Drinkware
ThermoServ Introduces Patented Unbreakable Tumblers at Show in Las Vegas
ThermoServ, a leading provider of American-made drink and tableware, will be attending the Sports Licensing and Tailgate trade show in Las Vegas from January 24 to 26. In Las Vegas, ThermoServ will feature its core lines of insulated drinkware and melamine tableware for the licensed sporting goods market, and collegiate licenses in particular. This year the company is announcing the introduction of newly patented, virtually unbreakable double wall tumblers designed for ultimate durability in everyday use.
Over the last two years, ThermoServ has invested heavily in its brand and products to better serve the sports licensed market, with a particular focus on innovation. The company now has multiple patented drinkware items available in the lineup. “We have always provided a superior drinkware product to the licensed drinkware market, but our ability to make new quality performance claims on our drinkware, along with our positioning as the only domestic manufacturer able to supply both drinkware and complementary melamine tableware provides a unique value proposition to our customers,” said Director of Marketing Darryl Gaines. “When you couple that with our new company branding and significant investments in our plant infrastructure and operations, we are well positioned to be best in class for licensees looking to drive revenue through drinkware and tableware programs.”
ThermoServ has recently evolved its 50-year-old brand image to reflect its ongoing commitment to provide attractive, durable and functional products to the consumer market, with a particular focus on product innovation and patents. The company’s refreshed branding was debuted at last year’s Sports Licensing Show and features a new logo and visual identity that reflects the company’s consumer-friendly focus and tagline, “Serving You Innovation. Convenience. Fun.” The company also launched a new website in 2015 that is designed to reintroduce audiences to the ThermoServ brand while also making products more accessible to customers.
Show visitors at the Sports Licensing and Tailgating trade show will be able to view the full collection of insulated drinkware as well as a broad selection of premium drinkware and tableware items in person. Merchandising and packaging solutions will also be on display throughout the show.
FREEZE Cooling Cups and Bowl Keep Contents Chilled for Hours
HOST®, an innovation-focused brand of Seattle beverage accessory supplier True Brands™, is expanding its award-winning FREEZE™ cooling drinkware and kitchenware line with three new product releases just in time for the holiday gifting season: Whiskey FREEZE Cooling Cups, Martini FREEZE Cooling Cups and the Ice Cream FREEZE Cooling Bowl. The internationally patented FREEZE collection features a double-walled design and proprietary gel blend that chills in a freezer to keep food and beverages cold for hours.
The Ice Cream FREEZE Cooling Bowl is the first of its kind, and marks the FREEZE line’s first foray into keeping food cool. According to www.icecream.com, 87 percent of Americans have ice cream in their freezers at any given moment, and the Ice Cream FREEZE is designed to keep the dessert from melting as it’s enjoyed. The bowl retails at $19.99 and is also great for other cool food items including pasta salad, fruit salad, gazpacho and yogurt parfaits.
The Whiskey FREEZET Cooling Cups and Martini FREEZE Cooling Cups both come in sets of two and retail at $24.99. Designed to keep their namesake drinks perfectly chilled for optimal enjoyment, the cups are also versatile. With its sleek modern design, the Martini FREEZE is the perfect way to serve an array of martini-style drinks, sorbets or even shrimp cocktail; the Whiskey FREEZE works for any spirit or cocktail calling for a double old fashioned glass, and is equally handy for juice, iced tea and cold brew coffee.
“We’ve had a fantastic response to the FREEZE line since we launched it,” said McKenna Elves, Project Manager for HOST Studios. “Our entire HOST brand is centered on the idea that innovation can make drinking better, and this is a perfect example of that idea in action.” The new FREEZE products are already selling well in stores across the U.S. and internationally, and HOST expects sales of these giftable items to continue to increase steadily through the holidays and beyond.
