Conor McGregor reveals plans to add RTD cocktails to his drinks empire

UFC legend and founder of Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey Conor McGregor has teased plans for an RTD cocktail line to join his expanding drinks empire, based on expressions mixed by his team at The Black Forge Inn, Dublin.

It appears that mixed martial arts trailblazer Conor McGregor has developed a taste for the drinks business, after he revealed his plans to launch a range of RTD cocktails into the off-trade in the future.

McGregor has already enjoyed considerable success through his Proper No. Twelve brand, which recent data suggests is expected to surge to the number two spot in the Irish whiskey category in the United States.

McGregor has already touted the possibility of bringing his Forged Irish Stout, currently only sold at his pub, to the masses. And now, it seems as though the Irishman is ready to tap into the burgeoning ready-to-drink (RTD) market.

The RTD market exploded during the coronavirus pandemic as customers sought out alternatives to the on-trade and landed on the convenient, easily-transportable drinks category. While the picture is a little more hazy in terms of the continued growth of the sector, its current popularity can’t be denied.

In a recent Facebook post, McGregor teased his plans for a premixed series of RTD cocktails based on the expressions sold at his Black Forge Inn.

“Cocktails are very interesting to me,” he wrote.

“For the boost that good cocktails give to the on-premise industry it is surprising to me that it has yet to be formulated to off-premise also. There is a real market for off-premise cocktails, mixed to tasty perfection. Otherwise where do you get them from? Unless you are fully out and even at that a lot of cocktails are not to the level they should be, even when out. You’d have to be in a top spot or by chance have a boat floating by that specializes in them.”

He then revealed, “I am in the early stages of formulating my world renowned Black Forge Inn cocktails in neat, handy, and slick to use packaging, mixed to absolute identical perfection by our master mixologists and voila! You have the best cocktails in the world at the ready, whenever, and wherever you need. Efficient and delicious. My two favorites!”

However, don’t expect these to be hitting store shelves imminently. “Early days, though, I’m just chilling, I’ve a billion things on.” McGregor concluded.