Twin brothers Mike and Maurkice Pouncey introduced their retirement from the NFL in 2021 after a decade of enjoying skilled soccer.
Mike Pouncey spent most of his profession in Florida enjoying for the Miami Dolphins (and ending it with the Los Angeles Chargers) whereas brother Maurkice Pouncey, who’s one minute youthful, spent his time within the NFL on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What are the All-Execs to date? The 33-year-olds are working to revitalize the cream liqueur trade with J.F. Haden’s Craft Liqueurs—a Florida-based firm they based along with luxurious actual property skilled Kim Rodstein and Miami hospitality veteran Buzzy Sklar.
The corporate just lately debuted a vegan cream liqueur in a Key Lime Pie Taste that pays homage to the state’s basic dessert whereas bringing a uniquely dairy-free formulation to market.
J.F. Haden’s Craft Liqueurs
Why make the brand new taste vegan? “My brother and I prepare arduous and have misplaced plenty of weight since our enjoying days. We don’t need to have a cocktail made with synthetic flavors and different unhealthy components,” Mike Pouncey tells VegNews.
“There was an enormous want within the spirits world to offer a dairy-free different cream liqueur,” he says. “We’re excited to lastly present that different to all with our scrumptious J.F. Haden’s Key Lime Pie Liqueur.”
Another excuse the brothers are behind the corporate? Its hometown location. “The truth that J.F. Haden’s Craft Liqueurs are distilled right here in Florida, which is in our roots as we had been born and raised right here and performed for the College of Florida Nationwide Championship crew—we needed to be a part of the crew,” Maurkice Pouncey tells VegNews. “We’re wanting ahead to serving to develop the model on all our platforms.”
Mike Pouncey echoes his brother’s sentiment. “As quickly as we tasted J.F. Haden’s, we had been prompt followers and needed the chance to associate with such a profitable new model made proper right here in our house state of Florida,” he says.
Why are cream liqueurs not vegan?
Because the title would possibly counsel, cream liqueurs are usually not vegan as a result of they comprise dairy merchandise.
The birthplace of cream liqueurs will be traced again to Eire, a rustic recognized each for its dairy merchandise and alcoholic drinks. The late nineteenth century witnessed a pivotal turning level within the commercialization of cream liqueurs when entrepreneurs and distillers from Eire started mixing cream with spirits like whiskey and brandy.
The blends took off and located followers around the globe. The demand for cream liqueurs expanded exponentially, resulting in a proliferation of manufacturers and flavors, every vying for a spot on the discerning drinker’s palate.
J.F. Haden’s Craft Liqueurs
Within the trendy period, client preferences are evolving towards dairy-free drinks in each class, together with cream liqueur. Sklar, who serves as CEO of J.F. Haden’s Craft Liqueurs, explains that the cream liqueur trade is ripe for vegan choices to faucet into the wants of contemporary shoppers.
“With greater than 80 p.c of the milk aisle in grocery shops now being plant-based, we see individuals shifting away from dairy throughout many classes and needed to be one of many first to capitalize within the spirits house,” Sklar tells VegNews.
Within the subsequent 24 months, the corporate goals so as to add to its preliminary Key Lime Pie taste with different thrilling vegan cream liqueurs.
“It’s scrumptious and there may be really nothing else prefer it available in the market,” Maurkice Pouncey says. “Key Lime Pie is simply the primary of what we’ve got deliberate. We can not wait to convey extra plant-based cream liqueur flavors within the coming months.”
Up subsequent? A darkish chocolate vegan cream liqueur is within the queue for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Conventional cream liqueurs go dairy-free
Whereas J.F. Haden’s is filling a spot within the alcohol trade with its vegan cream liqueurs—significantly within the US—globally, firms have additionally tapped into the chance to serve shoppers in search of dairy-free choices on this house.
In style cream liqueur Baileys Irish Cream and its dad or mum firm Diageo additionally noticed a requirement for vegan alternate options when it launched Baileys Almande in 2017. This creamy beverage ditches dairy and is made as a substitute with candy almond oil, almond essence, vanilla, and Irish whiskey.
Baileys
In 2018, UK-based entrepreneur Peter Smith developed his personal Baileys-inspired vegan creamy liqueur in two flavors, Besos de Oro and Besos de Chocolate, underneath his Besos model. This liqueur options brandy blended with tiger nut milk and is distributed throughout the UK and Australia.
In 2020, Madrid-based Zamora reformulated its Licor43 Horchata (beforehand often known as “Orochata”) to be totally vegan. Made with a recipe impressed by Valencian horchata, this consists of tiger nut milk, cinnamon, and lemon. Licor 43 Hortchata made its stateside debut in 2021.
Additionally in 2021, End gin model Arctic Blue Drinks launched Arctic Blue Oat—the world’s first vegan oat-based gin liqueur. Made with natural and gluten-free Finnish oats, the corporate developed the beverage to faucet into the rising reputation of oats as a extra sustainable different to dairy.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior Information Editor at VegNews and is all the time keeping track of all issues vegan in her house metropolis of San Francisco, CA and in all places else.
