The Weekly Sip is Food Dive’s column focused on the latest news in the rapidly changing and growing beverage sector. From inaugural product lines to big investments and controversial topics, this column aims to quench the thirst for developments in the category.
Diageo fuses Mexican and Irish flavors with churro-inspired Baileys
The beverage brand known for its Irish Cream flavored spirit is incorporating the cinnamon pastry for its latest product.
Baileys Cinnamon Churros Irish Cream Liqueur, which debuted this week, is a new variety of the classic alcoholic beverage containing Irish cream, whisky, cinnamon and vanilla notes, according to the company.
The brand also shared recipes for cocktails consumers can create using the spirit, including a churro-flavored Irish cactus which combines the liqueur with tequila, and a chocolate variety which adds Baileys Chocolate liqueur.
The product is available for a limited time in 750 milliliter bottles.
Baileys, which first debuted in Ireland in 1974, was purchased by Diageo — the parent company of the country’s biggest alcohol export Guinness — in 2007. It has since expanded its flagship product with a variety of flavors, including Original Irish Cream, Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Cinnamon, Espresso Crème, Strawberries & Cream and Almande. The flavor of Baileys has also appeared in products outside of alcohol, including coffee and baking mixes.
Churros, which originated in Spain and Portugal, are having a moment, as the cinnamon-sugar baked goods saw 42% growth in restaurant menu appearances between 2012 and 2022, according to J&J Snack Foods data.
— Chris Casey
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Courtesy of Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy
Leinenkugel’s stretches into taffy
Leinenkugel’s is embracing its sweet tooth and jumping into treats.
The beer, owned by beverage giant Molson Coors, noted that saltwater taffy has been a long-time seashore staple. It partnered with Taffy Kitchen to reimagine the chewable treat to reflect what it would be like to spend a day on the lake.
The pair created a taffy that includes Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy and purified Great Lakes water.
“We like to get creative and innovative over here at Leinenkugel’s and Lakewater Taffy gave us the opportunity to literally stretch Summer Shandy into a new space,” Tony Bugher, president of Leinenkugel’s, said in a statement. “We had a lot of fun working with Taffy Kitchen to reimagine what a perfect day on the lake would taste like, and we think we got it just right with Lakewater Taffy.”
While Leinekugel’s Lakewater Taffy is made with beer, the taffy has no alcohol by volume. Due to the high-temperature cooking process, the alcohol boils out of the taffy.
The treat is not the first time that Leinenkugel’s has brought its popular beer line to a different food category. Earlier this year, Leinenkugel’s partnered with Johnsonville to release the Summer Shandy Beer Brat.
“These releases help bring excitement and fresh energy to our iconic beers and introduce them to new drinkers,” Leinenkugel’s said in an email to Food Dive.
Summer Shandy is a best-selling beer for Leinenkugel’s. The Wisconsin brewer recently announced the previously limited-time offering will be available year-round.
— Christopher Doering
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Courtesy of Blaze Life Holdings
Blaze Mota trades beer for hemp in michelada
The marijuana and ready-to-drink cocktails spaces are simultaneously booming, with hundreds of new entrants crowding the marketplace. One Los Angeles-based brand believes its new variety of a classic Mexican cocktail can help fill both desires.
Blaze Mota has debuted a hemp-derived version of its Mota’lada canned cocktail, a non-alcoholic take on the michelada. The drink contains 10 milligrams of THC and 2 milligrams of CBD, along with non-alcoholic Mexican Lager, tomato, lime and spices.
The launch follows the release of the brand’s cannabis-derived canned michelada which debuted in California dispensaries last year. The company did not specify whether the hemp-based variety will be available nationwide.
Shreyas Balakrishnan, CEO of the brand’s parent company Blaze Life Holdings, said its goal in making the product was to rival alcohol-based michelada.
“The development took nearly two years as we worked on finding the right non-alcoholic beer provider and ensuring stability and compatibility of the emulsion in beverage with high particulate,” Balakrishnan said. “The Michelada is defined by its rituals, variety, and occasions, and we want to expand those occasions with a THC-infused offering that tastes as good as any other Michelada on the shelf.”
The michelada is a dynamic beverage, typically containing a mix of beer, lime juice, chili peppers and an array of savory ingredients from clam juice to Worcestershire sauce.
— Chris Casey
