My Twitter followers already know about my conversation with Heaven Hill Distilleries, makers of, among other things, Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon and PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur. A couple of weeks ago I was expecting company, a nice young couple from Orangevale, California. I asked them what they would like for party drinks, and they requested Tequila Sunrises. I don’t drink mixed drinks that often, so I had to look it up: Tequila, orange juice, and Grenadine.

Good enough. Tequila was easy. Lon picked up some Centenario 1800 100% Agavae Azul. Orange juice was easy, too. Penney bought some oranges and an orange squeezer. Grenadine was harder. As you know, Lon, Penney, and I live in a tiny little coastal town where our shopping choices are limited. I found Rose’s Grenadine right away, of course. Sadly, I found it was made of “High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Red 40, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Blue 1” according to their web site. It seemed a shame to mix that with fresh orange juice and high-quality tequila. So I searched around a bit, and found Stirrings. They have a nice line of liqueurs free of artificial ingredients. Some of them, such as their excellent coffee liqueur (better than Kahlúa) are available in our area, but not their grenadine.

Then Lon found PAMA pomegranate liqueur at our favorite liquor store. It was a beautiful color, but the label did not specifically exclude artificial ingredients. So I sent a note off to the manufacturer, Heaven Hill Distilleries  in Kentucky. To my delight, I got a lovely note back in short order from Tiena Haag, their Consumer Relations Administrator, assuring me that “PAMA does not contain #5 or #40 red dyes. It obtains its color from the natural colors from grape skin extract and elderberry juice extract.” Wonderful, exactly what I needed to know. I sent a note thanking her, then realized I was so impressed with her level of customer service that I tweeted about it. She responded by saying that she would “be happy to send a few rebates and a few Evan Williams and PAMA items to you.”

Swag from Heaven Hill Distilleries

Well, today the Swag Box arrived! Wow! There were two t-shirts, two caps, recipe books, and Evan Williams wristbands and cigar cutters, along with a handful of coupons! What a great company! Arr, Matey, now that’s what I call pirate booty! Thank you Tiena, and thank you Heaven Hill Distilleries. I wish all companies were as happily customer-oriented as you!

I was pleased to learn that, according to Wiki, “The Heaven Hill company strongly emphasizes the history and traditions of bourbon in its public relations, highlighting the company’s location in the historical home of bourbon-making and its status as the only such company still under local ownership.”

For those of you who haven’t discovered it yet, Evan Williams Kentucky Bourbon is a very affordable, traditionally made Kentucky Bourbon that is our choice for our regular table whiskey. According to wiki, “On Feb. 16, 2011, the [Evan Williams] “Black Label” … tied with 100 proof Very Old Barton as “Best Buy Whisk(e)y of the Year” in the 17th Annual Malt Advocate Whisky Awards.

And that’s what I’ll be drinking tonight! Go, thou, and do likewise.