Fun Wine Glasses for Casual Enjoyment
Lehmann Glass Oenomust Wine Glass
While they are many, many options to choose from when it comes to selecting a wine glass, for the uninitiated the choices can be daunting if you do not know the different characteristics that wine glasses possess and which are correct for your purposes. The wine glasses featured here are unique and should be considered solely based on their aesthetic appeal. These are not the glasses to pull out when the sommelier you happen to know is coming over for dinner. Rather, they are the glasses you use for a fun lighthearted experience that is more about the company than taking wine tasting to new heights. Although some could definitely be your fancy-pants selection to show off with, these are more likely to be the ones you whip out for a rowdy game night with friends.
Madeline Puckette is a wine expert and certified sommelier with The Court of Master Sommeliers. She started the blog Wine Folly in 2011 with her partner, Justin Hammack, and the two have a book coming out this month, “Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine” (Avery). Puckette explains that the experience of drinking wine from what might be considered the “correct” glass, is really a matter of preference.
“Once you learn how to hold a stemmed glass and feel confident in holding it and drinking out of it, it’s a psychological effect that happens,” says Puckette. “It’s the same way that a stemmed water glass makes you feel classy. You go to a fancy restaurant and they serve you water that’s in a glass, you pick it up by the foot and you have this sort of visceral experience of drinking water. The same thing happens for a wine glass.”
Puckette says that when helping a customer choose the best wine glass, it is important to ask the customer what kind of wine drinker they are. Are they the animated type who likes to talk with their hands and arms? Maybe point them to a glass with a large bowl that will help keep the wine in the glass. Do they like to enjoy their wine outdoors? Suggest a glass that is durable for this setting. Must it be able to go through the dishwasher? Are they drinking with kids and pets around? Suggest a glass that is not delicate and might withstand a tumble or two. Do they drink white, red or sparkling wine? There is a different “proper” glass for each type of wine.
The very basic information you need to know about wine glasses is that white wine typically goes in a smaller glass than red wine. This is because white wine needs to stay cool and the more surface area that’s exposed to the air, the more it will warm up to room temperature. A narrower bell shape on white wine glasses also aides in concentrating the zesty aromas that are commonly found in white wines. Glasses for red wine tend to have a bigger rounder bowl and larger opening that allows for more surface area and collecting more aromas from the wine.
Jackie Wine/Martini Combo Glass from B By Brandie
To enjoy wine at a basic level, Puckette suggests choosing a glass that allows space for the wine plus air. In America, a standard pour of wine is 5 to 6 ounces, while in Europe and Australia they are strict about a 150 milliliter pour, roughly 5 ounces. Puckette says that a 22-ounce glass will usually allow for a nice ratio.
“You need some space. You really need a little space to have aromas collect in the glass and be able to actually put your nose in the glass and smell them. It’s the baby bear effect, too small is bad, too big is bad, but just right is just right,” says Puckette.
The Oenomust wine glass from Lehmann Glass features a wide base that rises to a distinctive bulge where the glass then flows into the rounded and narrower upper part of the bowl. The glass was designed by Gerard Lehmann to enhance the wine-tasting experience through the generous shape of the glass that allows for controlled rotation and oxygenation of the wine without the fear of spillage. Six different Oenomust glasses are available, including a stemless spirits goblet and a flute for sparkling wines. The glasses range in size from 20.6 ounces for a vintage wines glass, to 11.6 ounce for a taster glass. Three different shapes and sizes of carafes are also available as well as a 50-ounce decanter glass. The Oenomust collection has suggested retail prices ranging from $63 to $96 for a set of six glasses.
The Jackie Wine/Martini Combo Glass from B By Brandie is the perfect glass for the hostess who doesn’t know what her guests will end up drinking and wants to be prepared for both a cocktail or wine situation. The glasses feature an 8-ounce wine glass on top and a 4-ounce martini glass on bottom. Simply flip the glass to accommodate either drink. The glass is inspired by and named after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and is made in Poland. A set of two glasses has a suggested retail price of $64.
