Has anyone tried these and lived to tell about it? Some people prefer the organic or biodynamic, Others, apparently, lean toward the toxic or deadly. It is nice to see TTB giving consumers some credit for being able to put things in context, and for recognizing that nobody will force them to buy either one of these products (unlike, say, health insurance or government).

Toxic Sludge is an ale made by Blue Point Brewing Company of Patchogue, New York. Jersey’s Toxic Waste, by contrast, is a distilled spirits specialty made by Strong Spirits, Inc., along with Line Brands of Long Branch, New Jersey. Michael Kanbar, of Strong, explains that Strong Spirits “is a contract bottling facility located in Bardstown, Kentucky, ‘The Distilling Capital of the World,’ and does both small and large runs and can handle specialty packaging projects.”

Related Posts:

• What’s Your Poizin? (1)
• PimpnHo: Almond Flavored Wine (3)
• Pee Like a Racehorse (or an Old Woman) (1)

We covered several sparkling spirits products about three years ago, here, and so it may be about time for a redux. There is quite a bit of action on this front, in recent months, perhaps due to the high profile of Nuvo Sparkling Liqueur.

Here is a Sparkling Vodka under the brand name Le Grand Saint. Technically, it is a distilled spirits specialty more than a “vodka” or a specific class/type. The statement of composition (“vodka infused with carbonation”) appears in gold letters near the top of the front label.

Another good example is Prévu. It is unique in the sense that it is sparkling, and liqueur, and organic. It is made with vodka and Cognac, and imported by Simont Enterprises of Los Angeles, California. Prévu also happens to have a great looking website and bottle. If the product is even half as good as what is shown there, I should step away from the computer and go get several bottles.

Related Posts:

• Vodka Distilled 18 Times (4)
• Sparkling Spirits (0)
• Forty Proof Beer (0)

Here is a lot of chickness. Witness it. Chick light beer is brewed and bottled by Minhas Craft Brewery of Monroe, Wisconsin. The website explains that Chick Beer is:  “The beer for women.  A premium light American lager, Chick is the only beer brand designed for women, who drink 25% of all beer sold in the U.S.”

Over on the right is Skinnygirl which of course is Tequila with natural flavors. Forbes says Beam paid Bethenny Frankel an “eyebrow-singeing $100 million” for the brand a few months ago:

That deal, which features a multi-year payout along with sales from her ever-expanding line of Skinnygirl products, bolstered Frankel’s bank account by an estimated $55 million in the past 12 months, according to sources close to Frankel (she won’t comment on the numbers); TV, we figure, earned her a mere $700,000.

The Chick has about 97 calories per 12 ounces of beer, according to the label. And the Skinnygirl has about the same number of calories, per 4 ounces. Neither appears to have any fat.

Related Posts:

• Punk Bubbles: Do You Prefer the 2004 Stench, or Filth? (2)
• Pink Triangles, Beer, a Bottle of Pride (1)
• Not Your Wife’s Spritzer (2)

About two years ago we showed spirits in the form of whipped cream. Last year we showed spirits in the form of an ice pop (more commonly known as a popsicle).

Just last week we showed various chocolate wines, to underscore the movement toward “The Dessertification of Beverages.” Nathan added a comment, asking how long until a convergence between spirits and ice cream. Within the same week, TTB approved a line of ice cream products, with about as much alcohol content as a light beer. snoBaR is made by Brothers International Desserts, of Irvine, California. Brothers seems to be mainly an ice cream company, more than a spirits company. So far, Brothers has approvals for Pink Squirrel (with brandy and amaretto, as above), Grasshopper (with brandy and creme de menthe), and Brandy Alexander (with brandy and creme de cocoa). All of them are about 4% alc./vol. — a fair amount more than the rum raisin ice creams of an earlier era. Baskin-Robbins tends to suggest that their Rum Raisin is made with little if any rum, while Häagen-Dazs suggests that at least a little rum is used.

Related Posts:

• Whipahol (5)
• TTB Not OK with Vitamin Wine (3)
• Liquor Sicle (2)

Margie made pancakes this morning, with real maple syrup. All of which puts me in a frame of mind to ponder the delights of maple syrup.

Oh Canada Maple Liqueur is made with maple syrup and undoubtedly tastes good (because it’s made by John Hall). But if you want to go even further, toward something made entirely or almost entirely from maple syrup, Knotted Maple may fill the bill. It is Maple Spirits with Maple Syrup, and is “distilled from Maine maple syrup.” It is produced and bottled by Tree Spirits, LLC of Oakland, Maine.

For a bit more maple satisfaction, don’t forget Vermont Gold (Vodka Distilled from Maple Syrup).

Related Posts:

• Zubrowka (1)
• Yerba Mate (2)
• Wine Without Sulfites (9)

We thought this approval (for Smirnoff Frozen Vodka & Lemonade) was noteworthy because it points out several things.

