Meanie in a Bottle: An Internet Troll Gives Nonalcoholic Spirits Startups the Spins

The press releases were mostly trolling at first, but as the months went on they escalated to include elaborate fabrications. A spokesman for Diageo says the company “was never considering selling Seedlip, nor a stake in Ritual, to ArKay.” “It’s like me putting out a press release that I've joined the Beatles and claiming credit for ‘Hey Jude,’” says Marcus Sakey, a founding partner of Ritual. “It doesn't mean I can sing.” In September of 2021, another press release confusingly announced that Kentucky 74 was launching a new product called ArKay. “I was like, ‘What the heck, why is this guy talking about us?’” Around the same time, yet another press release announced the launch of NOLOalcohol, a new ecommerce marketplace for alcohol-free spirits. “It’s like me putting out a press release that I've joined the Beatles and claiming credit for ‘Hey Jude.’” Marcus Sakey, Ritual Zero Proof The AAFSA website currently lists Reyland Grattagliano as its sole founder.