7 Things You Should Know About Hooch Booch

The launch of Hooch Booch, the first hard kombucha brewed in Denver, taps into a lot of favorites for us here at In Good Taste Denver: kombucha, Prohibition-style stuff, cocktails, a woman-owned business, and the dreams of a fellow University of Denver alum (that’s where In Good Taste Denver got its start)! We recently got to enjoy some Hooch Booch (LOVE the name!) and were mightily motivated to tell our readers about it. 

7 Things You Should Know About Hooch Booch:

1. Hooch Booch is brewed with Colorado’s Teakoe Tea Supply Co. teas plus fresh fruit with honey from Clark’s Honey Farm in Evans, Colorado.
2. What makes it “hard” kombucha is that it’s fermented twice, for around 14 days. Regular kombucha is typically fermented just once.
3. The first Prohibition-inspired flavors to be sold are:
   -Bee’s Knees (black tea base, lemon, and honey). Amp it up by adding gin.
   -Clover Club (tart raspberry and lemon zest are added to hibiscus and black tea to give the flavors of the classic cocktail). Amp it up with gin and pour it in a glass. You’ll get a slightly frothy head like what you’d experience in the Clover Club cocktail due to the natural characteristics of this particular Booch.
   -Old Fashioned (black tea with orange and a hint of toasty oak). Amp it up with some whiskey.
4. Hooch Booch is made with local ingredients whenever possible.
5. It contains zero added sugars, does contain live probiotic cultures, and is 8.5% alcohol by volume – that’s before you add whatever amp-up you might try.
6. Hooch Booch is one of the many good things to come from the pandemic, when people were forced to pivot from the path they were on and rethink how to make money and pursue their dreams. Anna Zesbaugh, founder of the product, was furloughed from her destination management company gig. That’s when the idea of Hooch Booch came to be. She says the following in a recent press release:
   “When Mayor Hancock announced that liquor stores would close in March of last year, my mind was immediately brought back to the Prohibition-era. Everyone was flocking to the liquor stores to stock up because there was this fear of the unknown. I think we all realized how much we missed and took for granted the simple act of connecting with friends over a beverage. I wanted to create a drink that was a nod to the past but that was crafted for modern times.”
7. To purchase Hooch Booch, look for it at the Wine Dispensary, Corks, