Pumpkin-flavored liquor and spirits celebrate the season

Once again, fall is upon us, and with it the opportunity for all sorts of seasonal variations of products. Color label printer solutions make it possible to display the bold reds, browns and oranges that remind customers of the time of year.

There’s one unique place where you can see these shades this year: on liquor bottles. CNBC reports on several different vintages that are using pumpkin flavoring and associated imagery to literally spice up their drinks.

According to this source, over the past four years, pumpkin-related cocktails have become extraordinarily popular, appearing more than 500 percent as much as they used to. Vodka, whiskey and “moonshine” are all adopting pumpkin-themed tastes and labels to match the times.

Still, pumpkin spirits remain a niche market due to the difficulty in producing them. But there’s an undeniable demand, especially for the combination of ingredients that create what is known as “pumpkin spice.”

A recent article in Fortune quoted flavorist Hedy Kulka, who said that the different additives are the real reason that the flavor has taken off in recent years.

“I don’t know if it’s so much the pumpkin part,” she said. “If you sold pumpkin people wouldn’t want it. It’s the background note.” She added that the availability of pumpkin spice-related goods means it “is not necessarily a novelty anymore.”

Offering a pumpkin-themed version of an item requires labeling that helps brand the product and make it seem flavorful, exotic or mysterious. Brewers should focus on designs and packaging that sends the simple message to others that fall is in the air.