Saturn Wine Glass from SUPERDUPERSTUDIO
The Saturn Wine Glass from SUPERDUPERSTUDIO is made in California by a duo design team. The glass is shaped by hand before being blown into a mold by glass artisans, it is then cut and polished by hand. These spacey glasses are the reimagination of a traditional Italian glassblowing technique, which the designers appropriated to prevent messy spills and stains. Four years of research and refinement has culminated in the patent-pending Saturn Glasses that are surprisingly light and have a unique shape that makes them perfect for stacking. The glass has a suggested retail price of $52 each.
Oenophilia Wino Sipper
From Oenophilia comes the quirky Wino Sippers. The glasses feature a built-in sipping straw and a sturdy three-point base to prevent tipping. The glasses are just plain fun and something for guests to “ooh” and “ahh” over. They hold a standard 5-ounce pour of wine and are sold as set of two with a suggested retail price of $24. While they may not be the fancy glass for a $50 bottle of wine, they would be just great for making sure you polish off that box of wine with help from the built-in straw. Mini 2.75-ounce Porto Sippers for port are also available in a set of four.
Magisso COOL ID Glass
Magisso’s new COOL ID Glass in a 11.15-ounce size makes the perfect stemless vessel for enjoying wine outdoors. The cup features cooling ceramics that self-cool after being soaked in water for just 60 to 90 seconds. The longer the item sits in the environment the colder it becomes, and the effect lasts for several hours. The exterior is a matte black finish with a white rim. The surface is suitable for writing personal messages in chalk that can be easily wiped off, so you can skip the wine charms. A set of two has a suggested retail price of $40. COOL ID items are also available in a variety of serving pieces and barware, including shot glasses and a tumbler.
This story was originally published in the September 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
La Rochère Launches Website Dedicated to the American Market
La Rochère glassworks is continuing its development in the United States. After opening its subsidiary in Bronxville, New York in June 2014, this year it is launching a brand new website dedicated to the American market: www.larochere‐na.com.
By creating an account on this site, American retailers can order from La Rochère collections directly online. The website will be a showcase for private customers to discover the brand’s collections and they can also find their nearest store selling La Rochère products.
One of the stars among the La Rochère collections is also a best‐seller in America, the Abeille or Bee Collection made from pressed glass which reuses the symbol Napoleon I used on leather goods. The bee pattern was not originally included in the coats of arms of the New Empire. It appeared over the years on Napoleon’s own initiative and could be found on royal court trains, leather goods, furnishing fabrics, rugs and flags. A travel bag in blue leather decorated with the bee pattern that belonged to the Emperor served as a source of inspiration for this collection. Pieces from the Bee Collection, including glass drinkware and dinnerware, can be viewed on the new La Rochère website for North America.
La Rochère glassworks were founded in 1475 and have been managed by the family since 1858. Today, the company’s business is shared between the construction market (manufacturing bricks, tiles and glass paving) and tableware. It designs products for the general public as well as professionals in the catering and hotel industries. La Rochère draws its creative inspiration from its archives and also works with contemporary designers. It builds on the expertise of its master glass‐makers and on the mechanical manufacturing techniques it developed in the 1970s. For its tableware business, the firm generates around 60% of its revenue overseas.
Caprice for Espresso from Duralex
This diminutive (3-ounce) espresso mug is delightful for sipping espresso after dinner or at any favorite daily coffee ritual. The modern design reaches outward at the top and features a round handle. The design drifts from the traditional shape and adds a touch of surprise. Made from tempered glass for strength and clarity, the Caprice mug will last for years.
The mug holds the perfect portion of espresso and showcases the flavor, the color and the aroma of the brew. Espresso is always more satisfying when served in crystal clear glass.
The Carpice Mug retails for $4 one and $24 for a set of six, making it an affordable and thoughtful gift for any espresso drinker.
Duralex celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2015 and marks this year with new glassware for each season. Each product is carefully designed so it could be a favorite for a lifetime: simple design, durability, clarity and cheer. Duralex has been manufacturing drinking glasses in France for 70 years and invented tempered glass in 1939. It is the only glass manufacturing company that manufacturers all of its products in France. Visit Duralex USA at www.duralexusa.com.
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