Press & media
Press and conversations from twenty years in business.
Stories and interviews from twenty years of building DRY and now Second Sip. Some are about the wins, some about the hard years, and many are about what it took to stay in the market long enough to learn the difference. For interviews or speaking requests, get in touch.
Featured
SlateJuly 17, 2026
Everyone's Drinking Less. So Why Aren't There More Low-ABV Spirits?
Why so few low-ABV spirits taste like the real thing, with Second Sip as the example, and why we started in bars before going after the home shelf.
Editorial (quoted)Taste Radio (BevNET)January 6, 2026
Lessons Learned, Applied. A CPG Pioneer's 'Second' Act.
A long conversation with host Ray Latif on what twenty years of DRY taught me, and how those lessons shaped the way Second Sip was built, launched and taken to distributors.
PodcastBloombergApril 10, 2025
Can Low-Alcohol Gin and Tequila Actually Be Good?
Bloomberg's drinks columnist puts the new wave of mid-strength spirits to the test, with Second Sip among the bottles reviewed.
EditorialRobb Report2025
A Pair of Legendary Bartenders Just Launched a Low-Alcohol Gin That Actually Tastes Good
Robb Report's first look at Second Sip, the 20% ABV gin built with Leo Robitschek and Nick Strangeway, and why cutting the alcohol in half didn't mean cutting the character.
EditorialBevNET2025
DRY Soda Founder Debuts Low-ABV Gin Second Sip
How Second Sip went from an idea to a Brooklyn-distilled gin on NYC cocktail menus, including the pact we made not to launch unless it held up in a martini.
EditorialForbesJanuary 12, 2024
Elevating Non-Alcoholic Alternatives As Americans Cut Back On Booze
A Forbes look at the rise of serious non-alcoholic drinking, where I reflect on how far the category has come since DRY launched with lavender and kumquat.
Editorial (quoted)BeverageDailyJanuary 4, 2024
My Drynuary: 'We're thrilled there are now so many more options for people who are looking for interesting alternatives to alcohol'
How the US alcohol-free market changed over eighteen years, why DRY left the soda aisle in 2022, and the day I walked away from an investor hours before signing.
InterviewSeattle Business MagazineFebruary 1, 2018
2018 Executive Excellence Awards: Sharelle Klaus, Dry Soda Company
Honoree profile for Seattle Business Magazine's 2018 Executive Excellence Awards, covering DRY's growth to more than 9,000 stores including Target, Kroger and Costco.
Award profileImbibeAugust 16, 2017
How Sharelle Klaus Started a Soda Revolution
A candid long-form profile: the kitchen experiments, the early grocery wins, the setbacks and the stubbornness it took to get DRY onto shelves.
ProfileInc.May 23, 2011
A Nonalcoholic Drink Option for the Rest of Us
Inc.'s small-business success story on DRY: from a phone tutorial with a food scientist to The French Laundry, through the 2008 funding cuts and back to growth.
ProfileAwards & recognition
Personal recognition
Awards given to me personally. Product awards for Second Sip are listed in the archive below.
