Released in 2017 as part of our original lineup of Sparkling Mixers, Top Note Tonic’s award-winning Ginger Beer is earthy and rich with a bold gingery bite. What’s our secret? Read on to find out!
Historically, Ginger Beer was a fermented, mildly-alcoholic ginger brew not unlike what we now think of as kombucha. Modern day Ginger Beer, however, is a non-alcoholic, non-fermented (note: though some varieties do incorporate yeast as a means of carbonation, they typically maintain a low enough ABV to be considered non-alcoholic) carbonated beverage brewed with ginger. Most Ginger Beers have a strong ginger flavor and are only mildly sweet.
Ginger Ale, on the other hand, is akin to other traditional North American soft drinks. Most are made simply by adding ginger syrup (which may or may not include any actual ginger root) to carbonated water, making for a soda that’s sweeter, more mildly ginger-flavored and often more highly carbonated than Ginger Beer. Along with its cousin Club Soda, Ginger Ale can be used as a neutral-flavored cocktail mixer and to help settle an upset stomach.
While Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale can - to a large extent - be used interchangeably as drink mixers, the choice to use one over the other will impact the flavor of your cocktail. If you’re looking for something sweet and mild, go for Ginger Ale; but if you’re feeling bold and spicy, we recommend reaching for Top Note Ginger Beer.
Unlike most American Ginger Beers on the market today, Top Note’s is made with a combination of California-grown date sugar and all-natural cane sugar. The unique addition of date sugar lends a Cola-like complexity and deep brown color similar to the dark and boldly-flavored Jamaican Ginger Beers we love. Date sugar also keeps the overall sugar content and sweetness levels lower than other Ginger Beers.
We also brew our Ginger Beer with both ginger and galangal roots, providing a deeply complex flavor profile uncommon to many others: galangal lends an earthy and almost grassy savoriness while ginger root lends that signature Ginger Beer bite.
The dark color of our Ginger Beer makes for an especially striking cocktail when mixed with dark spirits like whiskey and aged rums as well as in a myriad of tropical-style cocktails. However, it’s also fantastic with lighter spirits like tequila, pisco and of course in the classic vodka-based Moscow Mule.
We’re also big fans of drinking it straight out of the bottle! Add Ginger Beer to your list of non-alcoholic options for patrons looking for a zesty and refreshing all-natural soda that’s lower in sugar than traditional soft drinks.
To dress it up without adding booze, we’re prone to mixing it with coconut water for a tropical twist or with cold apple cider for a cozy treat.
For our full recipe catalog of Ginger Beer drinks, click here. Or get started with a few of our favorites:
Learn how to Master the Moscow Mule with Top Note Ginger Beer, a blog post we wrote for our Industry Home Page which we’ve curated just for bars, restaurants, cafes and distributors.
Top Note Ginger Beer is available in 3-gallon Bag-in-Box for the soda gun and 8.5oz bottles sold in 16-pack cases. Please reach out to us with any questions regarding our products, distributors near you or how to serve Top Note Sparkling Mixers in your bar. We’re your biggest fans!
]]>We founded Top Note in 2017 as a cocktail syrup company, with our first release being a gentian-forward bitter orange syrup inspired by non-alcoholic aperitivi like Crodino and chinotto. Fast forward to 2021, Top Note has transitioned from syrups to mixers, and as we've set out to debut our premier Bartender Release Sparkling Mixer, the stakes are higher than ever. We thought: what better way to honor our journey than to go back to our roots and give a nod to the original cocktail syrup that helped get us to where we are today?
Top Note's new series of yearly Bartender Release Sparkling Mixers will draw inspiration from contemporary trends in the cocktail and spirit-free drinks industries. We conceptualized Gentiana as our 2021 release as a way of honoring our origin story as well as the growing popularity of aperitivo-style cocktails in the U.S. These bitter yet refreshing cocktails instill in us a sense of worldly wonder. They conjure images of Italy: of warm hospitality and incredible food. Gentiana is the color of heirloom tomatoes nestled amongst fresh mozzarella and basil, of terracotta rooftops and perfect Mediterranean sunsets.
Made to sip and savor, give your patrons a taste of Europe this summer with Top Note Gentiana.
A: Gentiana is the first gentian root tonic produced in the United States in modern history. Its extra-bitter, low-sugar profile draws inspiration from Italian bitter herbal sodas (called aperitivi analcolici) popular in Europe.
Q: What’s the deal with bitter sodas, anyway?
A: Until now, a true gentian root-bittered tonic water or soda has not been released in the United States since the late 19th century. But before the rise of the kinds of sugary soft drinks most Americans are familiar with today, botanical sodas like birch beer, sarsaparilla and regional cult favorite Moxie were all the rage.
In Italy, bitter herbal sodas continued to thrive alongside the midcentury boom of American-style soft drinks that favored sweeter profiles over bitter ones. For decades, these sodas could only be found stateside at traditional Italian grocers and boutique European markets, but the rise in popularity of Aperitivo Hour in the U.S. has once again propelled these sodas back into the limelight.
