SAINT JOHN -- A New Brunswick distillery is making spirits bright this holiday season with a new product that will taste familiar to many Maritimers.
Moonshine Creek Distillery has teamed up with Ganong to create a concoction known as Chicken Bones Liqueur -- booze infused with the iconic pink cinnamon chocolate candies, which date back to 1885.
“We had to melt them down and add our alcohol to infuse it,” explains Jeremiah Clark, the head distiller at Moonshine Creek Distillery in Waterville, N.B.
“We got pretty close to about 1,400 pounds of chicken bones of their seconds, so it would be the bits and pieces that just didn’t meet quality standards for them, but for us, we can repurpose them into a liqueur, so they’re ideal for us.”
As for the best ways to enjoy the unique liqueur, the distillers say they have tried mixing it with coffee, hot chocolate, and cappuccino.
“We’ve tried a lot of different ways to see how it tastes, but my favourite is about one ounce of Chicken Bone with about one ounce of coffee cream, and that’s pretty good,” says employee Joe Gee.
The distillery is doing a limited run of 2,500 bottles of Chicken Bones Liqueur, but depending on the response to the product, they may make more in the future.
“Based on the success we’re seeing with it, I hope that we can continue to do it, but it probably won’t be until next holiday season, then we’ll increase the amount that we create,” says Clark.
For New Brunswickers like Gee, the product is holiday nostalgia in a bottle.
“For me it brings back memories of childhood, from going to my grandma’s around Christmastime, and she always had a bowl of Chicken Bones candy in her living room.”
The product is available at select liquor stores in New Brunswick and at Moonshine Creek Distillery.