- Executive Excellence Awards honoree (CEO of the Year)Seattle Business Magazine2018
- Women of InfluencePuget Sound Business Journal
- 40 Under 40Puget Sound Business Journal
- F&B Essentials listSeattle Magazine2015
The complete archive
Every article, episode and appearance
85 items
- October 5, 2026Beverage Wholesaler8 Beverage Alcohol Trends in 2026-27Second Sip cited as an example of the move toward intentional, sessionable drinking.Trade news
- July 17, 2026SlateEveryone's Drinking Less. So Why Aren't There More Low-ABV Spirits?Why so few low-ABV spirits taste like the real thing, with Second Sip as the example, and why we started in bars before going after the home shelf.Editorial (quoted) · Courtney Iseman
- June 23, 2026BevNETSecond Sip Gin Awarded Silver Medal at 2026 San Francisco World Spirits CompetitionCompany announcement of Second Sip's Silver Medal in the Low-Alcohol Spirits category. This is a product award, not a personal one.Press release
- June 8, 2026SevenFifty DailyBehind the Scenes of Beverage Product DevelopmentHow new drinks get made, with co-founder Nick Strangeway on the year it took to get Second Sip right and the martini test it had to pass.Editorial (quoted) · Pamela Vachon
- May 12, 2026The KnockturnalA Night Out With Low ABV Gin Second SipA progressive tasting across New York bars with Second Sip's founders.Feature · Vinesh Vora
- February 3, 2026Beverage WholesalerSecond Sip Announces New Partnership with Southern Glazer'sTrade coverage of Second Sip's US distribution partnership with Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits.Trade news
- January 22, 2026BevNETSecond Sip Announces New Distribution Partnership with Southern Glazer's Wine & SpiritsCompany announcement of the Southern Glazer's distribution partnership.Press release
- January 6, 2026Taste Radio (BevNET)Lessons Learned, Applied. A CPG Pioneer's 'Second' Act.A long conversation with host Ray Latif on what twenty years of DRY taught me, and how those lessons shaped the way Second Sip was built, launched and taken to distributors.Podcast
- 2026USA Spirits RatingsUSA Spirits Ratings 2026: Bronze Medal, Gin (84 points)Second Sip won a bronze medal with 84 points in the gin category.Award profile
- September 26, 2025The SpeakeasyGimme a SecondAn hour on designing Second Sip at 20% ABV and where lower-alcohol drinks fit behind the bar.Podcast
- August 15, 2025ImbibeDrink of the Week: Second Sip Low-Proof SpiritImbibe's executive editor tastes Second Sip neat, in a Martini and in a Negroni, and explains how the distillation lets a gin keep its character at half the proof.Editorial · Paul Clarke
- July 21, 2025Bartender at LargeLow ABV Gin w Leo Robitschek | Bartender at Large ep 456My co-founder Leo Robitschek on the thinking behind Second Sip.Podcast
- June 5, 2025Trend HunterLow-Proof Cocktail Gins: Second Sip London Dry Gin Has a 20% ABV to Allow for Easy SippingA short write-up of the Second Sip launch.Trade news · Michael Hemsworth
- May 20, 2025BevNETIntroducing Second Sip: A Martini-Worthy London Dry Gin With Half The Alcohol, Made For MoreThe official launch announcement for Second Sip.Press release
- April 10, 2025BloombergCan Low-Alcohol Gin and Tequila Actually Be Good?Bloomberg's drinks columnist puts the new wave of mid-strength spirits to the test, with Second Sip among the bottles reviewed.Editorial · Kara Newman
- 2025Robb ReportA Pair of Legendary Bartenders Just Launched a Low-Alcohol Gin That Actually Tastes GoodRobb Report's first look at Second Sip, the 20% ABV gin built with Leo Robitschek and Nick Strangeway, and why cutting the alcohol in half didn't mean cutting the character.Editorial
- 2025BevNETDRY Soda Founder Debuts Low-ABV Gin Second SipHow Second Sip went from an idea to a Brooklyn-distilled gin on NYC cocktail menus, including the pact we made not to launch unless it held up in a martini.Editorial
- 2025Voodoo Brands podcastSharelle Klaus: Changing Consumers' Behavior Around Happy HourOn how drinking habits are shifting and what it takes to build a brand around a new occasion.Podcast
- January 12, 2024ForbesElevating Non-Alcoholic Alternatives As Americans Cut Back On BoozeA Forbes look at the rise of serious non-alcoholic drinking, where I reflect on how far the category has come since DRY launched with lavender and kumquat.Editorial (quoted) · Jess Cording
