Mr. Q Cumber Soda is a Cool Quencher that makes Creative Cocktails

We liked it before we cracked opened the first 7 oz bottle of Mr. Q Cumber, the sparkling, non-alcoholic soda that certainly qualifies as an underground beverage.

Packed in a green bottle that you may have seen before as a pony beer or a souvenir salt & pepper shaker this sweet…yet tart, fruity but sour beverage is delicious and so very refreshing…if you can find it.

Chances are, when you do find Mr. Q Cumber Soda you’ll want more of this all-natural slice of cucumber in a bottle that is sweetened with cane sugar and once you add it to spirits you may just make it a part of your back bar. Far from mainstream, this is one of those products…and brands that IS the category and that  creates cocktail creativity and sales curiosity.

It’s an automatic delight when Mr. Cucumber is added to your vodka and it falls somewhere between the tonic and ginger on the flavor chart but it made a cheap ‘house gift’ white wine a 5-star Spritzer, and no matter what it’s nice to use a cucumber wheel as garnish. We worked it with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling too, but liked it best with a $6 Pinot Grigio.

Mr. Q Cumber has a hint of citrus and slight aromatic nose reminiscent of slicing into a juicy cucumber but as far as mixers or sodas go, it stands alone.

It is only one unique soda from a unique and little known company called Global Beverage Enterprises, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.   While they are a bit obscure, make no mistake they are no doubt global.

They offer a line of Sweet Blossom Soda Flavors that may have to be ordered…from the specialty store that carries Mr. Q

Sweet Blossom Soda features Jasmine, Rose and Elderflower and have recently added Lavender to their unique flavored sodas

Cumber Soda.  Their color alone will turn your head and spark interest, but if Sweet Blossom Rose Soda, Sweet Blossom Jasmine Soda,  Sweet Blossom Elderflower Soda or  Sweet Blossom Lavender Soda sounds as delicious as they do fragrant, then you are probably making notes right now. 

Their Mabi Soda is a Caribbean specialty soda called the ‘energy of the Caribbean’ that is specific to the islands of the Domican Republic and Haiti and known as Mavi in Puerto Rico.

Global Beverage Enterprises also developed Sparkling Cow with a target on providing a healthier alternative to sugary soda and fatty milk shakes for kids. Sparkling Cow Soda is America’s first low sugar, vitamin enriched, milk- based “carbonated” drink according to their website.

But Mr. Q Cumber Soda is the flagship and the one you are most likely to find, but while word is spreading fast Mr. Q in  the little green bottle there’s a real good chance that you can be the pied piper to a list of  outrageous cocktails.

Hank’s Beverages features Gourmet Flavor and Best Quality

When Hank’s Beverage Company first launched in 1996 it was a locals only brand. It sold great and won awards, but was only available in a few Philadelphia Restaurants.  Root Beer is like Cheese Steaks there and if yours gets compliments and critical acclaim in Philly… it’s got to be great.

Because besides being the Birthplace of the Constitution,  Philadelphia was the birthplace of Root Beer.  Yes Virginia…there was a Dr. Charles Elmer Hires and he made the first Root Beer in the same neighborhood where Hank’s Beverages first launched.

Now over 15 years later Hank’s Gourmet Sodas is the Philadelphia favorite and are now available in at least 45 states with a full line that includes Root Beer, Diet Root Beer, Vanilla Cream, Wishniak Black Cherry, Orange Cream and Birch Beer.

Bill Dunman, founding partner and general manager for Hank’s, entered the beverage business as a non-alcohol beverage distributor in Maryland and after meeting his current partners John Salvatore, Frank Salvatore, and Tony Salvatore who owned L&M Beverage in northeast Philadelphia,  Dunman  went  to work running the non-alcohol side of the the Salvatore family’s beer distributorship.

Dunman’s division, L&M Specialty, sold spring waters, juices and New Age products. “The one thing we were missing was a branded bottled root beer,” says Dunman, general manager and an owner of Hank’s Beverage Co. “All of us collectively had wanted to go into manufacturing, so we thought premium root beer would be the way to go. Since root beer has been around for 100 years, we had a local need for that type of product.”

