Dinner And Dessert With Monin

The day is almost over, and you’re having yourself a nice dinner. You could start mixing drinks, but you want to keep it light, as you want to enjoy dessert and friends later in the evening. How does Monin make dinner, dessert, and drinks?

With dinner, you may have enjoyed a variety of tea, possibly Lemon, Mango, Peach, Raspberry, or even Chai. Any of theses mixes can add a bit of flavor and make a fruity tea drink that will fit anywhere across America. Any of these drinks pair well with most dinner dishes, from traditional southern-fried chicken and hearty meatloaf to a classier raspberry-vinagerette salmon or even a quickie leftover pizza.

For simple ice cream and more, you’ve got to add a sauce. White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate (and Sugar Free), and Caramel sauce would all pour nicely over a bowl of ice cream, or directly into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s (or for the real classy, right into your mouth). These sauces can go on cold, but if you want a good pairing, heat them up slightly to have warm caramel or chocolate sauce drizzle over mountains of vanilla ice cream. It’s simple, but effective (and don’t forget the ice cream scoop).

And, if you have an abnormal eating schedule (or if you just like breakfast for dinner, or enjoy a good shake post-workout), don’t forget that Monin products work great for all alternative types of meals, traditionally suited for the morning crew.… Read the rest

New Starbucks Menu Includes Rice, Salads, Ginger Ale?

It’s time for spring cleaning, and Starbucks has decided that the shift in the weather makes it a great time to try out a bunch of new dishes. Huffington Post reports that they’re launching about a dozen new items, and testing even more.

Bottled Starbucks Iced Coffee (all $1.99)

Iced Coffee with Milk
Low Calorie Iced Coffe with Milk
Vanilla Iced Coffee
Caramel Iced Coffee (only in the northeast)

New Dishes

Hearty Veggie and Brown Rice Salad Bowl (only in select stores, $6.95)
Chicken and Greens Caeser Salad Bowl ($6.95)
Zesty Chicken and Black Bean Salad Bowl ($6.95)
Egg Salad Sandwich ($5.25)
Turkey and Havarti Sandwich ($5.95)
Ham and NY Cheddar Sandwich ($5.95)
Chicken Salad BLT ($5.95)

New Drinks

Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino (a tall will range from $3.95 to $4.65)
Valencia Orange Starbucks Refresher (a tall will range from $2.75 to $3.25)

Additionally, Starbucks Melody reported on new drinks in testing, which may or may not make it to the big stage. Sparkling Teas, Sparkling Refreshers, Sparkling Spiced Root Beer, Sparkling Ginger Ale, and Sparkling Lemon Ale all seem to use a special shaker machine that infuses the drinks with CO2, and it’s been stated that you can “sparkle” any of their other drinks if you’d like.

The most intriguing drink, though, may eventually have to make its way from Japan, and is more of a dessert than anything else. A Tiramisu Frappucino is not the most surprising drink (the fact that there has never been one before is more surprising), but the addition of cream cheese mousse and “crumbled crunchy black cocoa biscuits” makes it a calorie-rich drink. Mascarpone cheese and lady fingers were tested, but did not make the cut in this drink.… Read the rest

Coca-Cola Launching “Fruitwater” In April

There’s Smartwater, Vitaminwater, and now Fruitwater, but it doesn’t seem to be an April Fool’s Day joke.

Coca-Cola has announced plans to release a carbonated, zero-calorie, fruit flavored line of beverages under their Glaceau brand entitled “Fruitwater”, which will pair off with Smartwater (distilled water with electrolytes) and Vitaminwater (water with vitamins) as their “healthier” brand.

Glaceau previously produced a line of drinks called Fruitwater, with nine flavors on the market as late as August 2008. The flavors were

Dragonfruit
Grape
Kiwi-Strawberry
Lemonade
Lime
Mango Lemon
Orange
Peach
Pomegranate
Raspberry-Apple

Fruitwater will be sweetened by sucralose (better known as Splenda), and while it will not actually contain any fruit juice, it will include B vitamins, magnesium, and zinc, Huffington Post reports. The relaunched brand will come in a special contoured 16.9oz bottle, ranging from $1 to $1.25. The only flavor of the original brand that will return is Kiwi-Strawberry (now reversed into Strawberry Kiwi), joined by Black Raspberry, Orange Mango, Lemon Lime, and Watermelon Punch.

Vitaminwater has come under a bit of fire under the health concerns of the drink, saying the title is misleading, given the sugar content of the drink. Still, soft drinks sales have been softer in recent years due to a concern for health, economy, and alternative, non-cola drinks.

