A Sour Sip

Drinking vinegar, or “switchel,” might sound repulsive to some, but believe it or not it’s a very real consumer trend.

My mother always tried to get me to take a daily shot of apple cider vinegar, saying it was a health and beauty secret passed down from my Irish Great Grandmother who lived into her late 90s. I gave it a try once or twice but I just couldn’t get past the smell and pungent taste. Switchel typically dilutes the vinegar with water or seltzer, ginger and natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. I haven’t tasted it yet, but even though it sounds odd I’ll probably end up trying it just to make my mom happy.

I’m by far not the only one who is willing to give the tart concoction a shot. I opened the menu at a trendy Brooklyn brunch spot last weekend and saw a full list of switchel cocktails. There were multiple items on the menu including a switchel drink mixed with Budweiser, demerara (a type of brown sugar) and lemon.

The surprising thing is one doesn’t need to make a trip to a bougie brunch place to sip on vinegar. Last week, I wrote about Trailblazer Foods’ new line of organic drinking vinegars. Mike Post, Trailblazer’s director of sales said in the announcement that Millenials’ taste in cocktails is shifting from sweet to tart and even savory.

“Consumers are enjoying cocktails and soda replacements using Drinking Vinegars at their favorite bar and want the ability to bring that experience home,” Post said. “Currently, similar products are generally available only online at a cost of $19-$24 per bottle – before shipping. We developed our products to allow grocers to retail them at a significant savings while earning a strong margin.”

There are plenty of recipes online for home-brewed switchel, but the reason I haven’t made my own yet is pure laziness. If I saw a bottle of it on a supermarket shelf I would probably pick it up, especially if it wasn’t wildly overpriced. Retailers can gain from staying ahead of rising consumer trends, even if they seem strange.