Q: What is Aperitivo Hour?
A: In short: pre-meal drinks. Basically an Italian happy hour.
The tradition began with the Romans, who enjoyed plentiful drinks, snacks and socializing before more formal meals. Today, the practice remains largely the same and can take place before any meal - typically lunch or dinner.
Perhaps what sets Aperitivo Hour most noticeably apart from what we’ve come to know as happy hour in the U.S. is in the drinks served and the pace at which they’re consumed. Many of us are familiar with the concept of happy hour as pre-meal drinks and snacks - just like Aperitivo Hour - but often we market the occasion as a sort of race to the finish line, ie. how many cheap, high-ABV mixed drinks can we manage to sell before full-price dinner service begins?
Aperitivo Hour drinks, on the other hand, are typically low- and no-proof. Vermouth, bitter liqueurs like Aperol and Campari, and bitter sodas like Gentiana are the stars, often lengthened with tonic water, club soda, or Prossecco. These drinks are sipped and savored and the goal isn’t to get your patrons as drunk as possible as quickly as possible, but instead to provide them the time and space to catch up with friends and family, facilitate good conversation, and slow down. This allows patrons to extend their bar tabs during what might otherwise be slower sales hours and affords you the opportunity to showcase cost-effective no- and low-proof drinks.
Q: How can I best enjoy Top Note Gentiana?
A: In the spirit of Aperitivo Hour, we recommend that your patrons sip Gentiana slowly and among friends.
It’s common to find Italian’s enjoying bitter sodas like Gentiana chilled, served neat, and garnished with an orange wedge and green olive. If you prefer to serve a taller drink, Gentiana is fantastic over ice with a splash of orange juice or lemonade. For a low-ABV spritz-style cocktail, mix with sweet vermouth or Prossecco.
For more information on Top Note Sparkling Mixers, head to our Industry Home Page, curated just for bars, restaurants, cafes and distributors.
Find our collection of Gentiana cocktail and zero-proof recipes here.
Please reach out to us with any questions regarding our products, distributors near you or how to serve Top Note Sparkling Mixers in your bar. We’re your biggest fans!
]]>This spring we celebrate Club Soda No. 1’s first anniversary among Top Note’s lineup of sparkling mixers! If you’ve spent this past year curious about this seemingly simple product and what makes it so interesting, you’re not alone. Here’s the rundown!
Q: What is club soda?
A: Club soda is carbonated water with added salts and minerals, including sodium, magnesium and calcium as well as chlorides, sulfates and other ions. Like salt for a chef, club soda brings minerality and flavor enhancement to cocktails and also serves to dilute the drink to a proof suitable for sipping.
Q: What is mineral water, and how is it different from club soda?
A: Like club soda and plain seltzer, mineral water is a form of sparkling water. Like club soda, it features a multitude of minerals however while club soda’s mineral content is added to the water, the mineral content of mineral water is natural. Unfortunately, mineral waters tend to clash with most cocktail ingredients, making for an unbalanced drinking experience. Club soda, on the other hand, is formulated specifically for mixing into cocktails.
Q: What made Top Note decide to produce a club soda?
A: When we set out to make club soda, we knew we had to make it different, and to really dig deep into this category of mixer. We asked ourselves, “What is club soda’s purpose?” and “How can we not only make it unique, but also better?”
The idea of making a club soda for whiskey stood out to us as unique and purpose-driven. In 2019, we began to study the water chemistry in Kentucky and tasted many different club sodas and mineral waters with a variety of whiskies. Armed with this new knowledge of water chemistry and our experience in the beer brewing industry, we developed a formula that enhanced not only the malty tones and barrel aromas of whiskey, but also succeeded in making citrus flavors pop.
Q: What makes Club No. 1 different from other club sodas on the market?
A: Lower sodium levels and higher levels of carbonation!
The levels of sodium in club soda are highly variable, and some premium-marketed club sodas have surprisingly high levels of sodium. Understanding that the average consumer actually desires less salt in their diet, we targeted lower levels of that ion, producing one of the lowest-sodium club sodas on the market. However, with lower levels of salt, we needed to come up with different ways to amplify the flavor of our club soda. We discovered that if we focused on the chloride side of the salt, we could still enhance the ion's soft, round flavors.
The carbonation in club soda is generally high, as it has to take on the dilution of alcohol and ice while still making a fizzy beverage, but we wanted to bring it to the next level. We targeted the highest carbonation levels achievable, producing a club that can hold its carbonation for days after it’s been un-capped.
Q: How can I best enjoy Club Soda No. 1?
A: Top Note Club No. 1 lifts barrel-aged spirits like scotch, bourbon, whiskey and brandy, but is also great with clear spirits like vodka and a squeeze of citrus. Check out some of our favorite club soda cocktails.
For more information on Top Note Sparkling Mixers, head to our Industry Home Page, curated just for bars, restaurants, cafes and distributors.
