Actor Wyatt Russell Launches New Canned Cocktail in WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Actor Wyatt Russell and New York native film producer Rich Peete co-founded canned craft cocktail company Lake Hour last year. The duo joined WIVB’s “Wake Up!” Friday to talk about the company’s drinks.

“We started in a hot tub on a family vacation,” Russell said. “Our wives are best friends, and around the time of the strike, we said, ‘Hey, let’s make a cocktail in a can.’”

He described the drinks as “like a High Noon but better.”

“And it’s local,” Peete added. “It’s from Western New York. We started our business about a year ago in Western New York and we’ve had very good results.”

Peete said the cocktails are available in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse areas, with a name inspired by the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes. He said the idea for the drinks is to have a more “subtle and refreshing” taste compared to similar drinks.

Russell credited Peete’s wife for the flavors and said the flavors were carefully tested because they didn’t want to make something too sweet or overpowering.

The couple is currently traveling in western and upstate New York to visit locations hosting the Lake Hour festival. They’ll be at Addy’s Fine Wine and Spirits from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, followed by happy hour at the Moor Room.

Russell starred as U.S. Agent John Walker in the Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” as Corporal Lewis Ford in J.J. Abrams’ World War II horror film “Overlord,” and played antagonist Anders Cain in the 2017 hockey film “Goon: Last of the Enforcers.”

Peete has served as producer on films such as “Blue Ruin,” “Super Dark Times” and the miniseries “Killer Sally.”

To find a Lake Hour location near you, click here.