Last spring, Glamour published an article titled “Katy Perry Drinks Apple Cider Vinegar; Should You?” The answer, of course, is it depends. But if you do, it’s because you’re chasing the health benefits of raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered apple cider vinegar’s “mother,” the cloudy wisps full of nutrients and probiotics. It’s not for everyone, the swilling of a teaspoon of acid in warm water in the morning. This is where Allison Ellsworth comes in with far more palatable—in fact, downright delicious—local solution.
Ellsworth worked in the oil and gas industry, but made a habit of drinking apple cider vinegar. Her mission: “It’s so harsh, drinking it straight,” she says. “There has to be a better way.”
So was born Mother, the line of infused apple cider vinegar beverages she co-founded with her husband Stephen. In pretty glass bottles, the all-raw, non-pasteurized product is shelf stable and comes in an array of natural flavors, gently fizzy and sweetened with organic Stevia.
The vinegar, which already has the “mother” in it, comes from the same supplier as the common organic brand Braggs. Rather than adding flavor with juices or purees, Ellsworth flavors the vinegar with whole ingredients. The concoctions infuse several weeks before being sieved, creating rubicund hues and pretty grapefruit or strawberry blushes. Real raspberries, rose petals, and lemons go into the raspberry rose, one of the line’s five primary flavors that also includes strawberry vanilla, grapefruit mint, lime ginger, and blueberry sage.
Seasonal flavors include cinnamon orange and blood orange, which, Ellsworth says, covers the vinegar flavor well. A pineapple flavor is in the pipeline.
Having started last July, the Ellsworths have now left their jobs in oil and gas and are doing this full-time. In November, they won first place in the national New Beverage Showdown competition. A buyer from Whole Foods tasted their products at a local farmers market, and now you can expect to see the colorful glass bottles on Whole Foods shelves beginning in June.
Things are looking peachy.
