Square One Organic Spirits presents Square One Botanical — Eden in a bottle
New Orleans, LA (July 6, 2009) Square One Organic Spirits, in its ongoing dedication to organics, spirit innovation and the dynamic world of cocktail mixology, unveiled at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans its latest spirit: Square One Botanical, a sophisticated certified organic botanical spirit with seductive appeal for cocktail experts and novices alike. Square One Botanical is a 90 proof organic rye spirit infused with a striking blend of 8 organic botanicals - pear, rose, chamomile, lemon verbena, lavender, rosemary, coriander and citrus peel. With its broad range of botanicals and high proof, wine and spirits industry veteran and Square One founder Allison Evanow takes Square One out of its vodka heritage into a yet to be defined new category of specialty botanical spirits. Tales of the Cocktail, the premiere culinary and cocktail festival attracting mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts from around the world, is a fitting choice for this spirit’s official national debut.
“With Square One Botanical, we offer the modern Mixologist a new twist on a botanical-driven spirit.” explains Ms. Evanow, “By placing pear in our botanical line up, an unexpected addition to a botanical spirit, we bring the spirit’s fruit and floral characters forward and keep the herbal botanicals strong, but softly balanced.” To create a spirit that is rooted in tradition, but presented in a contemporary form that challenges familiar spirit classifications reflects Square One’s philosophy since the company began. “The choice of rye as a base for our entire organic spirit portfolio is a quality choice, and a nod to the origins of old-world luxury vodkas,” Evanow explains, “but the expressions of cucumber and botanicals in our flavored spirits do not follow an established profile. Square One Botanical is my way of staying close in to traditional botanical spirits, but pulling it in a different direction.”
On tasting Square One Botanical, the floral and fruit aromas immediately capture the senses. On the palate, the supple floral character is followed by herbal botanicals that offer backbone, yet stay gently in the background. Consistent with Square One’s house style, the spirit is delicate and balanced; no one botanical dominates. Its eight botanical essences become part of a Mixologist’s palette to select and lure forward, for a distinctly original cocktail. Selecting a fresh component or infused syrup of any of the spirit’s botanicals heightens the botanical’s influence in the cocktail. This Garden of Eden approach to botanical essences is a significant departure from traditional botanical spirits in which one botanical, such as juniper in gin or caraway in an aquavit, is the signature botanical of the spirit.
“This is a spirit designed for the craft of mixology and contemporary expressions of cocktails rooted in the classics.” says Square One Brand Ambassador and Mixologist, H. Joseph Ehrmann, “For example, our Flower Sour, Rose 75 and Botanical Punch recipes are riffs on the time-honored cocktails Sour, French 75, and Pimm’s Punch. In our new recipes, we bring contemporary flavors to these cocktails with Square One Botanical and the addition of flower syrups, exotic fresh produce or other ingredient variations. It allows the modern mixologist the opportunity to take a classic approach to the drink, while imparting a distinctly new edge to the cocktail.” Even in the hands of a talented mixologist, new cocktail aficionados often are reluctant to move into bolder botanical spirits. Square One Botanical’s well-balanced floral, fruit and herb botanical profile will provide the mixologist with an intriguing and multifaceted spirit to work with, while giving the cocktail drinker a chance to advance their cocktail repertoire.
The organic botanical essences infused into Square One Botanical are not readily available year-round, so Square One Botanical is released with limited production. This limited production approach by a small family-owned spirits company allows Square One creative freedom and the ability to follow its vision of developing spirits with the art of cocktail mixology in mind. “Mixologists today focus on the integrity of the ingredient in a well made cocktail.” Says H. Joseph Ehrmann, “Square One consistently develops high quality, sophisticated spirits to keep advancing cocktail mixology. This was true with Square One Cucumber, which hit the market almost a year ago. Mixologists uncovered its versatility in clever plays on sweet or savory flavors in cocktails. I expect that we’ll see the same exciting cocktail evolution with Square One Botanical.”
About Square One Organic Spirits
Square One® Organic Spirits, a pioneer in organic spirits, is a progressive female-owned boutique spirits company with the sole mission of creating innovative organic spirits with an eco-conscious mindset. Each spirit in the portfolio starts at square one with the purest of ingredients: 100% organic American-grown rye and pristine water from the Teton Mountains. The result is an exclusively organic spirit portfolio of the highest quality: Square One Organic Vodka, Square One Cucumber and Square One Botanical. Square One’s business philosophy includes seeking out sustainable choices in all parts of the business: just a few examples include using soy inks, tree-free face labels, vegetable based transparent side labels, and designing a bottle that is stylish enough to be reused as a vase, an olive oil container, or on display with spirit infusions.
Margie Goolan
Square One Organic Spirits
(415) 209-0109
Ann R. Tuennerman
Founder Tales of the Cocktail®
Twitter User Name: Mrs_Cocktail
