The Mummers and a Pottstown Distillery Step Out Together for Hard Iced Tea Brand

When Mummers’ Fancy Brigade Division members thought of launching a branded, seasonal hard iced tea, they chose to work with Pottstown’s Kiki Vodka to produce it. Ximena Conde reported on the collaboration in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mummers Row Philly Tea, which entered the market in November, was inspired by an empty beer can.

Michael Orlando, captain of the Purple Magic Brigade, said his dad found a decades-old Mummers-themed Pabst beer can while cleaning his basement.

“It was like a special edition,” Orlando said.

From there, it was a short hop to the notion that the Mummers could — and should — have a commercially produced, celebratory drink of their own.

When approached with the proposal to participate, Steve Melick (a Kiki Vodka investor) liked the idea immediately.

“Whether you live in the suburbs or Center City, whether you grew up in the city or even in the more rural communities like where I grew up, the Mummers Parade is a Philadelphia institution.

“And to be part of that is really something special,” said Melick. “We were honored to take that call.

“We made thousands and thousands of gallons of this stuff.”

More on Kiki Vodka and its role in Mummers Row Philly Tea (including where to purchase it) is at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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The Purple Magic Brigade’s 2022 performance.