Bronya Shillo grew up on Fishers Island, where her parents Greg and Debi ran the bar at the famed Pequot Inn, and for a brief time she was a librarian at Fishers Island School.

So when she decided in 2013 to leave the school to start her own business, the kids had a send-off party for her. The card they all signed, which she still treasures, wished her “good luck with your lemonade stand.”

Well, of course, it was a little bit more than a lemonade stand that Shillo was starting up. It was a canned cocktail marketed as Fishers Island Lemonade that she expects will sell 300,000 cases this year, or 7.2 million cans.

The North Stonington-based company, she said, has been tripling its sales over each of the last two years, marking it as one of the 10 fastest-growing brands in the ready-to-drink cocktail industry.

And what started as a tiny business centered mostly around southeastern Connecticut, Long Island and Rhode Island just this summer has expanded its reach all the way to Florida, one of 14 states where the cocktail is sold.

“We are 11 employees and growing,” said Shillo, 37, who currently lives in Newport, R.I. after just getting married.

Interviewed last month at Grand Wine & Spirit Shop on Poquonnock Road in Groton, Shillo said the cocktail’s recipe has been handed down by generations of Pequot Inn bartenders, who often mixed the brew out back. She recalled getting the idea for a canned cocktail while working at the bar one summer and being frustrated by the number of times she had to go into the back room to mix up another batch for thirsty patrons.

“It was our signature drink,” she said. “I was taking so many orders, running back and forth. I knew it would be a lot easier to crack open a can and just pour a drink.

“It was a lightbulb moment behind the bar,” she said.

But putting liquor in a can nine years ago was an unusual thing, and most of the existing products were malt based. Shillo wanted something a little different, since the recipe called for distilled vodka, barrel-aged whiskey, lemon juice and a touch of honey.

She immediately found the tax situation difficult as well, since there was no category for what she wanted to do and the authorities insisted on taxing her business as if it were 100% alcohol even though her lemonade was only about 9%.

“We were one of the first in the category,” Shillo said.

Shillo likewise had difficulty with finding a company to produce Fishers Island Lemonade, finally settling on a Colorado firm that would take a chance on a startup that was a dual-based spirit (most include only one liquor, such as vodka or tequilla).

Finding a distributor locally proved to be easier, as Eric Filardi of F&F Distributors in New London immediately took a liking to the cocktail.

“They are huge supporters,” Shillo said of F&F. “They’re definitely our biggest fans.”

Shillo also credited many restaurants in the Mystic area with stocking Fishers Island Lemonade, which provided a boost to the brand’s recognition locally and around the Northeast. She said the brand regularly wins awards in the ready-to-drink cocktail category, including double gold recognitions at the 2021 SIP Awards, an international spirits competition.

The market research company Mintel reports that sales of ready-to-drink cocktails more than tripled between 2016 and 2021, and the category is now one of the fastest growing in the business.

Drizly, in an online posting, said the increased interest in ready-to-drink cocktails (even Pepsi and Coca-Cola have entered the fray) exploded during COVID as bars closed and people craved mixed drinks they didn’t have to make themselves.

Indeed, Fishers Island Lemonade’s biggest growth occurred during the COVID shutdowns. Two years ago, the company introduced four new products to supplement the original 9% alcoholic drink. Fishers Fizz, Fishers Pink Flamingo, Fishers Spiked Tea and Fishers Frozen Spirit Pop (think an adult version of a popsicle) proved to be hits, so much so that this summer the company introduced a variety pack. The eight-pack, which sells for $26.99, includes the 7% alcohol Pink Flamingo and Spiked Tea alongside the original Lemonade.

Fishers Island Lemonade retails for $16.99 for four cans, although you can find it a couple dollars cheaper. It’s a premium brand, more expensive than competitors such as Truly and High Noon.

While Fishers Island Lemonade has been considered a summer thrill, Shillo said more and more people are enjoying it year-round, and the company has even published a recipe for a hot toddy version of the drink.

“People should drink whatever they like whenever they want,” Shillo said.

Still, sales do skyrocket in the warmer weather, which was one reason to move sales south this year to Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

Marketing is still largely word of mouth, but the brand has a large presence on Instagram thanks to Shillo’s acumen as a marketing major and environmental studies minor in college.

The attractive yellow, red and blue logo on cans, point-of-sale displays, beach blankets, plane banner fly-overs and even umbrellas at distinctive destinations such as Marina Bay in Quincy, Mass., help Fishers Island Lemonade stand out in a crowd.

“We’re a leader of the lemonade category,” Shillo said. “We’re just getting started.”

l.howard@theday.com