What if the biggest opportunity in your industry is something no one else recognizes?

In this episode, Eric “ET” Tecosky, the founder of pioneering cocktail ingredient brand Dirty Sue, unpacks how a simple gap behind the bar became a first-to-market product, a profitable niche, and a lesson in disciplined focus. 

From navigating skeptical buyers to scaling a single SKU for 20 years, ET breaks down the strategy, timing, and execution behind building a sustainable, category-creating brand.

0:25: Eric “ET” Tecosky, Founder & CEO, Dirty Sue –  ET talks about the origin of his Instagram handle before he reveals how the idea for Dirty Sue emerged from a bartending pain point: running out of olive brine during a rush. He explains his vision for a brand of premium olive brine but was stymied early on because bars still operated in a pre-premium cocktail era. He shares his path to grassroots sampling and convincing bartenders and managers of the operational efficiencies of a bottled product. ET discusses Dirty Sue’s gradual expansion across the West Coast and how he tapped into a growing home-cocktail market. He emphasizes a disciplined focus strategy and notes that he has taken only one round of investment at the company’s founding.

Dirty Sue, Jack Daniel’s