It’s the time of year that most everyone has been looking forward to for several long, cold months: spring. And, as life blossoms again and the days grow, so do the warm-weather beverage options for on-premise operators.
    Consider the following four malternatives as flavorful alternatives for your bar’s beverage program, and make a spring cleaning sweep on additional sales from thankful patrons.

Tilt by Anheuser-Busch
    Anheuser-Busch is kicking off the phased, nationwide launch of Tilt, a new, innovative malt beverage featuring an assorted blend of caffeine, guarana, and ginseng.
    This “5 p.m. after-work drink,” which offers a bold berry-flavor, is part of the emerging, flavored caffeinated malt beverage category and is an ideal choice for those seeking something new to help start the night. 
    “From Happy Hour to a night out at a club, contemporary adults are looking for innovative beverages that fit into their fast-paced, highly-social lifestyles,” said Pat McGauley, vice president, Innovation/New Products, Anheuser-Busch Inc.  “Tilt was developed with this in mind because it is suited to a variety of drinking occasions.”
    Tilt is brewed with two-row malt, natural grains, hops, yeast and water and infused with raspberry flavor, caffeine, guarana and ginseng at Anheuser-Busch’s Cartersville Brewery in Cartersville, Ga. It is fermented at cold temperatures and allowed to develop natural carbonation as it slowly matures.

ZIMA XXX Hard Punch
    In the beginning of 2006, Zima launched a new flavor — Zima XXX Hard Punch. Hard Punch is red in color with a punch flavor. In selecting the new flavor, Zima XXX conducted extensive consumer research, which showed Hard Punch was preferred over all other flavors tested, including grape and blueberry. In fact, punch is the fastest-growing flavor in the beverage industry, up 21 percent versus. one year ago. Zima XXX Hard Punch is available in 6-pack bottles and 24-ounce cans.
    In addition to Hard Punch, Zima XXX currently comes in three flavors: ZIMA XXX Hard Lemon Lime (clear in color, refreshing and citrus-y in taste), ZIMA XXX Hard Black Cherry (deep red in color, with a black cherry flavor) and ZIMA XXX Hard Orange (orange in color with a fresh citrus Hard Orange flavor).

Mike's Hard Crisp Apple
    Crisp Apple is the first product featuring Mike’s Hard propriety breakthrough brewing technology. This technology platform allows for delivery of crisp and clean flavors, including the newest addition of Crisp Apple with the unique Red Delicious flavor. A welcome change from the current Green Apple offerings, this flavor will fulfill a seasonal consumer expectation for another great Mike’s Hard product with a refreshingly dry apple taste that consumers will appreciate.

Seagram’s Smooth Blue Banshee
    United States Beverage LLC has announced the introduction of a new flavor to the Seagram’s Smooth brand — Blue Banshee.  The blue raspberry blend, which will literally “scream blue” from the bar is sure to appeal to a variety of consumers. Blue Banshee hit nightclubs and bars nationwide in early 2006.
    The introduction of Blue Banshee comes on the heels of a new packaging design for the Seagram’s Smooth brand. Moving away from the more traditional packaging of the original Smooth, the new design emphasizes the distinctive flavors, while still extending the power of the Seagram’s brand name. 
    “We want to continue to push the envelope,” said Justin Fisch, brand manager for United States Beverage. “We saw a unique opportunity to bring more excitement and innovation to the brand through the introduction of bold new flavors and colors.”
    Seagram’s Smooth is a premium malt beverage available in both 12-ounce 6-packs, 24-ounce single-serve bottles and a variety 12-pack of 12-ounce bottles. The Seagram’s Smooth family of flavors now includes Blue Banshee, Green Machine, Pink Dragon and Liquid Haze. NCB