- January 4, 2024BeverageDailyMy Drynuary: 'We're thrilled there are now so many more options for people who are looking for interesting alternatives to alcohol'How the US alcohol-free market changed over eighteen years, why DRY left the soda aisle in 2022, and the day I walked away from an investor hours before signing.Interview · Rachel Arthur
- February 1, 2023Voyage UtahCommunity Highlights: Meet Sharelle Klaus of DRY SodaA short Q&A on my first business at age ten, the tech company that folded in the dot-com bust, and the mission behind DRY.Interview
- January 25, 2023BevNETThis Week's New Products: Simply Mixology and DRY Soda Co. Liven Up Dry JanuaryDRY's Rosé Soleil Botanical Bubbly Reserve in BevNET's weekly product roundup.Trade news
- January 17, 2023Investors in PeopleRe-writing the leadership handbook, from the back of an SUVOn running a national company remotely, from a converted camper, and what that does to how a team works.Online talk
- January 17, 2023Business WireDRY Soda Co. Welcomes Dry January With New Rosé Soleil Botanical Bubbly ReserveCompany announcement.Press release
- 2023BevNETPeople Moves: NA Brands DRY And Drink Monday Bring On New LeadershipWhy I brought in a leader who knew how to sell to take DRY to its next stage.Editorial
- 2023BevNETDRY Soda Co. Expands Distribution of Botanical Bubbly Reserve Collection for the Holiday SeasonCompany announcement of wider holiday distribution for the Botanical Bubbly Reserve collection.Press release
- October 17, 2022BevNET LiveBevNET Live Winter 2022: The Gospel of Gross Margin, with Dry Soda CEO Sharelle KlausStage talk in Santa Monica on rebuilding a beverage business around unit-level gross margin: cost control, portfolio cuts and a path to profitability when capital gets scarce.Keynote
- April 13, 2022Seattle RefinedDRY Soda creator Sharelle Klaus inspires sober celebrationsA Seattle profile of how DRY started and how it became a local staple.Profile · Kate Neidigh
- November 22, 2021Business WireDRY Launches Non-alcoholic Botanical Bubbly ReserveCompany announcement.Press release
- November 2021Seattle Pacific University, ResponseEveryone's invited: The DRY Botanical Bubbly storyMy alma mater's feature on building DRY, from 128 lavender tests in one week to the recession that cut the team overnight.Profile · Bethany Cummins
- September 18, 2021The Benaroya GroupWe All Have Our Fear Based StoriesRussell Benaroya's write-up of our conversation about fear and the stories founders tell themselves.Interview · Russell Benaroya
- May 10, 2021Business WireDRY Launches Non Alcoholic Ready to Drink Botanical Bitters SodaCompany announcement.Press release
- April 20, 2021FoodNavigator-USANew DRY Botanical Bitters & Soda line helps DRY Soda Co. return to zero-proof lifestyle missionWhy the Bitters & Soda line took DRY back to its zero-proof roots. “I didn’t start DRY Soda Co. to be a soda company.”Interview
- March 11, 2021Female Startup Club (now Imagine If with Doone Roisin)How this Founder disrupted the non-alcoholic beverage industry from her living room, with DRY's Sharelle KlausHow DRY started at home and grew into a national non-alcoholic brand.Podcast · Doone Roisin
- January 4, 2021District FrayDRY Botanical Bubbly Is Changing the Drinking GameOn DRY Botanical Bubbly and taking the stigma out of not drinking.Interview · Natalia Kolenko
- 2021BevNETDRY Aims to Build 'Zero-Proof' Story with Bitters & Soda LaunchHow bartenders I met while writing the zero-proof cocktail book shaped DRY's ready-to-drink Bitters & Soda line.Editorial
- 2021Seattle Pacific UniversityZero-proof cocktails with Sharelle KlausA conversation about growing up in Bend, a decade consulting in Washington, D.C., and making the jump into beverages.Podcast
- November 16, 2020Business WireDRY Soda Company Debuts Craft Mocktail Book The Guide to Zero Proof CocktailsCompany announcement of the book launch.Press release
- November 2020Lo and No Beverage Summit USA (Kisaco Research)Roundtable: How to Accelerate Mainstreaming the Lo-No Trend in the U.S. to Create a $1 Billion CategoryLed a roundtable on what it would take to turn low- and no-alcohol drinking into a billion-dollar US category.Roundtable
- October 22, 2020Lead Like a Woman ShowYou Don't Get to QuitA conversation with Andrea Heuston about building DRY and why quitting was never on the table.Podcast · Andrea Heuston
