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THE PANTRY KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n OCTOBER 2016 n www.kitchenwarenews.com 1 8 Gourmet Goodies The Pantry Cocktail Mixers Henry's Hard Soda Launches New Hard Cherry Cola Flavor Following a strong launch at the beginning of the year, MillerCoors is expanding its Henry's Hard Soda offerings to include Henry's Hard Cherry Cola. Now available on shelves nationwide, Henry's Hard Cherry Cola joins the rest of the Henry's family of flavors, Henry's Hard Ginger Ale and Henry's Hard Orange Soda. At 4.2 percent alcohol by volume, Henry's Hard Cherry Cola is made with real cane sugar and delivers a refreshing cherry cola flavor with a subtle hint of almond taste, giving it a distinctive twist from Henry's other two flavor offerings. "We are thrilled to see such strong excitement for Henry's Hard Soda. Consumers are raving about both Hard Ginger Ale and Hard Orange flavors," said Bryan Ferschinger, MillerCoors senior director of innovation. "We believe our Hard Cherry Cola hits that perfect balance of familiarity and appeal, and we can't wait for people to try it." Since launching in January 2016, Henry's Hard Soda has become the No.1 hard soda. Henry's Hard Ginger Ale is the top- performing ginger ale in the category and Henry's Hard Orange is the fastest-turning product in hard sodas. Henry's Hard Soda offers a fun and exciting way to put an unexpected, adult spin on familiar flavors. The brand is supported with a national, Gen-X targeted marketing campaign that kicked off in January 2016 and features adults who have grown up, but have not grown old. The campaign includes TV, digital media, social media, billboards and point-of-sale marketing. "Our focus remains on the Gen-X audience because we believe this is a group that continues to be overlooked," said Ferschinger. "We know Gen-Xers have stuff to do tomorrow, which is why we created Henry's Hard Soda. Henry's provides just the right amount of fun, helping people embrace their 'Live Hard-ish' lifestyle." KN Top Note Tonics Revive European Flavor Profile W hat originally began as a homebrew quest to develop an herbal beer instead led to the birth of Top Note Tonics. Mary Pellettieri, a chemist, botanist and craft beer veteran who spent a number of years in product development at Goose Island Brewer y, was experimenting with botanicals when she produced an herbal concentrate that intrigued her. It was a flavor profile that paired bitter, sour and sweet and was reminiscent of the curative tonics used in Europe in the early 1800s. O ver the course of several years, Pellettieri and her partner, Noah Swanson, refined her original recipe and in 2014 debuted Top Note Tonics– a classic line of complex herbal concentrates that create an amaro soft beverage or sophisticated hard drink when mixed with seltzer water and spirits. "There's a certain elegance to assembling a cocktail that 's purposely built with ref reshing flavors and not overpowered by sweet. Top Note Tonics are simple to use and provide flavor complexity without extra steps," says Pellettieri. The tonics are available in five concentrates– Bitter Orange, Bitter Lemon, Gentian Lime, Indian Tonic and Ginger Beer. Each is made f rom carefully sourced whole roots, barks, f ruits, herbs, spices and real cane sugar. No artificial colors or preservatives are used and all varieties are gluten f ree, made with non- GMO ingredients and contain half the sugar of standard mixers. Top Note Tonics are available in 10- and 25-ounce bottles. They retail for approximately $10 and $22 and can be purchased online attopnotetonic.com and Amazon or at select grocery and spirit stores. KN Sauces and Bloody Mary Mixes from Wine Country Kitchens Since 1995, Wine Country Kitchens (a family owned and operated specialty food manufacturer located in Napa Valley, California) has been producing exceptional barbecue sauces and bloody Mary mixes. Napa Jack's Bloody Mary Mix is gluten f ree and all natural. The aromas of wood smoke, spices, tomato and celer y are present, but the back notes of rich barbecue flavor generated by the thickness of the mix make these cocktail mixes unique. They 're available in three varieties: Original, Smokin' Hot Hickory and Clam Bake. For more information, visit www.winecountrykitchens.com. KN

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