“Ready to drink” has been the buzzword
of the beverage alcohol industry for the last
several years – and it continues to be the
hottest drink trend of today.
Creating an alcoholic seltzer or a canned
cocktail involves a laundry list of decisions
you’ll need to discuss with your beverage
development partner, but the number one question
you can count on being asked is, “what base
do you want to use?”
Although there are several options to choose
from, it can be difficult to distinguish between
them all.
Let’s break down some of the most popular
options.
Technically, you can use any distilled spirit
as a base, but Grain Neutral Spirits (or GNS)
are one of the most popular.
GNS is a high-ABV spirit made from, you guessed
it, grain.
Considering most GNS is distilled to 95% ABV,
proofing down to a 5% ABV spiked seltzer can
get you a lot of bang for your buck.
From a beverage development perspective, it’s
often an attractive option because of its
clean, tasteless profile, which makes it easy
to combine with any variety of flavors.
Generally, products that use GNS --or any
distilled spirit –can be positioned as authentic
equivalents to what a consumer might order
at the bar, making for a more premium experience.
If you’d like to make a beverage similar
to today’s best-selling spiked seltzers,
then a neutral malt base or sugar brew is
a good place to start.
A malt base is essentially beer without any
of the unique flavors contributed by hops
and other additives, while a sugar brew is
made to be gluten free.
When compared to GNS, the differences are
substantial: first, neutral malt bases and
sugar brews tend to cost less than GNS – but
both will also contribute more calories.
If you are trying to meet a calorie target,
you may need to compromise other ingredients.
When using a sugar brew or malt base, you’ll
also typically need to adhere to different
regulations than those required for a spirit
base.
A third base option is wine.
You may choose to use a certain variety of
wine because of its unique flavor profile,
or you could use a neutral wine called “other
than standard” (or OTS).
If you want to convert loyal wine drinkers
to your product, then integrating a specific
type of wine into your beverage may work better
at enticing your target audience; however,
if you plan to make a flavored spritzer and
you’re not as concerned about preserving
the unique characteristics of the wine, then
an OTS base may be a better fit.
Just don’t forget that wine bases will also
have their own set of regulatory requirements.
Whichever base you choose, you’re going
to need a reliable supplier.
Large-scale operations should keep you well
stocked at a lower price, but you might consider
using a smaller craft producer or larger established
brand and integrating that into your story.
Maybe you’re already in the distilling,
brewing, or winemaking industries – why
not leverage your existing brand loyalty to
launch an RTD cocktail?
If you’re still unsure where to start, Flavorman
can help.
Since 1992, our beverage experts have developed
a variety of innovative hard seltzer and RTD
drinks -- from refreshing wine spritzers and
unique mule combinations, to some of the nation’s
most coveted hard seltzers and canned cocktails.
Don’t postpone your dream.
Partner with Flavorman and change what the
world is drinking.
Follow us on social media and visit Flavorman.com
to learn more.
