Meet Moose and the Bottled AAFF Cocktail That He Inspired!

The Ann Arbor Film Festival loves to work collaboratively, and one of our favorite partnerships is now entering its 4th year: working with the Ann Arbor Distilling Company on the creation of a cocktail to go. We provide the idea (the 60th AAFF cocktail was called Plot with a Twist) and then the A2DC cocktail wizards get to work distilling our idea into cocktail form.

Since this collaboration is all about local connectivity, we started thinking about what people love in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and all of the other cool towns within driving distance (the cocktail has to be picked up at the distillery). Since coffee already was a central theme of last Year’s cocktail, we realized, of course, that Ann Arbor is a full-on dog town, and this is where we introduce Moose.

The canine known as Moose Manupelli was born under the roof of Aune Manupelli, daughter of Ann Arbor Film Festival founder George Manupelli. Moose – whose miniature pinscher mother had had amorous relations with a chihuahua – is the spirit animal of this excellent cocktail, hand crafted in Ann Arbor to be enjoyed over ice while watching experimental film, or any number of other things!

The cocktail known as Moose Manupelli is a Gin Paloma, and the base spirit is A2DC’s very own Hawthorne Revival Gin to which they have added grapefruit juice, lime juice, and cinnamon agave. The resulting and utterly delicious cocktail goes into a 1 liter bottle, adorned with a label featuring Moose’s cartoon likeness complete with studded AAFF dog collar and his want-to-get-to-know-you grin!

Each one liter bottle will make 6-7 cocktails and retails for $40. Order online and pick up at A2DC, or simply stop by the tasting room and get yourself some Moose Manupelli to enjoy at home over the holidays...if it lasts that long! Even better, a bottle of Moose Manupelli makes a wonderful holiday gift for all of your dog-walking, craft-cocktail-imbibing friends!

Best of all, $7 dollars of every bottle of this made-to-order craft cocktail-in-a-bottle will directly support the 61st Ann Arbor Film Festival, which will take place in-person and online March 21-26, 2023 (online continuing through March 29). Online purchases begin Monday, December 12, and you can pick up one of the very first bottles of Moose Manupelli when the Distillery’s tasting room opens on Tuesday, December 13.

And when you are out walking your own dog, keep an eye out for Moose because he wants to say hello and thank you personally for trying the cocktail he inspired!