Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2017 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 1 Nonni's Foods Brings Out Biscotti with Flavors of Spring For the first time ever, Nonni's Foods is in- troducing a new limited batch of spring bis- cotti flavors. Inspired by the freshness of the spring season, White Chocolate Cherry Biscotti and Limoncello Pistachio Biscotti hit select grocery stores nationwide begin- ning in March. The seasonal flavors are only available for a limited time. "Spring has officially sprung at Nonni's, and we are thrilled to introduce these new flavors and limited batch product line in- spired by the season. Our holiday flavors tend to perform well and we know our con- sumers look forward to them, so we wanted to give them something new during the spring months, too," said Patricia Wong Bridges, Senior Brand Marketing Manager for Nonni's. "Our goal is to consistently offer unique, in- novative and on-trend biscotti flavor creations that get con- sumers excited." Fresh from Nonni's artisan bakery, each cookie is made with wholesome ingredients including real eggs, butter, fruits and nuts, giving the bis- cotti a light, crunchy texture that is delicately sweet. "As the weather warms up, we hope consumers find these flavors to pair seamlessly with their iced coffee or tea for that perfect morning treat or afternoon pick-me-up," said Bridges. Nonni's White Chocolate Cherry Biscotti are filled with cherries and white chocolate, and delicately drizzled with white choco- late icing, while Nonni's Limoncello Pistachio Bis- cotti are made with real pis- tachios and tangy lemons, dipped and drizzled in gourmet white chocolate. Each box of Nonni's Biscotti contains eight individually wrapped bis- cotti and retails for $3.29. At only 110 calo- ries apiece, Nonni's offers the sweet flavors of spring in a guilt-free indulgence that is perfect for snacking or sharing. The superior combination of quality care and ingredients makes Nonni's Biscotti the seasonal treat that consumers desire. These treats are individually wrapped in portion- controlled packs that seal freshness and maintain the highest quality flavor, and can be enjoyed as an indulgent snack or post- dinner dessert. For ordering information, retailers can call 877.295.9604, or visit www.nonnis.com. GN Craft Bitters Continued from PAGE 1 and Love-Struck Bitters. Love-Struck is based on an ancient Roman recipe for an aphrodisiac that combined hyssop, thyme, peppercorn and ginger, which Courville says struck her as a nice combination of in- gredients for a bitters drink as she was reading the recipe. "Then I added quassia bark, which is a very strong bark and very bitter. You just have to be very careful about how much you use because it's strongly bitter, aromatic and spicy," she said. "It's fun. People really like it." Her shrubs, which include Pear Honey Ginger Shrub, Strawberry Rhubarb and Apple Coriander Maple, and Cassis Berry and Peach Lavender, are sour rather than bitter. While there are many cocktails that include a sour note that often comes from the addition of citrus juice, the sour notes in a shrub originate in vinegar. They're par- ticularly useful to mixologists who are mix- ing cocktails in big batches or making them ahead of time, since vinegar preserves the cocktail's flavors better than citrus juices, which change their flavors when they're ex- posed to air. Courville is finding that her shrubs have also begun to attract the attention of those who see them as a healthier alternative to sugary sodas. "The popularity of shrubs in the last three years, in our experience of tasting all over the place, is that they are equally used as a craft beverage, as a soda or syrup. What we like is that people are recognizing that using a shrub soda is way healthier than a high fructose soda," she said. "It is being seen now as a healthy alternative. Seven grams of sugar would be about average for a serving for a shrub today – it's a lot less than a brand-name soda. That varies by maker, of course, and we're a little bit more in the vinegary side." For more infor- mation, visit www.thehudson- standard.com. Courville is, of course, not the only maker of artisanal cocktail mixers who's seeing the explosion of interest in the craft cocktail mixers. Q Drinks introduced Q Grapefruit at the Winter Fancy Food Show for its line of fizzy cocktail mixers de- signed to bring out the flavors of the spirits with which they're mixed. They're sold in four-packs of bottles or cans, each one sized to make one cocktail. The Tonic, Ginger Ale and Club Soda are also packaged in a 750ml bottle that's great for a party. The Tonic that's the original product in the line and a finalist for the sofi Award in 2010 is made with agave nectar for a flavor that's less sweet than other tonics. It's also fizzier than other ton- ics, and it's flavored with real quinine. A newer Indian Tonic is made with cane sugar for a sweeter flavor that brings out the juniper flavor