Hank’s added more flavors, reaching as many as 10 soda flavors at one point, but the six flavors became more manageable as they grew their distribution network. After conquering Philadelphia, the lineup expanded through the East Coast and grew nationally.

Made with Pure Cane Sugar without Caffeine or High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hank’s Beverages now has distribution across the country and their Gourmet Root Beer makes up 41% of sales, and is the leading flavor for Hank’s in volume through all accounts in the United States. Black Cherry, Orange Cream and Vanilla Cream have an equal share at close to 15 percent.

Hank’s Classic Birch Beer, a Northeast regional flavor, is gaining popularity in other areas of the country and their Diet Root Beer sells well in supermarkets, especially in upscale markets.

Monin is Celebrating 100 Years of Fantastic Flavor!

Monin is the world leader and producer of all natural flavoring syrups and while celebrating their 100 Anniversary, Monin, has released a line of  five fruit Monin Smoothie Mixes that will revolutionize and add a new dimension to any beverage program.

Beverage Underground was on-location at the 2012 Cheney Brothers Food Show and Larry ‘Smokey’ Genta stopped by to see David Strathern, the National Sales Director from Monin USA along with Don Salemi, the area’s Monin Regional Manager, who were sampling Monin Smoothie Mixes to the delight of retailers at the CBI annual buying show.

Monin Smoothies a Big Hit at Cheney Show

The five flavors are all made with natural ingredients and no artificial additives and are unmatched in quality and consistency and are the easiest way to add real fruit smoothies to any menu and the flavors allow and encourage balanced versatility to create additional flavors with mixing options.

Monin Fruit Smoothie Mixes are ‘blender ready’ and it’s as easy as pouring over ice and whipping up the five flavors, Strawberry, Wildberry, Mango, Peach and Strawberry Banana that are packaged in bar-friendly 46 ounce cartons.
Monin is the ultimate in taste and creativity and the French company founded by Georges Monin in 1912 is by far the industry leader in providing a kaleidoscope of Monin Flavors of premium syrups, sweeteners, gourmet sauces, beverage concentrates, organic syrups and now real Fruit Smoothies.  

“Monin is now in 71 of the top 100 restaurants and bars in America”, said Strathern, “They are getting on the beverage band wagon and using flavors to create exciting new beverages for their menus. It’s really a big trend now”, added Strathern who always hosts one of the more popular booths at the Cheney Brothers International Food Show.

RIPE is industry’s first pure squeezed line of legit, cold, handcrafted bar fruit juices

It was bound to happen and bartender’s and consumers are glad that RIPE Bar Juice is making its way to more and more on-premise locations to immediately improve the quality and consistency of cocktails.

Michel Boissy and Ryan Guimond created their own juice company out of frustration with the shared goal of ending sub-par cocktails and to have the first pure squeezed line of legit, cold, handcrafted bar fruit juices.

RIPE Bar Juice is handcrafted from premium fruit without preservatives and it is so natural its shipped cold to bars and retail locations in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey,  Rhode Island and now Florida.

Adding Florida is a major move for the company that is still based in Connecticut and both Boissey and Guimond were in Florida and worked the booth, pouring samples and showing the difference between their RIPE Juice and what they call  “the big ol’ bottle of glo green non-juice rita mix”.

Founded in 2008,  Freshbev LLC and RIPE  began in Michel Boissy’s kitchen in Meriden, Connecticut and together with Ryan Guimond’s picky palate they  began squeezing fresh juice using pure agave nectar as the replacement to the high fructose corn syrup that is found in virtually all commercial juice mixers.

Larry ‘Smokey’ Genta of www. BeverageUnderground.com was on location to interview both  Michel Boissy and Ryan Guimond and to sample their entire line that includes; Pure Squeezed Agave Margarita Mix,   Pure Squeezed San Marzano Bloody Mary Mix, Pure Squeezed Agave Sour Mix, Pure Squeezed Agave Mojito Mix, and their latest release called Pure Squeezed Agave Fruit Punch.