First of all, it tends to show that it’s okay to add a little bit of extra verbiage, to the mandated statement of composition, on a distilled spirits specialty. The required statement is probably VODKA WITH NATURAL FLAVORS AND FD&C YELLOW #5. The one on this label adds a few extra words such as MADE WITH SMIRNOFF. It adds a few other descriptors nearby, at VODKA & LEMONADE.

Second, it tends to show it’s okay to put the color details on the back, if the general statement is on the front. CERTIFIED COLOR (general) is on the front and CONTAINS FD&C YELLOW #5 is on the back only.

Third, this shows it can take a lot of work and a mighty long time for a big company to bring a product to market. This approval is already about eight months old, and there is no sign of  this product on the web or at the indicated domain.

Fourth, it’s probably an unusual, pouch-type package and freeze technology, based on the approval, but we’ll need to wait a bit longer to see it.

Finally, as with many other Smirnoff-branded products, the references to VODKA are very large, even though it could be said that it’s not vodka.

These are fairly technical points, but many of these issues arise often.

Related Posts:

• Twistee Rules: Aggregate Packaging (0)
• Nude Beer (2)
• Liquor Sicle (2)

Distinctive container? Box 18c of this approval says it is.

Kodiak Imports, of San Diego, California, has several TTB approvals for spirits products packed in containers that look quite a bit like fire extinguishers. If you stop and think about it, the brand name doesn’t exactly suggest that it puts out fires, and the back label points out that “This is not a fire extinguisher.” Then again, it does look a lot like exactly that. The website says “The multi award winning packaging looks like a fire extinguisher, complete with a locking pin, lever, and a nozzle through which Firestarter Vodka is poured.” Thank goodness it’s only 80 proof.

Related Posts:

• Manly Parts and Booze, Part 5 (0)
• Functional Packages, Part 5 (0)
• Adult Chocolate Milk (6)

We can learn a lot from this Jakk’d label:

1. It is one of very few that mentions the amount of caffeine on the label. This is probably a good thing. It is hard to imagine a good argument for disallowing a short, plain statement as to how much of a powerful psychoactive substance is in the beverage you are about to consume. This product has 75 mg. of caffeine per bottle, according to the label. It might be even better if the label used an icon or other simple statement to show that this is roughly equivalent to a cup of coffee.
2. According to box 19, the brand name does not refer to anything nefarious, and instead refers to the name of the company’s founder, and other good things like “cool,” “thorough enjoyment,” and “being pumped about the greatness of this drink.” TTB is not so sure, and noted that “The brand name remains under review.”
3. This is a rare spirits label with an FDA-style ingredient list.

Jakk’d is made in Temperance, Michigan.

Related Posts:

• TTB Not OK with Vitamin Wine (3)
• Sparks and Caffeine: Nearly Extinguished (8)
• Is it Tilt without Caffeine? (3)

After seeing this vodka distilled from cow’s milk, we didn’t expect to see too many more beverages distilled from milk. Despite all, here is Chinese Milk Liquor. The label is fairly sketchy about how it’s made. A very good website, teaching about Asian alcohol beverages, explains that this type of spirit is called Lai Jiu:

Literally “milk liquor,” it is made by taking cow’s milk, fermenting it, and distilling it. It is around 40% alcohol and it is as clear as water. I absolutely love the stuff. It has a sweet after-taste to it, like evaporated milk … . It gives one such a lovely high (much better than bai jiu). To my knowledge (and I’ve looked), it can ONLY be found in the province of China called Nei Meng Gu (Inner Mongolia).

The same website also covers Bok Bun Ja Ju (“man who pees in a pot”) but we’ll leave that topic for another day.

Related Posts:

• Whey Neutral Spirits (0)
• Vodka Distilled from Milk (3)
• Wholesome Brews (0)

Here is Bacardi Torched Cherry Rum with Natural Flavors. It is apparently made with “torched plant aloe.”

The use of aloe as a flavor is curious because it’s not clear how aloe tastes, and various sources say aloe does not taste especially good. This product is one of very few TTB products that seem to contain aloe. Even these find no room for aloe. As of this writing, the other flavors in the line are:

• Dragon Berry
• Limon
• Peach
• Raspberry
• Orange
• Coconut
• Apple
• Melon

Apart from aloe, this label suggests TTB will allow the term “Rum” to appear larger than “with natural flavors.” And yet, on other distilled spirits specialties, such as an identical product made with a vodka base, it is unlikely TTB would allow “Vodka” to appear in a more prominent way compared to the rest of the statement of composition. It is not clear why TTB polices the term “vodka” so rigorously, but not other comparable terms, such as “rum.” Another example of this is, the government clearly allows “cherry rum” (as above) but would probably not allow “cherry vodka.” This example is easier to understand because, as a matter of law and history, rum is only made from cane products, so confusion is unlikely. But in the case of a “cherry vodka” it would be more difficult to be sure about whether the product is distilled from cherries or just has a cherry flavor. It is possible that “vodka” is more sensitive due to controversy around this Skyy Blue label from many years ago.

Related Posts:

• The Prominence of Vodka (1)
• Wine Without Sulfites (9)
• Whey Neutral Spirits (0)