It’s sweet, tangy and filled with orange. In a town dedicated to Orange fandom, a locally-grown, Syracuse-themed, alcoholic drink became popular with the town’s local adults.

But in less than a month, Cuse Juice will cease to exist because SU won’t let it.

It’s all in the name. Stephen Dates, a co-owner of Lock 1 Distilling Co., helped launch the drink at last year’s Great New York State Fair, and it was met with rave reviews. Lock 1’s lawyers contemplated the initial decision to name the drink Cuse Juice, but they stuck with the title, Dates said.

After its release, Cuse Juice became Lock 1’s second best-selling drink. But the product was brought to court over trademark issues. Dates said he was convinced of an impending partnership with SU after several boosters indicated that Lock 1, which has a license to produce ethanol, wouldn’t be in the wrong. But a year after its initial 2018 release, Dates and his aunt, Debra Dates, were forced to sell the rest of their product at the 2019 fair.

“We’re not a couple kids with some Everclear and couple packets of orange Kool-Aid,” Dates said. “This is New York state agribusiness. We wanted to do something special together and they wanted no part of it.”

People wanted to boycott the university and burn their jerseys. Some even threatened their endowments to SU, Dates said. Quickly, it became a large establishment versus small business debate.

“They attacked a small business,” said Shon Smart, a 47-year resident of Syracuse.

A legal battle between SU and Lock 1 was never going to come to fruition because the drink was so local that a trademark battle would not be worth the cost to pursue, Dates said.

When asked for comment, Sarah Scalese, SU’s senior associate vice president for communications, referred The Daily Orange to her statement issued to Syracuse.com in August.

“As an institution of higher education with many constituents, we have an obligation to protect our brand and image,” Scalese said in the statement.

Cuse Juice, Syracuse Univer… by Casey Darnell on Scribd

Dates said members of SU’s Athletics Department bought four cases of Cuse Juice last year with the intention to distribute the drink after the state fair.

Dates added a booster, whose name Dates would not disclose, said they were happy to support a local business and that SU would give the product to donors of over $100,000. Members of Lock 1 were given SU “swag,” like sweatshirts and phone chargers. After the interaction, the thought of a possible trademark war took a “load off our mind,” Dates said.

A call last December from Rachel Duffy, SU’s Director of Trademark Licensing, came as a surprise. Its trademark was approved after pending status, but Duffy called to inform Lock 1 about SU’s opposition the ruling.

“They didn’t want anything to do with hard liquor,” Dates said.

When the news appeared on Lock 1’s Facebook page, outrage ensued. Many pleaded with them to change its name, even one person suggesting they call it, “Orange you glad I didn’t say Cuse.” Lock 1 also received encouragement from professors and coaches to keep fighting, Dates said.

Its end is inevitable, though. Lock 1 cannot distribute or market Cuse Juice after Oct. 1. Dates said he thinks about the process over in his head often.

“I go back and forth on it every day, but we’re still insistent we didn’t do anything wrong,” Dates said. “We could win it in court, but to what end?”

Dates regrets that Lock 1 marketed the drink around SU after a booster gave him hope of a partnership, but he said he doesn’t discount what the media attention and notoriety of Cuse Juice has done to his distillery.

A year after Cuse Juice’s introduction, other distilleries marveled at the mob of people huddling around the Lock 1’s tent at the 2019 state fair. Some came for free samples; others plan to hoard bottles, opening their wallets for multiple bottles of the soon-to-be rare drink. Some bars have bought over 50 cases to sell regularly; liquor stores have also stocked up.

On the other side of Chevy Court, vendors sold installations of Cuse Juice: One featured an “Orange Crush Beat Clemson” slushie, mixing Cuse Juice, Sprite, an orange slice and red grenadine to symbolize Tiger blood.

Dates stood in his tent across the fairgrounds, trying to sell out the rest of his product. He talked with customers, going over his plan until Cuse Juice’s Oct. 1 demise.

Because Lock 1 must destroy all of its marketing material, the distillery plans to create a raffle for someone to win Cuse Juice’s final T-shirt, with a $5 donation to Food Bank of Central New York through the organization’s website. People had offered up to $200 for one of the half dozen T-Shirts, said J. Hatch, Lock 1’s general manager. Signage will be given out. Cuse Juice will be in the past.

But in its final day of sales at the state fair, Dates paced around Lock 1’s tent. They had sold 75 bottles that day and 97 the day before. Debra, sporting the soon-to-be unavailable Cuse Juice shirt, bagged bottles of Cuse Juice for a couple.

“This has to be a crapshoot for you guys,” one of them said.

“It’s bittersweet, though,” Debra responded.

Published on September 5, 2019 at 2:09 am

Contact KJ: [email protected] | @KJEdelman