John King Co-Founder & Owner of The Original Pickle Shot

📢I talk🎙️with John King Co-Founder & Owner of The Original Pickle 🥒 Shot. John’s journey started out as an athlete, coach, and fitness guru. He was in the right place at the right time and is now a very successful entrepreneur and beverage innovator.

Originally from Pennsylvania, he moved to Ocean City, MD  upon graduating college and found his way into the restaurant industry, leading him to this venture.

It all started with the popularity of pickle 🥒 shots at Pickle’s Pub 20 years ago. John and the team say it was invented before the pickleback, a whisky shot followed by pickle juice. These innovative pickle shots were so popular, that staff recruited leftover pickle juice from restaurants around town in Ocean City, MD. By popular, I mean making 100,000 pickle shots a year by themselves at the bar! Crazy!

Realizing they had an opportunity, they packaged their first run in 2018 and sold it in Ocean City, MD, and are currently in 24 states, not including Texas or California, which could mean a ton of volume for this brand. 

John and his team have created such a demand from this brand, that expansion is currently on hold while they ramp up for additional production in 2024. As an outsider to our industry John had to learn the business from the ground up, no easy task but his endurance, determination, and vision of this tasty delight have paid off tremendously. 

With his strong partnership with Brazen Imports with the best of the best industry veterans Laura Becraft and Lauren Ward, there is no limit to what this brand will do. This is certainly a brand to watch in 2024.

National Pickle Day is November 14th!
 
The Big Dill- World's Largest Pickle Party Nov 11th and 12th Click here for TICKETS
at Power Plant Live in Baltimore, MD

Mentors:
Hoop Tea owner Danny Robinson
Carbliss RTD owner Adam Kroner

NOW ON YOUTUBE!!! Thank you for Listening! Join us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

Host Jessie Ott's Profile on LinkedIn

Chapters

• 2:07 Welcome
• 2:28 Where John is calling in from
• 3:35 Where John is from
• 5:37 How John's Journey Began
• 7:32 Transition to Liquor Industry
• 8:34 When he met his co-founders
• 10:04 The Original Pickle Shot beginning
• 11:16 Original Pickle Shot came before Pickle Back
• 13:49 Tasting the Original
• 20:39 Intro to Spicy
• 23:19 Where & How it began
• 33:28 Bloody Mary Drink
• 34:14 Pickletini
• 35:41 Mentors
• 40:02 Go Brightline FL Speed Train
• 41:41 Resources
• 43:45 John's Winning Formula
• 45:07 Cool Swag
• 46:39 The Big Dill Event
• 48:25 The Big Dill Owner Partner and Ambassador
• 50:47 Pain Points
• 54:26 Beer Partnerships Molsen Coors AB InBev
• 58:26 Bartenders Love It
• 59:19 Future Outlook
• 1:01:14 What John Does for Fun
• 1:02:29 Pickle Ball - Pickle Shot!
• 1:03:44 Original Daisy Duke loves The Original Pickle Shot
• 1:06:31 Website and Pickle Shot availability
• 1:08:11 Recipes
• 1:11:39 Next Thursday