At local spirits producer Luxco, someone has to formulate the flavors for Pearl vodka and the other 100-plus alcoholic beverages in its portfolio. For the last 16 years, concocting flavors has been the job of John Rempe, Luxco’s director of corporate research and development, otherwise known as “the mad scientist.”
How popular is flavored alcohol?
Ten years ago, you didn’t see anything on the shelf in terms of all the different flavors. Now’s it’s just exploded. The main one I’m focused on now is Pearl. We’ve got 19 different flavors. Other than that, it’s flavored whiskies. There’s cherry, honey. Cocktails are starting to come back, ready to drink – just open and pour.
How many flavors are in your lab?
Several hundred. I’m constantly updating my library of flavors and extracts.
What are typical ingredients that go into flavored vodka?
Your alcohol base, which is your vodka; a sweetener – in Pearl, it’s sucrose, it’s real sugar; natural flavoring extracts – for the most part, we try to use all-natural flavors; and water.
How long does it take to move a flavored product from R&D into production?
It can take me a few days or weeks to develop a product that I think is good, but once I do that, every ingredient that I use in terms of flavoring has to be approved by the federal government. I use those approvals and submit my formula to the government. Once that’s approved, we have to get labels approved. What used to take only a few months now takes a year.
Why did you create vodkas flavored like wedding cake and whipped cream?
Wedding cake and whipped cream were a response to what was happening in the market. Everything was shifting to ultra sweet, confectionary-type flavors.
So the vodka drinker isn’t into savory flavors?
That’s what we’re looking at going forward – basil, cilantro, those herbaceous infusions. Traditionally, the flavored vodka market focused on fruit, then it got to the ultra sweet. Now, it’s turning less sweet, into a more adult-type palate.
What flavor surprised you by how it was received – good or bad?
Pearl Cucumber. I developed it three years before we launched it. When I developed it, it wasn’t received (well) at all. Wait three years, all of a sudden, people are demanding cucumber. Now it’s huge. That’s one of our great flavors in Pearl right now.
How do you feel when a flavor doesn’t go over well?
You have to develop pretty thick skin to do what I’m doing. I’m the one creating it and I think it’s great. I’m pitching it to sales and marketing. I’m sitting in a room, people are tasting it. When I first started doing it, people would spit it out. You can’t let it get to you. “OK, I’ll go and redo it.”
What Pearl flavor are you most proud of?
The cucumber and the plum. When you open the bottle, it smells exactly like the fruit. That’s what I’ve always tried to accomplish: (Be) true to the fruit, not candy-ish. Pomegranate was the first Pearl flavor I developed – that’s my baby. It’s by far and away the most successful flavor.
How satisfying is your job?
It’s a huge amount of satisfaction. Every time I go to the store, even with my kids, I’m like, “We gotta walk down through this aisle.” My kids are like, “Why are we walking down the alcohol aisle again, Dad?” I’m like, “Because I gotta see my stuff.”
This article appears in October 2014.