Creating the world’s smoothest vodka for St. Elmo Steak House
The spirits industry is a crowded one, with brands vying for shelf space as more players enter the category. Breaking in with a new product, or even increasing market share of an existing one, can be a battle.
To stand a chance, a product needs to have something unique in terms of flavor, ingredients, branding, or innovation. Better yet, it needs to plant a flag as the first, the best, or the only. With the help of our game-changing Flavor Balancing™ technology, True Essence Foods is helping spirits customer St. Elmo Steak House claim all three.
True Essence Foods x St. Elmo Steak House
St. Elmo Steak House, operated by Huse Culinary, is an Indianapolis icon with a national reputation for artisanal cocktails and top-notch bartenders. While it opened over a century ago, the restaurant embraces innovation, successfully growing the brand through partnerships, new restaurants, and a line of premium packaged goods.
As industry demand for ready-to-pour cocktails has skyrocketed, it only made sense that St. Elmo Steak House launch its own. In order to create the best possible cocktails, they needed to try and create the world’s smoothest vodka.
Using True Essence’s proprietary Flavor Balancing technology, St. Elmo Steak House created two bottled cocktails - the Cosmopolitan and Espresso Martini - with the purest vodka on the planet. Designed to be better-tasting and incomparably smooth, Flavor Balanced vodka doesn’t compete with the other ingredients, letting St. Elmo’s 120 years of expertise have the spotlight. Huse Culinary was so impressed with the vodka that they plan to launch it as its own brand in 2024, named Barkeep Vodka.
What is Flavor Balancing?
Flavor Balancing is a patented, non-additive and entirely mechanical solution that enhances the taste of spirits by selectively removing harsh flavor molecules, thus eliminating the burn or bite. Using a precisely controlled pressurized chamber,Flavor Balancing alters the flavor profile of the product without changing the composition or integrity of the product. With Flavor Balancing, True Essence spirits customers can:
- Achieve more profitable blending ratios while maintaining flavor and quality standards
- Minimize distillations, ageing time, while still achieving desired product flavor profile
- Precisely tailor product flavor profiles without any additives
- Gain flexibility in ingredient selection
- Launch new, innovative products lines that capture consumer attention
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Better taste
Most vodka drinkers want it to taste like water, yet most vodka brands still leave you with a harsh bite.
The True Essence process is different. Without any additives, we’ve created an unprecedented level of purity that not only enhances the overall flavor palate but virtually eliminates the burn.
Better for business
Flavor Balancing also allows suppliers like St. Elmo to achieve a consistent, quality product despite industry obstacles. Whether it’s minimizing production time to maximize resources, enabling more profitable blending ratios, or providing flexibility in ingredient choice, all while maintaining flavor and quality standards consumers know and expect, our tech provides the keys to the same premium product every time.
Results
- True Essence technology enabled the launch of a brand new product line of vodka-based bottled cocktails for St. Elmo Steak House.
- Both ready-to-pour cocktails made with Flavor Balancing – the St. Elmo Cosmopolitan and St. Elmo Espresso Martini – both won Double Gold, the highest award, at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
- Huse Culinary will expand with the launch of multiple brands and spirit products that will embrace Flavor Balancing Technology in 2024
