Alta, from Casamara Club, knows how to walk through the canals at aperitif time.
Bubbles are here to stay. It has happened, for example, at aperitif time with the famous Aperol Spritz, which has dressed the afternoons on terraces and the glasses of those who prefer to skip the vermouths to jump headlong into a slightly stronger option. But, more than anything, to a different drink and a little outside the traditional canons.** If the public wants something, if something asks for something over and over again, it is the opportunity to experiment,** whether it is with craft beers, wines, natural or cocktails that transport them from the dolce vita to the Prohibition era, passing closely by a Don Draper entering a ribeye accompanied by a Dry Martini or directly to the pure and simple like a Narcos-style Buchanan's.
Obviously in Spain no one is oblivious to a siphon vermouth, or a beer -or a red wine- with Casera. The bubble and summer go hand in hand. Although in the United States they are ahead of us by giving them new life with alternatives, although here without alcohol involved, such as LaCroix sparkling water, considered a cult drink among millennials. It has been on the market since the 1980s but it has not been until a few years ago that it has begun to take off as a protagonist in the sparkling beverage market. Your success? It is capable of reaching the top of the preferences of young and not so young wellness addicts, health lovers, lovers of good food and those who are no longer identified as consumers of soda drinks. It is rare that digital platforms have not dedicated an article to it in the last couple of years because LaCroix fever has been present in the refrigerator of every self-respecting modern.
As reported by Bon Appétit, Lyle Zimmerman and the firm Alchemy Brand Group were in charge of the hypnotizing and colorful design of its cans, a point in favor for its particular appeal (and Instagram power), added to the fact that it is the healthy alternative to replace a soft drink. since it does not use sugar, sweeteners or sodium.
Recess is another drink that joins the bandwagon of trends, with a more sophisticated format –but just as effective and attractive–, carbonated water and the hit of 2018: cannabidiol.
Recess: millennial and with cannabidiol
In 2019, it was White Claw that dominated the market as a seltzer with a splash of alcohol. , effective to attract both men and women who seek to avoid high sugar content and even alcohol (with less than 5%), and without reaching 100 calories per can in 8 different flavors such as mango, watermelon or lime. Its creator was the same as Mike's Hard Lemonade, another drink that dominated the scene in the 2000s, being easy to drink for the "less experienced" and with large doses of flavor... and sugar.
seltzer? Soda water? homemade? Siphon? soda club? The difference between all of them arises with the origin of the bubbles. In seltzer and club sodas it is artificial (as in a Coca Cola, for example). Although the first usually add flavor. In sparkling water, they are naturally occurring or have at least been modified to have the same amount of carbonation as their place of origin.
Onda, from Casamara Club, is a mixture of sage, lemon and rhubarb.
The most recent addition to supermarket shelves is Casamara Club, an artisan seltzer drink that adds amaros to the formula –in bitter format– , an Italian liqueur almost always used as a digestif or aperitif to which books such as Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs, by Brad Thomas Parsons, and cocktail bars such as New York's Amor y Amargo or Reading Room, in Washington, have been dedicated. D.C.; Rita & Cocktails in Milan or the underground Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome.
“I discovered the world of amaros at a craft brewery in Brooklyn. I had a friend who worked there and although he had great beer references, he always kept a bottle of amaro for him in the back of the bar. When I tried it I was shocked by the taste. It was then that I started looking for amaros all over the city, which was not easy at the time and what led me to make my own”, says Jason LaValla, founder of the brand, with a catalog of drinks that are a mixture of flavors refreshing and balanced, without sugar, industrial acids or other types of "common" ingredients.
Its image is another point in favor to become a new (drinkable) object of desire, with a graphic design by artist Mike Van Hall. “His idea of him was based on abstract, minimalist shapes and colors... that transport you to a calm, beautiful and relaxing place.
Each of the recipes of the four flavors that make up his catalog has been linked to a particular moment or cocktail. Alta, for example, was inspired by a Negroni enjoyed on the balcony of a hotel room in Praiano, Italy. The idea for Onda came from mixing Averna with sparkling water on a sunny Friday afternoon. Capo, on the other hand, alludes to the memory of the first time LaValla tried an amaro. And Sera, it is a tribute to one of her friends, who usually infuses the Aperol with cinnamon before using it in her drinks.
Grapefruit, allspice and cinnamon.
For LaValla, founding a brand like Casamara Club is to offer an escape, a small trip that transports you to another place beyond the everyday. “I decided the name should sound like a place I would go on vacation to get away from emails and cluttered meeting calendars. A place where I would go to enjoy a moment (or two) of peace”, he comments from his home in Detroit, Michigan and showing that traveling from home is more than possible: you just have to put a few bubbles and imagination To the subject.