Portland, Ore., September 22, 2010– HOTLIPS Soda has uncapped its latest flavor: cherry. Made from fruit grown in Oregon’s famous cherry-growing regions of the Hood River and Willamette Valley regions, the soda features the subtle yet distinctive flavor of one of the state’s most popular fruits.
“Cherry may be the most challenging fruit to transform into a HOTLIPS Soda of the entire flavor portfolio, with nostalgic flavor associations and expectations from many a palate,” said David Yudkin, co-owner of HOTLIPS Soda. “Even with those expectations, the surprise of essential cherry taste is welcomed and celebrated by cherry enthusiasts. This is the perfect new addition to our line of natural fruit sodas.”
Like the rest of the HOTLIPS line, the cherry soda is made simply of all-natural and local ingredients, with no preservatives. The list of ingredients is short and (naturally) sweet: cherry juice plus cane sugar and water. The cane sugar for this soda is infused for months with high-quality vanilla bean, adding a buttery flavor to the complex fruit, and enhancing an inherent cola flavor.
With the addition of cherry there are now seven HOTLIPS Soda flavors to pick from: apple, black raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, cherry, pear, and raspberry. All feature Oregon and Washington fruit that is picked at the height of the season so soda lovers can enjoy their farm-fresh fruit flavors all year long.
HOTLIPS Soda was introduced on tap in limited quantities in 2005 at HOTLIPS’ Portland, Oregon-area pizzerias. In 2008, the company invested in a McMinnville, Oregon bottling facility and re-learned the classic method of bottling soda pop to produce a greater volume of its delicious fruit sodas. The distinctive bottles started appearing on shelves throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Today, the sodas are available in more than 400 retail and restaurant locations in eight states.
The cherry soda is available at all five HOTLIPS pizza restaurant locations in Portland and wherever HOTLIPS Sodas are sold nationally, with a retail price of $2.25-$4.75 per bottle. It can also be ordered online at shop.hotlipssoda.com.
About HOTLIPS
Founded in 1984, HOTLIPS is a Portland family-owned business with five pizza restaurants. We are passionate about great food, the power of community and the bounty of our region’s harvest. Our mission is to preserve culture and celebrate humanity through our rich culinary traditions and by joining with others in finding new and sustainable ways of doing business. We aim to make each day more joyous and delicious! We currently have 130 people helping us run five restaurants, a commissary kitchen, a soda brewing operation, a bunch of farmers markets and festivals, plus all the business thinking and doing that it takes to keep it all afloat, and all the sustainability learning and preaching that we feel is part of our mission. We love what we do.