Five Minutes With CEO and Co-Founder of Spiritless, Austin’s Lauren Chitwood

by Brittany Clark on November 17, 2021 in Food+Drink, Drink,
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Defeating stereotypes while building support teams, and conquering motherhood — all in the male-driven beverage company — is a daily adventure at Austin-based Spiritless, led by CEO and co-founder, Lauren Chitwood.

Spiritless, a non-alcoholic beverage brand launched by Chitwood, Abbey Ferguson and Lexie Larsen, will now be taking on a new kind of endeavor — and it’s called 2% for the Girls.

Spiritless CEO and Co-Founders Lauren Chitwood, Abbey Ferguson, and Lexie Larsen recently launched their newest women empowerment initiative, 2% for the Girls, aim at giving back and encouraging young women future entrepreneurs. Photo courtesy Amy Campbell Photography

With this new woman’s empowerment initiative, 2% of every purchase made of Spiritless’ signature distilled Kentucky 74 spirit for bourbon cocktails will be donated to programs that help sponsor young women to become future entrepreneurs, inspiring leaders and marvelous teachers.

Chitwood is excited at already having their first partner for the initiative, Step Up. The nonprofit program is dedicated to providing resources and supporting underprivileged, well-deserving young women to attend college and become leading professionals.

The Spiritless founders pay tribute to all the female teachers and influencers who have encouraged them along the way, and now they are doing the same by supporting women’s rights and freedom. Spiritless has already raised $1,000 to donate to programs and women in Afghanistan. Photo courtesy Spiritless

What are you hoping to accomplish with 2% for the Girls?

For the founders and I, we are so fortunate to know where our dollars go, and to know that we have the ability to find incredible organizations to partner with that are impacting entrepreneurial, professional, and educational journeys for young women and young adults. It is incredibly meaningful to us. We hope that this year we will be able to look back and see the tangible impact we made as we partnered with organizations that are focused on doing just that.

If you ladies could go back in time, what is one piece of advice you would give yourselves when starting Spiritless? 

We would remind ourselves to be patient because everything takes longer than you want it to. We have found time and time again that although things often surprise us and pop through more quickly than we expected, there is always a lingering project or event that inevitably will take up a ton of your time and resources. 

Spiritless loves to spread the word about what foods pair the best with their leading product, Kentucky 74. Head over to their Instagram page to learn how to enhance your tasting palette, and discover foods that will become your newest favorites. Photo courtesy Spiritless

If your signature spirit, Kentucky 74, could be described as any season, what season would it be?

Kentucky 74 tastes like the fall to me. I always associate bourbon with that festive time of year when you’re close and cozy with family and friends. I like to drink hot toddies (with Kentucky 74 of course) – it’s the perfect warm cocktail to drink that season.  

Can you share with us your favorite recipe for the perfect fall drink with Kentucky 74? 

Yes, it’s the Spiritless Mulled Cider. Handmade with non-alcoholic apple cider, cinnamon sticks, cloves and all kinds of other fall-mood goodies. You can find the recipe with directions on our website. 

Spiritless Mulled Cider has all the flavors of fall — cinnamon, cider and citrus — with an extra zing of spice. Try it out for yourself by clicking the photo for the recipe. Photo courtesy Spiritless

Should we be looking out for any new beverages coming from Spiritless soon? 

We have a lot of exciting projects on the horizon that we are hoping to share with you all soon – stay tuned!

Cover photo courtesy Elevate on Unsplash

Brittany Clark is an Editorial Intern at TLM and student at the University of Phoenix. During her spare time, she can be found cooking and catching sunsets on the beach.