As anyone in food or beverage marketing can attest, American consumers in quest of good health and long life don’t seem to have much of a stomach for complexity. Never mind the subtleties of a balanced diet and exercise regimen. Instead, the perennial – or should we say chronic? – quest is for the magical silver bullet. In recent years, for many consumers, that magic bullet has been antioxidants, which have the ability to protect the body against free radicals and may ward off cancer, heart disease and other ailments that come with aging.
No sooner does word get out that pomegranates contain high levels of antioxidants than pomegranate juice sales take off. (OK, some very adept marketing from the POM Wonderful folks gave that a big push.) Green teas? White teas? Bang! Sales take off. Blueberries? Bring’em on! For some consumers, no formulation is too arcane, or price point too high, if the resulting product provides a nice zap of antioxidants. Some even make these products a daily regimen, which is great for repeat business.
Of course, such consumer crazes create an equal degree of hysteria on the supply side, as manufacturers race to provide products that will meet this suddenly seemingly insatiable demand. So maybe, then, we shouldn’t be too surprised to see these high-antioxidant fruits and herbs turning up as the ingredients du jour in new alcoholic beverages. Have you noticed? Over the past few months we’ve seen great tea pop up in libations such as Suntory’s Zen green tea liqueur (a Japanese import distributed in the country by Skyy Spirits) and Charbay green tea vodka (from Northern California). Pomegranates? The rush is on. From Heaven Hill Distilleries, we’ve got Pama pomegranate liqueur, while David Sherman is bringing us 70-proof Pearl Pereshone pomegranate-flavored vodka. Meanwhile, on the beer side Anheuser-Busch has essayed a Pomegranate Raspberry flavor under its 9th Street Market moniker, as well as Blue Horizon and Wild Blue blueberry-flavored lagers. Don’t know about pomegranates in malt beverages, but blueberry beers certainly are a tried-and-true tradition among the country’s craft brewers, though the timing of the entry from A-B would not seem to be coincidental to the antioxidant craze.
The sweet-tasting beers are definitely not for me, but I have tried a few of the other products and, I’ve got to admit, they’re delicious. Pama, which is 34-proof blend of pom juice, tequila and vodka, has got such a rich, complex taste that it works great just with splash of club soda. Zen, an infusion of Marukyu-Koyama green tea, lemongrass and other herbs, offers a subtle, floral taste that’s set off with a bit of tonic water. But what’s the message here? Are the beer and booze companies hoping consumers will believe that these products are a health elixir that will help drive away cancer and heart attacks? Though I’ve been involved in the beverage business long enough, even I’m not so cynical as to think that’s what they’ve got in mind – nor that consumers could be dumb enough to purchase the brands on that basis. Certainly, the producers are not making even the merest hint of a health claim in any of their marketing materials. The pomegranate-liqueur folks at David Sherman, for example, prefer to cite the tale of Persephone, while the Pama folks talk of “mythology, seduction and one forbidden fruit.”
Still, it’s an intriguing example of how these days – fueled by the constant quest of cocktail mixologists for the next novelty – even the rarified precincts of health foods are providing the news that keeps alcoholic beverages motoring. But that’s enough from me. I’ve got to get back to my Pama-and-soda regimen. (Beverage Spectrum- March, 2006)