Order 03! The Spanglish Seltzer Brand That Finally 'Gets' Miami
The story of Casalú starts with a playlist, a soda stream – and a guy who hates beer.
Casa - “home.” Salú - “welcome, cheers!” The name is both an invitation and a statement: come one, ven todos – el party ya empezo. If seltzers and cities spoke a language, both Casalú’s and Miami’s would be Spanglish, and both are best appreciated under palm trees and on boats with the reggaetón on blast.
Imagine three dudes cramped in a Buena Vista kitchen over a soda stream with sticky lime residue on their hands and a few 750ML bottles of rón añejo scattered ‘round. (Actually, that sounds like fun.) That’s where you’d have found Ricardo Sucre, Gabriel González Orta and Gustavo Gallardo in 2021, “full Breaking Bad” as they tested out different flavor formulas for Casalú.
“Really, we were just going for ‘modern traditional,’ paying homage to our roots but taking it to places it hadn't been before,” says Ricardo, Co-CEO and head of brand and creative. “We grew up drinking dark aged rum and coke with lime juice. Casalú uses very traditional elements in a modern format: a can and lower alcohol content.”
For two years, they added un poco de esto or menos de eso, taking their experiment on the party path to get every friend and friend-of-a-friend to taste what was in their keg. Finally, they cracked the flavor code and in April 2022, Casalú launched as a made-in-Miami seltzer brand with the Latino flavor, story and rhythm to match.
If you like jolly ranchers or sour beers, then you’ll like Casalú. It’s light, tart and mildly fizzy, best enjoyed bien frio – or in a Casaluperol Spritz, which Ricardo describes as a frankensteined guarapita (read: Venezuelan rum punch).
Ricardo, Gabriel and Gustavo were all born in South America. They went to NC State for college, where Ricardo and Gustavo studied industrial engineering and Gabriel studied entrepreneurship. On their off time, they did as American college students do – partied, except Ricardo found himself downing Smirnoff Ice in lieu of beer because, well, he hated beer. Even at the peak of SELTZER MANIA (said with the image of Hulk Hogan crushing a Truly with his pinky), Ricardo still couldn’t catch a break because, let’s face it, White Claws are still malty AF. But when he realized that you could make a seltzer out of vodka, he thought “why not rum?”
He looped in Gabriel as Co-CEO to head up the marketing and startup strategy and Gustavo as COO to take charge of Casalú’s finances, distribution and sales. Together, the three founders have been running the show and in just four short months, Casalú can be found in almost 30 stores, restaurants and bars across Miami, including Krüs Kitchen, Gramps, the Standard and yep, Total Wine. They’ve even got a small footprint in NYC, so preparate for HOT CASALÚ SUMMER 2023!
That’s not to say their 305 launch hasn’t been sizzling. So far they’ve collaborated with III Points and Andrew Downtown to sponsor Andrew Music Club at Lot 11 Skate Park (it was skate rave in the underbelly of I-95 – and it was awesome). They took over the Meat N’ Bones food truck to make Ricardo’s famous Pepto Bismol-inspired burgers. And, they’ve got 21 activities in the pipeline for the rest of the year, including podcasts, fashion collabs and even NFT festivals.
“We started Casalú to pay homage to latino culture and create an open door for others to share it,” says Ricardo. “Latinos are the next generation of cultural catalysts and we are the brand to support that. Our aim is to become the next Red Bull, we just happen to be Latinos.”
To the guys, Casalú is more than just a seltzer brand, it’s an expression of a mind state they like to call “Tropicalation.” It’s that feeling you get when you’re in the moment with the people you love, being yourself and having a great time. Puro good vibes, puro good times.
Ricardo, Gabriel and Gustavo can be looped in with the wave of creatives and entrepreneurs from Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico and all over Caribbean, Central and South America who are weaving a new creative energy into Miami through music, food, fashion, real estate, business, technology and so much more. The excitement is palpable, it’s contagious. Whether they realize it or not, they’re holding a mirror up to this city, challenging it to be the true melting pot it’s always been meant to be.
“For us, Miami was a home away from home. We grew up coming here often, and, when in college, this was always the stop to go back home as we all have plenty of family here,” says Ricardo. “We always say that Miami is for many Latinos like Rome, and no matter what you do, all roads lead here.”
Want to get into the Casalú lifestyle? Head to their kiosko, where you’ll find their full story, playlists and their “foreign native” take on where to go and what to do in the 305. In the meantime, crack open a can y ponte tropical with this summer playlist.
Go on, get into to some trouble. Here are some upcoming events, openings and things Nat & Ash are excited about in the upcoming weeks.
Remember last month’s issue on Dinner Parties? Fonte Farms is hosting one on August 25th. Snag your tickets quickly!!!
Mini Golf is coming to Brickell City Center! Puttshack, a techy indoor mini golf and arcade experience opens on August 31st, bringing you another reason to visit BCC besides Zara.
Wednesday is comedy night at the SLS Brickell - and it’s actually funny! Head to the lounge for HH from 6 to 9pm (featuring $8 cocktails and delicious bites) and enjoy a bellyfull of laughs from 9pm onwards.
Speaking of Wednesdays, Over Under hosts karaoke night every week! Start at the SLS and end your night here with $3 party shots to lube those vocals.
August 16th is National Rum Day. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Spritz your drink. Spritz your face? Head to Terras, Little Havana’s only rooftop bar, on Wednesday, August 17th at 6:30 to learn how to craft a plant-based facial toner and spritz cocktail with Massiell Natural Skincare and Gio from Chat Chow.
If it’s good enough for Spiderman, then it’s good enough for us. Joe’s Pizza opened in Wynwood, bringing a slice of New York to the 305.
And the winner of our Summer Snack Pack Giveaway is… Tiki tiki drum roll please… @francesca.nabors! Next time you see her, she’ll be touting a retro Polarbox cooler filled with Casalú drinks, muching on 30+5 croquetas from Islas Canarias. Francesca, email letseat@takeoutoftheday.com to claim your prize!