“We feel like RIPE is going to hit hard it’s a great product weather you are a bar owner or a retail owner”, said Boissey who is both a trained chef and bartender.

Skinny Mojitos, Skinny Margaritas and Skinny Appletinis are now possible for even the most novice bartenders with the nationwide release of Crystal Light Mocktails.

Kraft Foods has taken their popular minimal or zero calorie Crystal Light non-carbonated powdered soft drink (PSD) to  a new arena that is targeting flavors and names usually associated with happy hour. While the term Mocktails indicates no alcohol and are great alternatives for both underage drinkers and those that like juice like drinks rather than carbonated sodas, there is little doubt that the target is females that may look to their home bar for a way to raise the bar without all those calories.

The targeted female consumer is flattered, challenged and should be ready to dress up their Crystal Light Mocktails  for some out on the town or in the backyard summer fun. 

Their website teases the new 5 calorie per serving  flavor line with the declaration that “The night is young and so are the men”. and assures that drinkers of Crystal Light can “Be the life of the party – guilt free”.

The Crystal Light site goes on to remind and suggest that these “New, low-calorie mocktails are virgin drink mixes that pair well with girls’ night outs, intimate soirees and outrageous flirting”.

Although these are offered as a limited edition for Summer 2012, early sales are brisk and consumers can expect more flavors to be added as sales as popularity increases.

Red Bull Total Zero has Zero Calories, Zero Carbs & Zero Sugars

Expect the same Red Bull energy with a “new twist” on the classic Red Bull flavor when Red Bull Total Zero hits the bars and store shelves across America in April.

In fact, new Total Zero Red Bull with your favorite vodka maybe the perfect new  ‘Skinny Girl‘ cocktail of Summer 2012.

The iconic size of the can remains the same as does the Red Bull Logo but the can is steel grey and silver with a yellow band with the reminder that this version has zero calories, zero carbohydrates and zero sugars.

Red Bull hopes to get any former fans that may have left for other lower calorie and carb energy drinks, and consumer reaction to the introduction of a slightly different flavor is greatly anticipated.  Considered by most industry analysts to be a safe line extension, the Red Bull ‘Total Zero’ is expected to cannibalize current sales at introduction but also inspire new sales and new interest in the energy drink category.

Although Sugar Free has solid presence, Total Zero is targeted at the successes of Coke Zero,  and SoBe’s Zero Calorie line and the early test and initial sales figures of Monster Absolutely Zero.  The  line extension is the first since 2009 for Red Bull who only maintains their Original Red Bull and Sugar Free Red Bull varieties currently. 

The company pulled the last two spin-off due to sluggish sales and breaks in distribution when Red Bull Cola and Red Bull Energy Shots were discontinued. Red Bull Cola was a high caffeine soft drink rather than an energy drink and the energy shots never reached  the consciousness of the consumer that enjoyed sipping a Red Bull in that familiar can.

PepsiCo began accepting  videos through their website and together with their facebook fans will select two video winners that will receive ‘Pepsi Max…For Life”.

The contest opened Friday January 13 and will continue for a month. Consumers are invited to the Facebook tab at www.Pepsimax.com to submit a video 60 seconds or less convincing viewers that they deserve a lifetime supply of Pepsi Max.

Videos can be uploaded on the Pepsi Max Facebook page through February 13, 2012.  The videos will be voted on by the public beginning on February 14 and continue through February 18 on the Pepsi Max Facebook Page.

“The ‘Pepsi Max for Life’ video contest is a fun way for us to get unique and creative content from consumers and reward them for showing their passion for the brand,” said Amy Wirtanen, senior marketing director for Pepsi Beverages Corp.

“Two convincing video winners that can prove to other consumers that they are devoted fans of maximum Pepsi taste and zero calories  will be rewarded with Pepsi Max for life”,  added Wirtanen.

