|
|
|
Salut'! Downtown-distilled Pollyodd limoncello hitting state stores soon
It's been 16 months since the vivacious Joan Verratti knocked on our, door toting a distilling license (the first female in the country to do so since Prohibition, allegedly) and a Crown Royal bottle filled with limoncello.
Salut’! Downtown-distilled Pollyodd limoncello hitting state stores soon
It's been 16 months since the vivacious Joan Verratti knocked on our, door toting a distilling license (the first female in the country to do so since Prohibition, allegedly) and a Crown Royal bottle filled with limoncello. Now, she and partner Tom Cavaliere are untangling the very last of the red tape required to launch their Pollyodd line of preservative-free 'cellos, a process that's taken the couple more than three years.
"We're 98 percent there," says Cavaliere. Their Point Breeze facility has been inspected and licensed. Formulas have been analyzed and locked in a vault. Samples have been bottled, labeled, packed and hand-delivered. After a final meeting with the PLCB next month, Verratti and Cavaliere will be balls-deep in production, filling orders for 200 or so state stores, about one-third of the commonwealth's retail portfolio. "They're really pushing to have the 'cellos in store by Memorial Day weekend," says Cavaliere, who concedes the rollout could happen a week earlier or later than summer’s official kickoff, but will definitely be sometime in May or June.
On shelves, expect to see four flavors in frosted-glass 750s: lemon, lime, orange and chocolate. All are clear, water-based liqueurs (as opposed the cream-based stuff your 'politan neighbor might give you for Christmas) and count only H2O, sugar, alcohol and flavoring (fresh oranges, for example) in their ingredient lists. Verratti and Cavaliere do produce cream-based 'cellos in flavors like banana and pumpkin, but since they’re preservative-free, they must be transported and stored in a temperature-controlled environment. Or in other words, 'There's no way we could have a case sitting out on a loading dock for day." Which I'm sure none of us can imagine happening at the city's expertly managed shops ...
Dairy fans needn't fret. As a licensed distiller, Verratti has permission to open and operate two satellite stores in the state, and one, equipped with the proper refrigeration for the creamy versions, is planned for somewhere around East Passyunk. "We’re looking at four properties in the area," explains Verratti, who grew up in the neighborhood. "We're hoping to have it open by the holidays." The second satellite is tentatively planned for Pittsburgh, though if the wagons-west approach doesn't work, Center City might get its own Pollyodd boutique.
Though the PLCB will set the price of Pollyodd 'cellos, Cavaliere estimates they’ll run $26 to $28 a bottle, and part of the proceeds will fund a scholarship for urban youth in memory of Verratti's son, Thomas Joseph. Something worth saluting.
Joan, God Bless! I am so happy you finally got to live your dream. I will be over to see the store. I am so excited to try some and I love the name. I wish you all the luck in the world. XOXO Silvia (palm lady)— silpugs
- barstool scientist
- Booze
- Brew Revue
- Chef Salad
- Closings
- Coffee
- Contests
- Dealage
- Dirty Dishes
- Don't Front
- Eat This Immediately
- Field Trip
- Food and Art
- Food and Holidays
- Food and Movies
- Food and Music
- Food and Politics
- Food and Sports
- Food and Web
- Food Blogs
- Food Books
- Food Events
- Food News
- Food TV
- Gifted
- Happy Hour Hopper
- How-To
- In Print
- Interview
- Meal Ticket
- Menu Time
- Not So Quickfire
- Notes from the Weekend
- On Wheels
- Openings
- Patio Drinking
- Philly Beer Week 2010
- Photos
- Private Chef POV
- Product Placement
- Recipes
- Snack Time
- Stiff Drank
- SUPPER
- Tea
- Testing
- Ticket Stubs
- Top Chef
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Video
- Weekly Candy
- Weird Regional Foods
- We're Here to Help
- Where'd We Eat?
- Drew Lazor's Ill-Advised Rant Factory
- Pregame
- Ill-Advised Ranting
- The Week Without Meat
- Philly Beer Week 2009
- Real Big
- Where'd I Eat Last Night?
- Top Chef Masters
- The Good Word
- Next Iron Chef
- Arterial Terrorism
- Food and Radio