- May 26, 2020Business WireDRY Soda Company Debuts Limited Edition 2020 DRY Botanical Bubbly Pineapple and Watermelon Summer Celebration BottlesCompany announcement.Press release
- 2020BevNETDRY Soda Company Debuts Craft Mocktail Book, The Guide to Zero-Proof CocktailsThe launch of The Guide to Zero-Proof Cocktails, the recipe and technique book I co-authored with Seattle mixologists in 2020.Book
- 2020Beverage IndustryDRY Soda Co. release 2020 DRY Botanical Bubbly Summer Celebration bottlesLimited-edition summer Botanical Bubbly bottles.Trade news
- 2020BevNETDRY Soda Company Expands Distribution In Texas Through Partnership With AmbienteCompany announcement of Texas distribution through Ambiente.Press release
- December 11, 2019BevNETDry Soda Co. Announces Investment in Non-Alcoholic Bar Sans BarDRY's investment in Sans Bar, the alcohol-free bar in Austin.Trade news
- December 2019BevNET LiveBevNET Live Winter 2019: Beverage SchoolFaculty for BevNET's Beverage School, the founder bootcamp held alongside BevNET Live in Santa Monica.Workshop
- January 3, 2019ForbesThis Foodie Founder Turned Her Desire For A Delicious Alcohol-Free Drink Into A BusinessAn interview on how DRY started, the team behind it, and looking after yourself while running a company.Interview · Jess Cording
- June 28, 2018BevNETDRY Soda Launches Zero Sugar Organic SodasThe organic zero-sugar line.Trade news
- March 22, 2018Deli Market NewsDRY Soda's Sharelle Klaus Talks Creating a New Soda Category and New Zero Sugar LineThe launch of DRY Zero Sugar, an organic sugar-free line, and the thinking behind extending a brand without diluting it.Interview · Kayla Webb
- February 1, 2018Seattle Business Magazine2018 Executive Excellence Awards: Sharelle Klaus, Dry Soda CompanyHonoree profile for Seattle Business Magazine's 2018 Executive Excellence Awards, covering DRY's growth to more than 9,000 stores including Target, Kroger and Costco.Award profile · Gianni Truzzi
- January 18, 2018BevNETDRY Soda Co. to Unveil New Soda Line and Seasonal Flavors at Winter Fancy Food ShowNew line and seasonal flavors at the Winter Fancy Food Show.Trade news
- 2018BevNET LiveTaking the Risk: On Women in Beverage with REBBL, Dry Soda & Millennial BrandsPanel with REBBL CEO Sheryl O'Loughlin and Millennial Brands founder Vanessa Walker on what limits women in beverage leadership, and what helps.Panel
- December 15, 2017Taste Radio (BevNET)Taste Radio Ep. 88: DRY Soda Founder on How to Play The Long Game… and WinRecorded at BevNET Live Winter 2017: war stories from taking DRY from regional startup to national brand, and the one lesson I think every founder has to learn.Podcast
- August 16, 2017ImbibeHow Sharelle Klaus Started a Soda RevolutionA candid long-form profile: the kitchen experiments, the early grocery wins, the setbacks and the stubbornness it took to get DRY onto shelves.Profile · Jessica Voelker
- June 2, 2017BevNETDRY Sparkling Secures National Distribution at CVSDRY goes national at CVS.Trade news
- 2017BevNETDRY Soda Co. Launches Zero Sugar LineWhy DRY waited twelve years before its first line extension, and who the zero-sugar line was built for.Editorial
- 2017BevNETDRY Sparkling Secures New FundingCoverage of a 2017 DRY financing round, the second of that year.Editorial
- 2017PYMNTSPutting The Sparkle In Non-Alcoholic CocktailsOn building DRY from a personal problem: a pregnant food lover with nothing good to pair with dinner.Editorial
- July 21, 2016ForbesSharelle Klaus: The Single Mom Behind The Nation's Fastest Growing Natural Sparkling BeverageA profile of how DRY began and grew into a national sparkling beverage brand.Profile · Meggen Harris
- December 7, 2015BevNETDry Announces New Distribution in Club, Mass, C-Stores, Limited Test at StarbucksCompany announcement of new club, mass and convenience distribution and a Starbucks test.Press release
- August 6, 2015FoodNavigator-USADRY's positioning as premium soda brand lets it prosper as sales in overall category dry upWhy a premium, lower-sugar soda grew while the overall soft drink category shrank, and why distribution turned out to be the hardest part.Interview · Hank Schultz
- February 3, 2015BeverageDaily'Fastest-growing US soda brand' DRY Soda hails dawn of the soda sommelierOn pairing soda with food, cracking fine-dining accounts like The French Laundry, and getting shelf space without paying slotting fees.Interview · Ben Bouckley
