottle through Uber Eats may receive Filthy's cocktail mix as an add-on, linking the spirits aisle to on-demand delivery in a bundling play that targets the at-home entertaining occasion.
The Experiential Hook
Anchoring the campaign is a November 6 pop-up — "Tenders & 'Tinis" — at 48 Ludlow Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side, executed in partnership with Dave's Hot Chicken. The event features the Martini Machini, a self-serve, customizable martini-mixing installation that lets guests dial in brine ratio and garnish preference, producing a version of the Messy Martini finished with a bespoke Dave's Hot Chicken brine. RSVPs are free, and each guest receives a machine-crafted CÎROC martini and a Dave's Hot Chicken menu item. Co-branded merchandise rounds out the activation. The hi-lo food pairing — ultra-premium spirits alongside a fast-casual chicken concept with cult following — reflects a broader experiential strategy in the spirits category aimed at reaching younger legal-drinking-age consumers who prioritize novelty and shareability.
Category Context
The dirty and savory martini has emerged as one of on-premise's most durable velocity drivers over the past two years, with pickle and olive brine variants appearing with increasing frequency on cocktail menus from independent bars to national chain programs. For CÎROC, leaning into the briny, savory occasion gives the grape-based vodka a flavor identity distinct from the flavored-vodka segment and repositions it alongside the craft cocktail consumer rather than the shots-and-mixers shopper. Filthy Foods' retail footprint — spanning grocery, specialty, and home goods chains — gives CÎROC's necker program reach across spirits and beverage shoppers who are already buying cocktail garnishes and mixers. Nick Tran, President & CMO of CÎROC, framed the Martini Machini as democratizing martini customization: "We're bringing that experience to drinkers wherever they are." For grocery buyers and category managers tracking spirits adjacencies, the Filthy Foods tie-in signals growing collaboration between premium spirits and cocktail-ingredient brands as both seek to grow basket size and household penetration in the at-home entertaining aisle.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