Pepsi Max is the  official soft drink of the NFL and the contest will explode at the NFL Experience during the entire Super Bowl week in Indianapolis.

Don’t mess around with Coke is the theme of the 2011 holiday season.  Coca-Cola has aborted their all-white can as a result of complaints and confusion by Diet Coke drinkers.  Seems too many were mistaking the silver canned diet version and winding up with the classic, regular calorie Coke that typically is in the iconic red cans.

The white cans were a marketing plan gone wrong as the Atlanta-based company intended to ‘grab attention’ and bring awareness to a fund raising effort and partnership with the WWF (World Wildlife Federation) to saving the polar bear population and habitat.

Besides consumers who were grabbing the cans mistakenly, retailers were returning stock and threatening to not carry the cans.  Merchants were forced to replace cans for dieters who were confused by the lighter white cans.

Christmas edition cans aren’t new to Coca-Cola, they have regularly changed packaging to create buzz.   Coke, and its marketing campaign has always been a part of holiday tradition, and  helped shape the American image of Santa Claus.

It was Coca-Cola print and billboard advertising in the 1930′s that clarified the image of Santa Claus, his red suit and white beard.   The Coke of  Christmas Past  have featured snowflakes and the polar bears has been used throughout advertising for the soft drink giant, and they also appear predominately in this season’s marketing and  cans.

Coca-Cola announced that the white cans would be disappearing this week but that the charity effort for the polar bear population would continue with the red cans as a background. 

The cans that should be in stores by the end of the first week of December will be the ‘Artic Home’ can which features the same polar bears, but with the more iconic red background.

Boylan's Birch Beer is older than Coca-Cola

When William Boylan of Patterson New Jersey used herbal extracts from birch bark to brew his first Birch Beer in 1891, he found an elixir that had more therapeutic properties and a distinct flavor alternative to the more common root beers that other pharmacists were brewing.

That  Boylan’s Birch Beer recipe is still  the same and the family operated company is still producing Birch Beer 120 years later. Birch Beer continues to be the most popular product of the Boylan Bottling Company which is now located in Moonachie, New Jersey. In addition to the flagship brand of Boylan’s Original Birch Beer they also produce a Diet Birch Beer and a Creamy Red Birch Beer variety.

Boylan Bottling Company is one of America’s most popular producers of  ‘gourmet sodas’ and they offer a complete line of  real sugar soft drinks that are actually replicas of old fashioned traditional beverages in their Boylan’s Bottleworks Line.

The company was formed one year prior to Cocoa-Cola and during Prohibition  William Boylan began aging his most popular flavorin  unused beer barrels, and his  Boylan’s Draught Birch Beer gained regional popularity.  After repeal Boylan saw more future in the distribution of hard liquor and real beer so he sold the formulas and the sole route to its driver, Frank Fiorina.

By the 1940′s Fiorina is unable to compete with larger companies and their advertising and he closed his bottling line, but continued to manufacturing and distributing Boylan’s Draught Birch Beer to taverns in Passaic County, New Jersey for over 30 years.

Ronald C. Fiorina serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Boylan Bottling Company and joined the business in 1974. While still in high school, Mr. Fiorina spent 30 hours a week with his grandfather  Frank Fiorina as they made deliveries, and by the 80′s Ronald and Mark Fiorina had taken over the business and directed toward fountain syrups.

Over the next thirty years they relied on the flagship Boylan’s Birch Beer enabling the to create and grow their Bottleworks line.

In addition to the three Birch Beers, Bottleworks offers classic Root Beer, Creme, Black Cherry, Grape , Orange, Ginger Ale and Orange Cream made with pure can\e sugars for that authentic ‘soda-pop’ flavor.    Diet versions use Splenda as a sweetener to assure great tasting full bodied beverages without the sugar, carbs or calories.

Diet Root Beer, Diet Creme, Diet Black Cherry, and Diet Cane Cola are all established in the gourmet diet beverage category and the entire Boylan’s line of Bottleworks,  Seltzers and The Natural  Kind  sodas are bottled in  traditional 12 ounce glass bottles.