Will you pour yourself a glass of Fruitwater in April, or will you stick with regular fruit and regular water?… Read the rest

“Iron Maiden” Beer Running To The Hills

(We couldn’t cover an Iron Maiden beer without referencing one of their tracks, could we?)

One of the most successful heavy metal bands, Iron Maiden has done it all. Won awards, had a video game, chartered a special plane (the “Ed Force One”, named after their skeletal mascot “Eddie the Head”), and generally have stayed rocking for nearly 40 years. One thing they’ve not done?

Brewed their own beer.

Trooper is a premium British beer inspired by Iron Maiden and handcrafted at Robinsons brewery. Being a real ale enthusiast, vocalist Bruce Dickinson has developed a beer which has true depth of character. Malt flavours and citric notes from a unique blend of Bobec, Goldings and Cascade hops dominate this deep golden ale with a subtle hint of lemon.

Robinsons will be brewing the beer, named “Trooper,” which will be released in early May and consist of 4.75% alcohol by volume. Despite protestations that this is not a “novelty” beer, and is intended as a serious product, it comes in a wave of other humorous-but-well-meaning beers finding inspiration elsewhere, including Dayman (inspired by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Iron Throne Blonde Ale (riffing off of Game of Thrones), and F.U. Sandy (in a charity effort following the destruction left by Hurricane Sandy.

How would we best suggested drinking the Trooper? Pour a pint and crank up any of their record-breaking albums.… Read the rest

Mountain Dew Kickstarts Without Kickstarter

In 2013, “Kickstart” has taken on a whole new meaning, largely referencing the game-changing kickstarter.com, in which regular people can contribute to a project and help kickstart it’s production, usually vying for rewards. In fact, we’ve covered Kickstarter twice, once for combat-based cookware and another for a delicious-sounding sauce.

Mountain Dew isn’t going to have any of that, as they’re co-opting the term for their own breakfast drink. Mountain Dew Kickstart takes traditional Dew flavorings, but adds 5% juice, Vitamins B and C, and more caffeine to jolt you up, Huffington Post reports. Two flavors, Energizing Orange Citrus and Energizing Fruit Punch, look to not be energy drinks, but aim to take a bit of that market away without including questionable ingredients or the danger of even being marketed as such in the public eye. Still, the drink will come in the 16oz cans made common by the large energy drinks.

The target is for people who just don’t like juice, tea, or coffee to energize them in the morning. Given that it’s Mountain Dew, this will undoubtedly become a new “gamer fuel” for late night Team Fortress 2 or World of Warcraft sessions. Additionally, with artificial sweeteners, a can only has 80 calories. The drink also stays separate from a Taco Bell-produced “Mountain Dew AM”, which combines Mountain Dew and orange juice.

Are you ready to have fruit-flavored, energy-packed Mountain Dew with your eggs and toast? Citrus-flavored Dew with oatmeal and donuts? It’ll be an odd combo, to be sure, especially once this drink trickles to the bar scene and combines with vodka or tequila.… Read the rest

A Chocolate Beer In A Chocolate Cup?

Chocolate wine has popped up in recent years as an oddity, but it’s a curiosity that’s reached major store shelves. Chocolate beer, likewise, has stayed on the fringes of society; you might see it at a major liquor store, but you’re not likely to find it in your fridge or at the college bar.

Japan’s got a different story. Sankt Gallen, which started releasing chocolate beers on January 10th, has one-upped themselves. Now, they are selling a 300ml bottle with an edible chocolate cup to pour the bottle into, RocketNews24 reports. While a single bottle of Imperial Chocolate Stout runs 450 yen, the combo pack runs 500 yen; not too bad of a price hike for a novelty cup you get to use once.

Would you drink beer out of an edible cup? We’ve definitely seen bacon-weave mugs, but not to this mass-market extend. Who knows; maybe this will turn into the perfect Valentine’s Gift?… Read the rest

Drink Beer To Benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims

Hurricane Sandy victims can still use a bit of help. Flying Fish Brewing Company hopes to benefit $50,000 to a charity with the profits from a new drink, a mix of a pale and a wheat ale. The drink will include “experimental hop ADHA 483″, Eater reports.

The drink’s name? Forever Unloved Sandy, although they prefer the shorthanded name of “FU Sandy”.

The beer will only be available in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area in draught form, and will include “beautiful, tropical nose of mangoes and guavas.” All costs of producing the beer were donated, and all proceeds will go to the charity.

Forever Unloved Sandy is not the only beer on our radar recently, with Budweiser Black Crown, Dayman Coffee IPA, and Iron Throne Blonde Ale all garnering attention. None of these are for charity purposes, though.

It would be nice to get a bottle of the stuff, but given it’s limited time and region, it looks unlikely. Still, if it’s a success, there’s always a chance it could go national.… Read the rest