Winter in West Michigan can be bitter and brutal. Nothing warms the soul quite like a cup of coffee-- even better when it's got an extra "kick" to it! This company located in Battle Creek, MI has simplified the steps between you and your Irish coffee by creating hard coffee and cider pods meant to be used with your single-brew coffee machines, like Keurig.

Cask & Kettle was founded by Michigan woman Lucinda Wright, a lover of both coffee and spirits. Lucinda says she enjoys a cup of coffee after dinner, preferably one that carries the party into the evening! According to her website Cask & Kettle is, "an easy and convenient way for anyone to prepare and serve a complete, well crafted hot cocktail."

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How Does it Work?

Lucinda and her team came up with a genius way to utilize brew systems like the Keurig to take all the guess-work out of crafting your cocktail. Cask & Kettle pods are a liquid concentrate meaning when combined with the water in your Keurig it instantly transforms into a deliciously hot hard beverage.

What really sets Cask & Kettle apart from typical coffee pods is that because they are liquid-based and there are no messy grounds involved, all of their hard beverage pods are clean and ready to be thrown in the recycling bin. All of the products in Lucinda's line are recyclable and in the future the company hopes to manufacture their pods using post-consumer materials.

No Keurig? No Problem

If you don't have a Keurig, don't fret! Because not every home chooses to use single-brew coffee systems, you can simply open your K-pod of choice and pour the liquid concentrate into any cup of hot water and enjoy your hard coffee or hard cider just the same.

Although Keurig has recently created their own cocktail-based brewing system, the Drinkworks Home Bar by Keurig, what's unique about Cask & Kettle is not only the liquid coffee pod but the fact that it's a woman-owned business, a rarity in the world of spirits. I'd seen these pods on store shelves before, but had no idea they came from Michigan- let alone Battle Creek.

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