Bartesian, a cocktail robot startup, has received an additional round of funding from Beam Suntory, the company behind such brands as Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek.
This is the second investment by Beam in Bartesian. The first came just over a year ago, and the latest round was a result of a contingency written into the first deal that allowed Beam to acquire more equity in the company.
Bartesian CEO Ryan Close told the Spoon that Beam “had a provision on the original investment that allowed them the option to invest x future dollars (7 figures). They liked what they have seen with regards to production ramp up, quality, and most importantly taste of the finished product – so they decided to execute that option.”
Bartesian’s system utilizes flavor capsules and chambers to hold the liquor and other mixers. The system mixes the spirits and mixers from the four chambers with flavors from the capsules to make a variety of cocktails. According to the company, the Bartesian capsules do not use powder, but instead a variety of real fruit juice concentrates and non-alcohol liqueurs.
It’s an interesting investment for a spirits company like Beam Suntory, one of the world’s largest spirits conglomerates. Beam hasn’t historically invested in technology startups, but a product like Bartesian could extend their reach into subscription services as well as give them a better understanding of what consumers are actually mixing at home. Perfect Company has shown that by extending the reach into the actual cocktail making opens up a treasure trove of data for spirits companies.
The company is expected to ship in 2018. Another home cocktail robot startup, Somabar, is also expecting to ship next year.
You can see Ryan Close talking about the growing use of technology for the home bar in a 2016 Smart Kitchen Summit session video below.
The Smart Bar: HomeBrew to BartenderBots from The Spoon on Vimeo.
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