RTD Tequila Cocktails
Arizona entrepreneurs P.A. Molumby and Steven Prevatt always loved the idea of ready-to-drink cocktails – if not the execution. Most lacked flavor and were loaded with artificial ingredients and sugar, they found. Partial to tequila sodas, the duo, who owned a Valley video production company, zoned in on making their own version, and traveled to Mexico to find a distiller. In the summer of 2021, they launched Puro Tequila sodas ($13.99/four-pack). “We’ve created our own 100 percent agave blanco tequila that we use for the base of our products,” Molumby says. The refreshing sodas, currently available in lime and mango-pineapple, are tequila-forward with a hint of fruit or citrus finish. “All of our flavors are very subtle,” Molumby says. “We want you to taste the profile of our tequila first.” They’re scheduled to add pomegranate-blueberry and salted watermelon flavors to the lineup as well as bottles of their proprietary tequila. Available at AJ’s Fine Foods.
Puro Tequila
purospirit.com
Artisanal Dried Pasta
In 2009, Tempe native Emma Zimmerman was working on a Ph.D. in neuroethics when her father, Jeff, a former North Dakota farmer, proposed buying the historic Hayden Flour Mill. The father-daughter duo took over the mill and planted heritage grains, including Blue Beard Durum, a hearty variety that’s milled on-site, mixed with cold water and extruded to make artisanal dried pasta. The Zimmermans recently reformulated the pasta and now offer four shapes: fusilli, macaroni, shells and flowers (starting at $8.79 for 16 oz.). A lot of trial and error went into reaching the final product, says Emma, who recently scored a James Beard Media Award nomination for her cookbook, The Miller’s Daughter. “No one uses stone-milled semolina [durum that’s been milled] to make pasta, but we persisted because it’s much more nutritionally robust.” The yellow-tinged pasta, flecked with bran and germ, is non-GMO and has eight grams of protein per serving. Find Hayden Flour Mills pastas at select Whole Foods Markets.
Hayden Flour Mills
haydenflourmills.com
Single-Serving Desserts
Fernanda Sayles has been baking peach cobbler and whipping up banana pudding for her family’s Texas cookouts as far back as she can remember. Her desserts were so popular that relatives often fought over who would get the last piece or bite. “That’s when I decided to put my desserts in Mason jars so everyone could have their own individual servings,” according to Sayles, who now lives in Tempe. She fashions a slew of layered Mason jar desserts for her FernDiggidy Sweets & Treats line, including peach cobbler, strawberry cheesecake, banana pudding cheesecake and strawberry shortcake ($8 each), individual sweet potato pies ($12) and Texas-size pecan squares ($15) as well as her best-seller, creamy banana pudding ($15), nestled in a small loaf pan adorned with vanilla wafers. Sayles also makes a handful of vegan and gluten-free desserts for her grateful customers. “I have such a passion for my desserts and the people who support me,” she says. Find Sayles’ products at Uptown Farmers Market.
FernDiggidy Sweets & Treats
@ferndiggidy_sweets_treats