Boylan Seltzers are produced using triple filtered water and pinpoint carbonation and are available in Seltzer Pure, Seltzer Lemon and Seltzer Orange. The seltzer line is a great alternative to imported sparkling waters as the all natural, zero calorie, zero sodium beverage has no preservatives, sugars, artificial sweeteners or carbohydrates.

The Natural Kind is the name of Boylan’s all natural version of their current soda line. The retro embossed glass and painted labeled line is available in four flavors, Cane Cola, Black Cherry, Root Beer and Cream. These are respected as the cleanest sodas on the mass market and have no artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives or fructose just 100% pure cane sugar. Boylan’s  ‘The Natural Kind’ is Gluten Free, Sodium Free, Caffeine-Free and Kosher.

Real Soda’s Leninade is made in the USA

Leninade is just one example of the creative energy of  a guy who turned  his passion into his business.  “Soda Sommelier‘ Danny Ginsburg has had a thing for soft drinks since he was four years old when collecting bottle caps interested him more than toys.

 Since then, his toys and his hobby has manifested itself to become a big business. Ginsburg recently opened  a 3500 square-foot warehouse and tasting room that features the 1600 different and hard-to- get beverages that Real Soda currently distributes in six states and online.

Real Soda is located in Gardena, California  and is more than a warehouse and retail outlet, they also make and manufacturer  proprietary sodas including the growing cult refresher called Leninade.  The package pops and  the turned heads begin to smile once the curiosity of the label turns to the comedic quips on every bottle. Every bottle has a slogan that mocks Soviet life and propaganda such as “Get Hammered & Sickled”, “A Taste Worth Standing in Line For”, ” “Drink Comrade! Drink! and others.

Leninade is a pure cane, soft sipping pink lemonade that refreshes while creating conversation. The idea of Leninade was first a college joke that developed while he was in a Russian Language class in 1987.  Ginsburg actually doodled  a ‘would be’ label for his play-on-words soft drink.  That drawing would up being a bottle cap of his own that he could collect but his  ‘From Russia with Love’ lemonade is actually bottled here in the USA and is a little more red than pink or yellow.

Ginsburg’s story is as real as his company name and so are the beverages he stocks.  Real Soda in Real Bottles stocks  and unique sodas like Cheerwine from North Carolina, and Blenheim, the spicy ginger ale from South Carolina. These regional cult sodas are stacked high in California and offered to customers as nostalgic and ‘brand new’ all in the same day. 

Ginsburg’s palate is trained from necessity as he originally sought only bottle caps and was forced to empty the bottles he collected. He sells what he knows and he knows root beers, ginger-ales and every fruited and spiced soda available.  Ginsburg  knows that root beers have as much complexity and variances as an American Craft Beer or a single vineyard Cabernet. “Root Beer’s were the formulas and recipes of Doctors and Chemists and each one has its distinct taste and flavor profile”, he has said in interviews.

Soda in cans forced a shortage of soda in bottles and Danny Ginsburg’s bottle shopping trips forced a need for a garage just for bottles. The inventory  led to a distribution business that centered on the increasingly collectable glass bottle format and his original delivery vehicle was so cliche’ that it was perfect.  So in his  Volkswagen Van with a Lenin-head gearshift, Ginsburg grew his core business.

He saw a market and picked up a bunch of brands that were known but not available in Los Angeles and he became the sole distributor for many companies that were located throughout the country.   In 1993, the garage(s) were stuffed full and forced a move to a 6400sqft warehouse in Torrance,  California and Ginsburg had established a route that included movie studios, homes of Hollywood actors and all of the hip coffeehouses in L.A..

Soon his Real Soda in Real Bottles idea had grown to have its on section  in specialty grocery stores. Beverage Underground raises a glass to Danny Ginsburg and his  American success story as a preserver and purveyor of Real Soda…in Real Bottles.