Please reach out to us with any questions regarding our products, distributors near you or how to serve Top Note Sparkling Mixers in your bar. We’re your biggest fans!
]]>Introduced in 2019, our award-winning Classic Tonic Water is simple and delicious, but what makes it so special is all in the details.
Q: What is tonic water?
A: Tonic is a carbonated water flavored with sugar and bitters. The origin of tonic water as we know it today can be traced back to a botanical tincture issued to British soldiers in WWI. The tincture contained a natural bittering agent called quinine, which was used as a means of fighting malaria. According to legend, soldiers would mix the tincture with gin and sugar to make it more palatable, and thus the classic Gin & Tonic was born.
Q: How is Top Note’s Classic Tonic Water different from other tonic waters?
A: While other commercial tonics utilize multiple lower-quality bittering agents, we found that by using high-quality, naturally-derived quinine as the sole bittering agent we’re able to pull out and enhance a pleasantly clean lime characteristic that needs little else to shine.
Q: What’s the difference between Classic Tonic Water and Indian Tonic Water?
A: Our aromatic Indian Tonic Water contains two bittering agents - quinine and gentian root, which provide a soft earthiness to the tonic that complements botanical gins and allow it to stand on its own as a European aperitivo-style soft drink.
Our Classic Tonic Water pays homage to the classic quinine qualities of WWI-era tonic tinctures, utilizing quinine as its sole bittering agent and giving it a crisp, citrus-forward backbone perfectly suited for vodka and juniper-forward gins.
Q: How can I best enjoy Classic Tonic Water?
A: This is the mixer for those looking for a pure, no-frills tonic water to complement fine vodkas and London Dry gins. Because our Classic Tonic Water is produced with a small amount of GMO-free pure cane sugar to balance out the bitter top notes, it also tastes great on its own or mixed into a number of non-alcoholic drink recipes. Follow this link to check out some of our favorite tonic cocktails and spirit-free recipes.
For more information on Top Note Sparkling Mixers, head to our Industry Home Page, curated just for bars, restaurants, cafes and distributors.
Please reach out to us with any questions regarding our products, distributors near you or how to serve Top Note Sparkling Mixers in your bar. We’re your biggest fans!
]]>Released in 2019, Top Note Grapefruit Soda has found its way into the hearts and pantries of customers and bartenders alike. What’s our secret? Read on!
Q: What makes an exceptional Grapefruit Soda (and what doesn’t)?
A: Because our Grapefruit Soda is designed both for drinking as a stand-in for sugary soft drinks and as a mixer in cocktails and spirit-free drinks, we had to make sure that our formula would translate to multiple uses. Here’s what we’ve learned:
First of all, Grapefruit Soda has got to taste like grapefruit! Maybe that seems like a given, but there are a surprising number of grapefruit sodas on the market today that contain very little grapefruit juice. Those that do are often masked with additional fruit juices or unpronounceable ingredients that lend an oddly medicinal flavor.
Secondly, a great Grapefruit Soda has just the right amount of sugar. Too much and it starts to border on syrupy, leaving that weird coating on the inside of your mouth. Too little and the sour bitterness of the soda will dry out your tongue. Somewhere in the middle lies the perfect balance: just enough sweetness to evoke that sweet sensation of peak-season grapefruit sprinkled with sugar.
Thirdly, the carbonation must be on point. A soda that’s too aggressively fizzy dulls your ability to discern any real flavors, while too few bubbles lets those beautiful sweet-tart flavors fall flat. Top Note prides ourselves on understanding and executing the best carbonation levels for each of our mixers.
Q: How is Top Note’s Grapefruit Soda different from other grapefruit sodas?
A: When we set out to develop a Grapefruit Soda to add to our lineup of sparkling mixers, no other brand on the market was producing the kind of soda we wanted to drink: sweet, tart and juicy, like a perfectly-ripe Ruby Red Grapefruit sprinkled with sugar.
During our research, we were struck by the number of low-quality grapefruit soft drinks on the market, most of which didn’t actually taste much like grapefruit. We knew we had an opportunity to create a Grapefruit Soda with quality ingredients and real grapefruit flavor unlike anything else available.
Top Note Grapefruit Soda is made with all-natural cane sugar to balance the tart, fresh citrus flavor of 15% real grapefruit juice and the highest-quality grapefruit peel extract around. Instead of tasting cloyingly sweet or overly sour, we developed our Grapefruit Soda to taste clean, balanced and delicious.
Q: How can I best enjoy Top Note Grapefruit Soda?
A: Top Note Grapefruit Soda is the perfect companion for tequila and mezcal and also makes for an ideal stand-in for commercial sour mixes and sugary soft drinks. Follow this link to check out our favorite cocktails and spirit-free recipes made with Grapefruit Soda.
For more information on Top Note Sparkling Mixers, head to our Industry Home Page, curated just for bars, restaurants, cafes and distributors.
Please reach out to us with any questions regarding our products, distributors near you or how to serve Top Note Sparkling Mixers in your bar. We’re your biggest fans!
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