Tap Handle #671: Mark Anthony Group

November 22, 2017

Tap Handle #671: Mark Anthony Group - Mike's Hard Lemonade

Tap size: 11.5"
Rarity: less than 50 seen, tap retired
Mounting: 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

This tap reminds a little bit of the Bavarian Barbarian and the Bridgetown Big Brew taps, which feature forearms leading to hands that hold something in them. In this case it is a lemon being squeezed by clinched fist. The lemon has a cut out area that says "mike's hard lemonade" and matches the advertising images of Mike's. Up the forearm the words "Cold.Hard.Refreshing." have been sculpted as raised letters. The words, and the lemon cutout, also appear on the back of the tap as a decal made to look like a tattoo. Raised letters also appear on each knuckle and spells "mikes". The overall effect is pretty impressive. This tap appears occasionally on the secondary market, and commands a fair price considering it is no longer in production. I can't recall ever seeing a tap dispensing Mike's Hard Lemonade, so it was likely used for special promotional events..

Click through to read more about Mark Anthony Group, their Mike's Hard Lemonade, and to see more photos of this gripping tap...

Mike's Hard Lemonade was founded in British Columbia, Canada in 1996 by Anthony von Mandl. Von Mandl started a wine importing business in 1972 called Mark Anthony Group Inc., and owned three award-winning wineries. He thought mixing lemonade with vodka would create a beer alternative that could compete with wine coolers and Zima. After preparing to roll out their product to the U.S., Mark Anthony Group realized that a malt-based beverage, regardless of flavor, was taxed in the U.S. at the same rate as beer, whereas wine coolers would pay double that rate and spirit-based beverages a much as ten times that rate (depending on the percentage of alcohol). As a result, they altered the recipe to a lemonade and unflavored malt liquor base. They set up their U.S. headquarters in Lakewood, Colorado in order to be located in the geographic center of the U.S., and in their first year of sales in 1999, they sold 2 million cases.

By 2003 they were selling 12 million cases a year. The first 10 million cases were sold without any advertising, relying on word of mouth. However, over the next 5 years sales became flat as competition heated up from brands like Smirnoff Ice. In 2005, their headquarters was moved from Lakewood to Seattle, Washington in order to be closer to its parent company. In 2008, Mike's sales began growing again with the introduction of higher-alcohol Mike's Harder Lemonade and the addition of new flavors, and they expanded distribution into independent locations and convenience stores. Perhaps an even bigger contributor to success was that MillerCoors ended production of Zima, one of Mike's main competitiors. In 2013, the company announced it was moving its headquarters again, this time to Chicago for logistical reasons, and in 2014 sales set a record high at 20 million cases.

By 2015 Mike's was facing increasing competition once more. This new challenge came from fast growing rivals like Anheuser-Busch's Lime-A-Rita and Redd’s Apple Ale from MillerCoors, both having the competitive advantage of belonging to huge companies with big advertising budgets. Mark Anthony Group decided to sell the Canadian rights to Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Palm Bay, Okanagan Premium Ciders and Stanley Park Beers to Labatt (owned by A-B InBev) for $350 million. Mark Anthony Group retained the U.S. rights to Mike's, which had 5 times the sales volume compared to Canadian sales. In fact, Mike's business has doubled since 2009 and was the fastest growing "beer" company in the U.S. in 2016. They currently have 14 varieties, although some of those are seasonal.