of a dry gin. Q Ginger Beer also has less sugar than other ginger beer brands, and it's very spicy and extra- carbonated, made especially for mixing rather than drinking on its own as a soda. A four-pack of 6.7-ounce bottles retails for around $5.99 to $6.99. Visit www.qdrinks.com. Despite their new enthusiasm for the sour and bitter, Americans haven't lost their sweet tooth, either, and Sonoma Syrup Company's line of flavor-infused simple syrups, cocktail mixers and apple cider drinking vinegar is a whole range of products that will enhance both bar and coffee cupboard. Artisan bar mixers in the line include Classic Grenadine, Sweetened Lime Juice, Five Citrus Sweet & Sour, Pure Olive Juice and Olive Mary Mix. On the sweeter side, the fla- vor-infused simple syrups, useful for coffee drinks, home- made sodas, fla- vored iced teas and for cocktails include White Ginger In- fused Simple Syrup for Moscow Mules and Ginger Lattes; Meyer Lemon In- fused Simple Syrup, which adds bright flavor and sweetness to lemon- ade, teas and Lemon Drop Cocktails: Pome- granate Simple Syrup for Lavender Lemon Drop cocktails, over ice cream or in iced tea. A Sonoma Syrup Six Pack includes Classic, Lavender, Meyer Lemon, Almond Orgeat, Mint and Pome- granate and retails for $79.95, while a Bar- rista Latte Gift Set includes Vanilla Bean, Hazelnut Syrup and Classic Simple Syrup along with two pumps and retails for $55. Each 8-ounce bottle of the bar mixers makes about eight cocktails. Each 12.7- ounce bottle of syrup makes about 16 cock- tails. For more information, visit www.sonomasyrup.com. Simple syrups from quince & apple are made by hand in Madison, Wisconsin. Fruits are sourced from the Midwest when possible, and all ingredients are all natural and non-GMO. Varieties include Tart Cherry Grenadine, which won a 2014 Good Food Award; Rhubarb Hops; Lime and Cucumber; Honey Lemon; and Citrus. For more information, visit www.quince andapple.com. Runamok Maple offers its barrel-aged, smoked and infused maple syrups in beau- tiful heavy glass bottles that suggest cock- tail uses while the bottle is still on the shelf. To make the barrel-aged maple syrups, the maple is poured into recently emptied bourbon, rye or rum barrels, and as it ages, the syrup draws in the essence of the spirits without the alcohol. The company's Car- damom Infused Maple Syrup is infused with organic car- damom from Guatamala, and a tablespoon or two in a cocktail will add this sultry flavor. Background notes of smoke and caramel can be added into a cocktail with Runamok's Pecan Wood Smoked Maple Syrup. All of Runamok Maple's products are certified organic. Visit www.runamokmaple.com. DRY Sparkling markets its products as lightly sweet, culinary-inspired sodas, but Sharelle Klaus, the company's Founder and CEO, is far from oblivious to the prod- ucts' potential uses for craft cocktails, and the company's website features a plethora of recipes for pairing the sodas with alco- hol. The company debuted its bold and spicy Ginger DRY Sparkling flavor in easily transportable 12-ounce aluminum cans at Natural Products Expo West. Demand for this popular flavor is strong, as DRY saw with its limited edition 750 mL holiday bottle offering, and the company offers recipes for cocktails called The Southern Belle, which includes bourbon, peach liquor and lemon juice; and the Dry Tequila Fizz. Ginger DRY is made with four all-natural ingredients, including a touch of cane sugar – about a third of the sugar of leading ginger beers and ginger ales. It is Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten free, OU Kosher certified, caffeine free, sodium free, and made without any artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners. Visit www.drysparkling.com. GN Bissinger's Continued from PAGE 1 they want before they want it." Like the days when Owens was develop- ing a new dish to serve in his restaurant, a new Bissinger's candy starts with a concept. Owens rolls that thought around in his mind until he can taste it, and then he goes into his lab to work on it. In the case of the Caramelized Blood Orange bar, it was the rosemary that got added into the recipe in the course of that work. Its herbaceous note adds a complexity to the bar that Owens really likes and that he thinks will resonate with consumers on the hunt for a new flavor sensation. Though the other flavors change with the times, and many of them come and go in the product line, there's one flavor that doesn't change, and that's the Bissinger's chocolate. All of the chocolate that Bissinger's uses is made in Europe – it all comes from one liquor, so that the milk chocolate and the different dark chocolates have common fla- vor notes. "It's all cohesive," Owens said. "That's why we have customers for life.... We meet customers in their 80s who tell us they've been eating it since they were a small child. They can tell me more about the com- pany than even I know." GN

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