Clean Drinking with Hartford Flavor Company
by gluten and chemical sensitivities, she created the liqueurs in her kitchen for her own enjoyment.
L
Fast forward to 2013 to a neighbor- hood party in Hartford’s West End, to which Lelaneia brought two bottles of liqueurs as hostess gifts. There happened to be a few local restaurant owners and mixologists present. They unknowingly tasted the liqueurs and were blown away. They called it ‘magic in a bottle,’ and said there was nothing else like it on the market.
At fi rst Lelaneia was hesitant, as
she ran her own landscape design fi rm with a background in art and botany. But knowing more and more people affected by the chemicals in food, she began to research the alcohol industry. Now deter- mined to provide an alternative in spirits, Lelaneia ran through hundreds of test batches before deciding on the original fl avors available today: Cucumber, Rose, Lime, Cranberry, Lavender, Chai Spice and Birch. “I really went for fl avors you couldn't fi nd on shelves, I wanted to re- duce unnecessary sugars and pull fl avor forward.” Her husband, Tom, was “all in” for using his experience in the corporate world, and together, they moved forward to develop artisanal, botanically-infused liqueur and Wild Moon Liqueurs was born.
In 2014, Tom and Lelaneia started
Hartford Flavor Company and launched the product line. Wild Moon Liqueurs, has been called by some industry vet- erans, “the only liqueur that contains non-gmo and organic raw materials, for a gluten-free, chemical free product.”
To bring any alcoholic product to the market, producers go through the federal Tax and Trade Bureau, which regulates alcohol. By going through the system, Lelaneia noticed that the bureau does not require companies to list their ingredients on packaging like the food industry does. Because of this, it is the norm for alcohol brands to use preservatives, stabilizers, GMOs, artifi cial fl avor and coloring without informing their consumers. The
elaneia Dubay began making cranberry liqueur for holiday gifts starting in 2008, then in 2011 beset
couple did not want to continue this trend and by handcrafting every batch of each fl avor, the company is proud to say Wild Moon and future product lines will be made without GMOs and will always be chemical free.
In the early development phase, Lelaneia, to her great surprise, could not fi nd a base spirit that was guaranteed non-GMO in the United States. Open- ing up the search, she found a sugar cane base spirit produced in The Netherlands. By using sugar cane, the natural sweetness enhances the liqueurs and is more envi- ronmentally friendly than wheat, which is a popular ingredient in spirits production.
For decades, people have become
more selective when it comes to food and diet, yet stop this practice when it comes to their alcohol choices. ‘Clean drink- ing’ supports the thought if you are going to eat clean, why not drink clean too? Hartford Flavor is up for the challenge of resetting industry standards by educating consumers. Part of their mission is to be a sustainable, ethical spirits producer that includes being environmentally minded. This practice involves repurposing, reusing and recycling as much as possible. The company grows some of its raw fl avor- ing materials, sources from local farms, recycles and composts, and supports the efforts within the ‘green’ industry. Lelaneia believes everything is connected in some manner and therefore encourages every- one she meets to ‘drink clean’.
Wild Moon is now found at retailers
and restaurants across CT, MA, RI and FL and will launch into several other states in the coming months. Hartford Flavor’s tasting room, is open to the public for tours on Fridays 4-7pm, Saturday 1-6pm, and Sunday 2-5pm. The tasting room can also be hired out for private tastings and events.
Submitted by Sage A. Callahan, Hartford Flavor Company www.Hartfordfl
avor.com @hartfordfl avor @wildmoonliqueurs
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& SAVE New Classes Start April 2nd
Connecticut Cooler • 2 oz Wild Moon Cucumber • 1 oz Vodka • 2 oz Tonic • Mint and Lime
Directions: Muddle mint and lime in a Col- lins Glass. Shake Wild Moon Cucumber and Vodka over ice. Add tonic. Pour mixture into glass over mint and lime. Garnish with mint sprig or cucumber skewer.
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