Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/188061
Hella Hipster While spicy hellfire bitters may be the obvious route for this month's Marketplace, we're embracing Hella Bitter's masquerading appeal: While the label proudly proclaims Brooklyn as its place of origin, this brand has deep roots in NorCal, where the word "hella" is flung about like a regional badge of honor (it's used as a synonym for "really," for those of you who are uninitiated to the term.) With an East Coast sensibility and a West Coast heart, Hella Bitter comes in two varieties, one, a spicy, classic Citrus, and the other, a potent Aromatic. Small-batch produced and bursting with big bold flavors, Hella Bitter is hella cool, from the bespectacled bowler on the label, to the brand's cross-country connection. www.hellabitters.com Salts for my Sweets Few flavors are more "fall" than rich, creamy caramel, so when Copper Goat Confections' Pink Salt Caramels landed on our desk in the waning days of summer, we got a little jump Bad Kitties While THE TASTING PANEL is a notorious dogloving office, Marketplace has a definite feline affinity. But this Halloween, we're celebrating the adage "curiosity killed the cat" with a side of wine. Meet Nein Lives, a pair of German produced wines—a Riesling and a Sweet Red, both from the Mosel—with just the most adorable suicidal-kitty labels you can imagine. From head-first into a goldfish bowl, to sticking a fork in an electric socket, the cats of Nein Lives live on the edge—and we're willing to bet Millennial consumers will love this bad cat-ittude. The juice itself is fresh, light and fruity, in perfect opposition to the darkly humorous deaths emblazoned on each bottle. www.regalwine.com on the season with just one taste of this salty-sweet snack. Handmade and creamy as can be, bright bursts of pink salt balance out these rich treats, but these small-batch treats come in a variety of flavors, from holidayhappy peppermint, strawberry cream and honey lavender. With a sweet for all seasons, these are caramels your customers will clamor for. wwwcoppergoatconfections.com Here Comes Hanukah Bitten by Brew With Hanukkah 2013 arriving in November this year (on Thanksgiving!), it's not too early to start looking ahead to the Festival of Lights! For those of us who are of the Jewish persuasion, we know there hasn't been a lot of innovation in the classic Hanukkah game of dreidel. But this year, glam up your game with Veruca Chocolates' Gelt for Grown-Ups, a modern gourmet take on the classic foil-covered chocolate coins. With flavors like dark chocolate and cacao nibs, this elegant gelt is more than just play-fodder, and we'd venture to guess that your Jewish customers will fall for these chic holiday classics. www.verucachocolates.com From its blood-red hue, to the snake dangerously weaving its way across the bottle, Enlightenment Wine's St. Crimson black mead offers the perfect look for a Halloween spookfest. But one sip of this sweet, crème de cassis–style sipper and things take a decidedly un-scary turn. With ripe currants, sour cherry and honeyed floral notes, this best-served-cold New York–produced sipper is enticing on its own as an aperitif, and we can see some serious mixing potential in the right hands. We love the contrast between dark and dreary and fresh and fruity, and think this is one snakeysipper that's slithered its way into our hearts year round. www.enlightenmentwines.com october 2013 / the tasting panel / 139 TP1013_104-152.indd 139 9/23/13 10:36 PM