Bryan natives, Adam and Robert Higginbotham and Chris Harrison, started brainstorming in 2011 on how to make a quality cocktail syrup. As consumers, they noticed high-end liqueurs, spirits and bitters were readily available, but cocktail syrups were all artificially colored and flavored.
It was then that Liber & Co. was born – craft syrups made from raw ingredients. The first bottles of their tonic syrup were sold to a local bar in Washington D.C. where Robert was living at the time.
Fast forward to Spring 2016. All three guys are now living in Austin, TX and working full-time for the company, which has received attention from national publications including Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and Food & Wine. Their product can be found in stores nationwide such as HEB, Twin Liquors and Spec’s.
But it was just a couple of months ago that Liber & Co. received an email from NBC Universal about being on CNBC’s show, Million Dollar Buyer.
The television show introduces promising companies to one of the country’s most successful businessmen, Tilman Fertitta, Chairman, CEO and sole shareholder of Landry’s Inc.
“From the time they reached out to the time they were filming, was only about a month, maybe three weeks, so it was pretty crazy for us,” said Adam.
Adam said two drinks made with their syrups were featured in five Saltgrass Steak Houses for a test run.
“Saltgrass because it is middle-end dining, it does really well with consumer reports and I think they thought that was a great test market for a product like ours, especially behind the bar,” said Adam.
After a successful test run, a deal was made and Saltgrass ordered 17,000 bottles of Liber & Co. syrups to put in their restaurants nationwide. A deal worth a little more than $100,000 over the next year.
The episode aired Tuesday night and the guys were surrounded by friends and family at a watch party to celebrate the deal.
Click below to hear comments from Adam Higginbotham visiting with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber.