Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1013885
august 2018 / the tasting panel / 1 1 1 FINISHING SUMMER ON A HIGH NOTE: KELVIN SLUSH CO. If life is about the journey, not the destination, Kelvin Slush Co. co-founders Alex Rein and Zack Silverman have been on the right track for more than a decade. After meeting at a large corporate law firm in New York City, the duo bonded over their love of frozen drinks and realized a shared desire to make slushies socially acceptable for adults while creating drinks free of the myriad chemicals and additives so prevalent in the category. The two quickly decided to use their passion to build a brand of slushes reminiscent of their childhood. Vowing to avoid artificial flavors and ingredients, Rein and Silverman launched Kelvin Slush Co., the first-ever line of all-natural, organic slush mixes. The pair began by selling their non-alcoholic slushies out of a repurposed 1975 Ford mail truck in Brooklyn, and while the truck went on to win numerous awards— ascending to near-cult status in the process—Rein and Silverman noticed their patrons often brought flasks to the truck so they could spike their slush. This observa- tion highlighted an unmet demand in the beverage industry, and after a little research, the team learned that while the craft cocktail scene had been undergoing a renais- sance, frozen cocktails had been left in the cold. After the duo realized the untapped potential of their product, they began collaborating with bars and restaurants in 2012 to create versatile and balanced mix flavors that could meld with a wide range of cocktails—finally giving frozen drinks the same attention to detail and purity of ingredients reflected in traditional mixology. Kelvin Slush Co. now sells its uniquely crafted slush mix wholesale to bars and restaurants as a premium cocktail mix specifically for frozen beverages. The company's most popular flavor, Frosé ($35; makes roughly 37 cocktails), is made with organic peach and strawberry juice, which impart flavors naturally muted by cold temperatures. You can use this mix or any of the other five flavors—Citrus, Piña Colada, Margarita, Ginger, and Tea—to replicate a vast range of cocktails in frozen form with a slush machine or blender.