Background story
One year ago, one of Fjording’s board member, Arnt Ove D. Englund, suggested I’d meet up with a master barista called Rory Rosenberg. The two of them had been working together on a project, and Arnt Ove thought we could be a good match.
I had previously spent some time investigating how to make use of coffee as an ingredient in a future cream liqueur. Without nailing it. So I was really looking forward to meet with Rory - who not only is a Norwegian Champion in Barista Skills, but also has wide experience in creating retail products with his cold brew coffee blends.
We met up, exchanged ideas, and pretty quickly it became obvious that we had similar ideas about product development and taste. And about what was missing in the beverage world.
Product development phase
First time Rory and I presented our recipe for our production partners OHD. It went well!
Me and Rory started to discuss the coffee liqueur category. We both felt that the market leader and its main international competitors didn’t make perfect products. We believed we could create something far better here in Norway, by using the Fjording strategy for product development (pure quality ingredients and handcrafted passion).
We defined some criteria for our tests: Less sugar, more taste of quality coffee, and a hint of chocolate or nuts. A liqueur suitable for both enjoying on its own, and in cocktails like White Russian and Espresso Martini. Of course based on premium Norwegian potato spirit.
Rory started testing different solutions in his kitchen, and after a couple of months we hit jackpot with a blend. Now we felt ready to discuss the project with someone who could scale up for us. Since we wanted full control over the coffee process, and we both live in the Oslo region, we felt the best alternative for us was Oslo Håndverksdestilleri.
Production and launch
Happy sales partners in NBG after presenting TÅR at Vinmonopolet fairs in late October.
Luckily, OHD wanted to help us and found a suitable slot in their hectic production calendar. We had gambled on this result and already bought bottles and corks, so me and Rory were ready on short notice :)
By the end of October, we were ready to present Norway’s first coffee liqueur to employees at Vinmonopolet. And the feedback was great!
We had decided on the name TÅR, which means sip in Norwegian, a word that has been used in coffee drinking situations for decades in Scandinavia. Just a couple of weeks after the launch, close to 50 Vinmonopolet stores around the country had placed TÅR on its shelf. Cool!
We’re now looking forward to see how the product is received by end customers - and hopefully make many more batches of our delicious blend!
To read more about TÅR, please visit the product’s webpage.
The liqueur can now be ordered through Vinmonopolet’s webshop.