- 2015BevNETDRY Drops its Soda Surname, Now 'DRY Sparkling'The rename from DRY Soda to DRY Sparkling.Trade news
- April 30, 2014FoodNavigator-USASharelle Klaus, founder & CEO, DRY Soda: 'I saw a unique opportunity and I took it'Included in FoodNavigator-USA's roundup of food and beverage entrepreneurs to watch, alongside founders from KonaRed to Beyond Meat.Feature
- April 14, 2014FoodNavigatorRhubarb, Lavender, cucumber… and significantly less sugar. It's time soda got sophisticated, says DRY SodaAn early argument for less sugar and more interesting flavors, made while the big soda brands were still selling supersize.Interview
- 2014BevNETDry Soda Launches Craft Soda Discovery PackDRY's mixed-flavor discovery pack.Trade news
- 2013BevNETDry Soda to Offer New Slim Cans, FlavorsDRY's move into slim cans and new flavors.Trade news
- 2013BevNETDRY Soda Introduces New Flavors, Enters Kroger StoresNew flavors and DRY's entry into Kroger.Trade news
- July 20, 2012Inc.Reinventing the soft drink industryA Mercedes-Benz Sprinter partner feature on DRY's Savor the Flavor tasting tour: 20,000 samples, 12 cities, one solar-powered van.Sponsored partner feature
- May 23, 2011Inc.A Nonalcoholic Drink Option for the Rest of UsInc.'s small-business success story on DRY: from a phone tutorial with a food scientist to The French Laundry, through the 2008 funding cuts and back to growth.Profile · Courtney Rubin
- December 18, 2009BevNETDRY Soda adds distributors, retailers and marketing efforts in 2009DRY's distribution and retail growth during 2009.Trade news
- April 2009The Wall Street JournalWhy Do Mocktails Fall Flat?Eric Felten's column on the problem with nonalcoholic cocktails, including DRY's Juniper Berry as a gin-and-tonic stand-in.Editorial · Eric Felten
- December 10, 2008Seattle MetTop of the PopsDRY's early years: the flavors, the restaurants pouring it, from Dahlia Lounge to The French Laundry, and new Juniper Berry and Vanilla Bean flavors.Feature · Cherise Watts
- February 14, 2008Washington ExaminerDRY Soda: Classically clearAn early Q&A on how DRY was catching on and who it was competing with.Interview
- January 12, 2007The Seattle TimesThirst for nonalcoholic option creates Dry SodaDRY at eighteen months: a new headquarters in Seattle, a $1.5 million raise from 26 investors, and a pitch to restaurants to pour soda in champagne flutes.Editorial
- December 14, 2006BevNETDry Soda Co. Opens New Company Store and HeadquartersDRY opens its Pioneer Square company store and headquarters in Seattle.Trade news
- 2005Venture VoiceHow DRY Soda founder Sharelle Klaus pioneered the culinary soda categoryFrom the archive of one of the first podcasts about entrepreneurs: a 2005 interview recorded when DRY was months old and only sold in three states.Podcast · Greg Galant
- UndatedBeverage IndustryUp close with Dry SodaBeverage Industry's profile of DRY's four-ingredient formula and the original flavors, including Juniper Berry, inspired by the trees I grew up around in Bend.Profile
- UndatedPassport MagazineWe'll Drink To That with Second Sip GinA travel magazine's short recommendation of Second Sip for martinis, negronis and gimlets.Editorial · Kelsy Chauvin
- UndatedSaveurDRY SodaSaveur's One Good Find column on DRY, recommending the Cucumber and Juniper Berry flavors for sipping and mixing.Editorial
- UndatedDear FoundHerSharelle Klaus, Founder of DRY Soda Co.A founder Q&A on starting DRY in Seattle and making drinks that let non-drinkers feel included.Interview · Eden Downey
- UndatedBeyond the Shelf (ChefsBest)How has Dry January changed the beverage industry with Sharelle Klaus of DRY Botanical BubblyHow Dry January changed demand for non-alcoholic drinks, and how DRY shifted its focus while keeping its original mission.Podcast
- UndatedSpecialty Sodas PodcastHow Dry Soda Co. Became the Fastest Growing Soda Company in the United States, with Founder and CEO Sharelle KlausThe story of DRY's growth in the craft soda category.Podcast
- UndatedMarijuana Venture10 Women to Watch: Sharelle KlausA profile in the magazine's Women to Watch series on building DRY into a national non-alcoholic brand.Profile
- UndatedInlanderRefreshments RefinedSpokane's Inlander on DRY's food-pairing flavors and the restaurants in town pouring it.Feature