Two well-known Kelowna bartenders have taken the next step to put their classic Canadian mix into the homes of B.C. residents.
Dave Simpson and Gerry Jobe spent three years creating the perfect blend of ingredients for their first Simp’s Serious Caesar mix.
Jobe said their collective bartending experience allows them to provide a unique perspective, as they’ve been listing to the customer.
Over the last six months, the pair, along with CEO Richard Nixon has released two other flavours, dill pickle and sriracha.
Recently, Simp’s Syrups has opened a new shop on High Road and purchased new equipment which allows for faster production to provide a retail side.
“We’re scaling up, we’ve got a production facility and a small retail shop at the front that we’ll be staffing in spring and summer.”
The mixes are vegan, gluten-free and 100 per cent Canadian made. Even the bottles are made in West Kelowna.
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The caesar mixes are currently available throughout B.C. at various retailers.
When developing their latest sriracha mix, it was a matter of determining the level of heat, as bottles will get spicier over time, Jobe said.
The mixes are also developed using reverse osmosis, a production normally used in wine creations, which strip the water of minerals and chemicals.
“We start with super clean water which I think (adds) to the product,” Jobe said.
When developing the sriracha, Jobe described the experiment as one similar to a bomb going off in the shop.
The same ingredient to make the sriracha, red serrano pepper, is also used to make bear spray. As the crew mixed the giant vat of ingredients, the heat of the peppers spread through the air.
“What didn’t we consider is we’re dumping 672 bottles of serrano pepper to our mixing tank and stirring it… we were outside and our eyes were watering. It was like we were a ghost pepper (video) on YouTube,” Jobe said.
Simp’s has also rebranded with a new logo and new symbol, featuring a trident, which references Poseidon, the three partners and the old Canadian flag.
The new location allows the company to create up to 20 pallets worth of caesar mix, which allows them to cater to big grocery outlets, said Jobe.
Last year, the caesar mix was also featured in The New York Times.
“There was so much interest from the United States to purchase that product, but we weren’t quite there yet,” said Jobe.
Simpson didn’t think the article was real.
“It was just so cool, my mom was just freaking out, our whole family was freaking out,” Jobe said.
The mix can be served with your favourite alcohol, over ice, no Worcester needed.
To find out more and pick yourself up a bottle, go to https://simpssyrups.com/.
@carliberry_
carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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