Eat, Drink, and Go!

I know I have been sluggish on my post-show reviews, but I swear it’s not for want of exciting items! You know how life just gets away from you; I can’t believe it’s already the middle of summer.  Isn’t everyone saying that?  Anyhoo, there was just so much to be excited about from the show, spreading it out just makes me think back fondly. 

First up in this round – lots of great drink mixers.  These ones in particular piqued my interest.  I loved Southern Twist!

These cocktail infusions are so fresh and delicious!  The flavors are very natural tasting, which is a must. Southern Twist is based out of Charleston, SC, and having spent my last little getaway in that great town recently, I can envision swinging on a porch swing with Charleston’s summer breeze and a cocktail containing one of these!! My fave was the lemongrass and basil. Hope to get my hands on these for some mixology this summer! 

Next up was Be Mixed.  This is a no-calorie mixer.  I don’t typically like the taste of “zero calorie” drinks since it usually means artificial sweeteners or Stevia. But Be Mixed uses monkfruit (and just a little bit of Stevia) to sweeten their mixers, so I didn’t get that icky hit of no-cal fake taste, which I’m not a fan of.  This was good. 

The ginger lime was my favorite, but the cucumber mint was pretty cool too! 

Bittermilk was a fave of mine from last year, and this year’s sampling included a really unique flavor – charred grapefruit tonic. 

I got into grapefruit-infused cocktails during the Preakness this year, and this charred grapefruit tonic cocktail mixer by Bittermilk was really exciting. 

The last of my faves among the cocktail mixers was by Crafted Cocktails. I even didn’t mind their shrubs – which takes some getting used to (drinking vinegar).  The Asian Pear Shrub was really nice.  My favorite cocktail mixer was the basil lime. 

I liked that these were sweetened with agave. Brings a nice flavor to the whole package.  Can’t wait to try out all of the above mixers sometime in my bar!!

On to vinegars…my favorite was definitely the White Balsamic by ExtravaGonzo. 

This vinegar I might could drink!  It was so rich and thick, something you don’t often find in white Balsamics. I loved it. It was sweeter than it was vinegary, so its tang was gentle. Great stuff here, ExtravaGonzo. They also have delicious oils (see recent lemon themed post where I used their Meyer lemon oil). 

Next up was a beautiful array of fruit vinegars by A L’Olivier.  

Ok, I’m sure I was drawn in by the pretty colors and the artistic display, but they were also quite delicious. I loved the passion fruit one.  The fruit vinegars by A L’Olivier were all nice and thick, something I love about good vinegars, and the fruit really shines through. 

Oils abound at food shows, we know, so it’s hard to tell them all apart.  But standouts in this category are noteworthy, so I’ll mention a great new one I tried by La Tourangelle – a pistachio oil! How cool?? 

This was a really nice, well-balanced oil with a toasty pistachio flavor – something I don’t think I’ve seen before. Innovation, I like. They had many other nice oils as well. I’ve used some of them that I’ve found at home goods like their toasted sesame and avocado oils. Great oils. 

I tried many Truffle oils, as those always catch my eye. I really enjoyed the oils offered by ExtravaGonzo (in addition to their fab balsamics).  Not sure why I didn’t get more pics, sorry about that.  As noted, I’ve already cooked with and loved their Meyer lemon oil. I tried the Jalapeño Lime and Blood Orange at the show, they were also delicious and I can’t wait to try them out in the kitchen! 

I definitely enjoyed the offerings in the drink mixer, vinegars, and oils categories at the Summer Fancy Food Show this year!!  Oils and vinegars always abound in my pantry.  No less than probably a dozen at any given time.  I think I could go to a whole show devoted to this. Might need to bring along some bread, though!!