Top Note Tonics Revive European Flavor Profile
New Line Heralds the Renaissance of Taste in Tonic
MILWAUKEE, June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- What 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 Brewery, 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.
Over 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 refreshing 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 from carefully sourced whole roots, barks, fruits, herbs, spices and real cane sugar. No artificial colors or preservatives are used and all varieties are gluten free, made with non-GMO ingredients and contain half the sugar of standard mixers.
Top Note Tonics are available in 10 and 25 oz. bottles. They retail for approximately $10 and $22 and can be purchased online at topnotetonic.com and Amazon or at select grocery and spirit stores.
Top Note Bitter Orange – Bitter Orange is the most complex Top Note Tonic concentrate with 13 botanical herbs and several types of sugar.
Top Note Bitter Lemon – The Bitter Lemon concentrate is a drier, more mature version of limonata, a classic Italian soda.
Top Note Gentian Lime – Gentian Lime is the only Top Note Tonic concentrate that contains no quinine. Instead, it relies on French gentian root for bittering.
Top Note Indian Tonic – Inspired by the European versions of Indian Tonic, the Old World recipe was refined with grapefruit peel and three types of botanical bitters.
Top Note Ginger Beer – The Ginger Beer concentrate has a restrained sweetness and fresh ginger aroma and flavor.
Founded in 2014 and based in Milwaukee, Wis., Top Note Tonics is an all-natural line of herbal tonic concentrates that cocktail enthusiasts can use to craft custom "hard" drinks or amari soft beverages. The Top Note Tonic line includes five concentrates – Bitter Orange, Bitter Lemon, Gentian Lime, Indian Tonic and Ginger Beer. When added to seltzer water or club soda, the concentrates deliver a complex tasting drink. The Top Note Tonic name comes from the field of sensory science since top notes are the ephemeral aromas found in wine, beer and spirits that produce a multi-sensory experience. For more information, visit topnotetonic.com.
SOURCE Top Note Tonics
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