Francesco Lafranconi of Southern Wine and Spirits of America presents a completed cocktail during The Iron Mixologist competition at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Annual Convention and Exposition at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Wednesday, April 4, 2012.
Thursday, April 5, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Organizers of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America convention say they have the hottest brands and the coolest cocktails.
Every other year, the organization comes to Las Vegas, alternating with Orlando, and the 69th annual convention and exhibition this week attracted an estimated 2,000 visitors.
For four days, they turned the convention center at Caesars Palace into an imbiber’s paradise, with more than 600 companies exhibiting a multitude of beers, wines, champagnes, vodkas, tequilas, whiskeys, liqueurs and other libations from all over the world.
Attendees heard presentations about how to market products and the ever-changing opportunities to use social media to get their messages out. Awards were handed out to the industry’s top brands.
Mixologists competed to produce new cocktails, with acclaimed experts, journalists and industry executives judging the competition.
Two exhibition halls gave attendees the opportunity to stroll among the various brands and sample the goods. Dozens of companies had their own hospitality suites to give customers a more comfortable setting to do business.
And there were tastings. Lots of tastings. A tour of the show floor produced dozens of friendly invitations: “Would you care for a taste?”
For a taste of a different kind, here are some of the interesting and unusual products at this year’s Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America Convention and Exposition:
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Peanut butter vodka
It’s like drinking the center of a peanut butter cup, the promotional materials for NutLiquor say.
NutLiquor is a 69-proof peanut butter vodka produced by Cleveland-based Pandora Spirits.
It doesn’t contain any peanut allergens, and it comes with several suggested mix recipes, like the PB&J Martini — 2.5 ounces of NutLiquor and half an ounce of Chambord.
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Twist in a Glass
The newest design in cocktail mixers comes as a pre-filled glass of perfectly blended mixer. All you need to do is open, pour, stir and drink.
Distributed by RBH USA, Inc., Twist in a Glass comes in four flavors: blood orange martini, strawberry daiquiri, classic margarita and cosmopolitan. The containers are filled with just enough mixer to add an alcohol of choice.
The containers are eco-friendly, BPA-free and can be reused or recycled.
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Alcohol-infused whipped cream
Chris Utter, a sales and marketing representative of Kingfish Spirits, was showing Cream, an alcohol-infused whipped cream.
Cream is 15 percent alcohol by volume and is offered in five flavors: cherry, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla or caramel.
Utter calls it the perfect topper for mixed drinks, shots, jello shots, martinis, shakes, coffees or desserts.
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Dessert vodkas
Flavored vodkas are a big industry trend. We’ve seen coffee, chocolate, caramel, honey, vanilla and — as you know if you clicked through the first slide — peanut butter flavors. Now, dessert flavors are hitting the shelves.
Harrison Pious, market and events manager for Tipton Spirits, showed Red Velvet Cake-flavored vodka at the show.
The company plans another big dessert flavor coming out in May. What’s the flavor?
“Sorry, it’s top secret. You’ll have to wait until May,” Pious said.
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Italian wines
OK, there’s really nothing new about wine coming from Italy. There were several booths representing wines from countries from nearly every continent (nothing from Antarctica).
There were wines from South Africa, Chile, Ecuador, Australia and Japan — and several from that big country to the west of Nevada.
But for the first time, at the 2012 show, the Italian Trade Commission coordinated an effort to bring Italian wines from regions from across that country to exhibit.
Vincenza Kelly, marketing and trade promotions officer for the commission’s food and wine center, said the objective was to put more Italian wine than ever on American tables this year.
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Spirit bottles, large and small
Vetro Elite introduced the Dune style of spirit bottles, manufactured in Treviso, Italy, and distributed in the United States from Dayton, Ohio.
Company representative Petra Rizzi says the bottles range in size from 50 milliliters to 3 liters and are ideal for light-colored spirits and cognacs.
The mouths of the bottles are designed for either corks or screw caps.
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