The Keg is once again expanding beyond the borders of its restaurants with what it hopes is an empire-expanding Caesar in LCBOs.

The restaurant chain, which very recently took one of its popular desserts to the freezer section, is now coming out with a “Keg Size Caesar.”

According Jimmy duDomaine, the restaurant chain’s VP of product, The Keg is leveraging the popularity of the Caesar, which is its number one selling cocktail to the tune of one million per year.

Similar to the Billy Miner Pie ice cream, The Keg wanted to position itself as bold, clean and premium with its packaging. In terms of capturing eyeballs at shelf, duDomaine says the category dictates a Caesar drink on the can, as that is what people are used to seeing.

“What you get in the can is supposed to represent all the flavours you get in that glass,” he says. Another design feature is that the celery salt rimmer that is part of every Caesar, which is incorporated into the neck of the can.

Also, duDomaine points out that there is a prominent callout on pack for its 7% ABV content. That’s a key differentiator, duDumaine explains, as it is stronger than the ready-to-drink competition. “We are known for being ‘Keg size’, which has been part of brand equity for 40 plus years,” he says, telling strategy that most Caesars are in the 4 to 5.5% ABV range.

“It’s essentially positioned like all of our other retail products, more on the premium end,” duDumaine says. The Keg Caesar will compete against mid-high end priced drinks like Matt & Steve’s and Walter Craft Caesar, rather than the more accessibly priced category leader, Mott’s.

According to duDumaine, to some degree it can rely on the strength of the brand, but that it wants to do everything it can to get liquid to lips. The drink will be part of LCBO offers, like ones linked to its Aeroplan loyalty program and will be on the “new arrivals” webpage.

The Keg Sized Caesar is also the official RTD Caesar of the National Bank Open tennis tournament, taking place in Toronto in August, which came to it through a pre-existing food partnership between the event and The Keg, as well as other Recipe Unlimited brands.

“It’s a great opportunity to get exposure for the product, especially during the summer,” duDumaine says. “People love Caesars in Canada,” he says. “We think our product will resonate with people who like a full-flavour Caesar.”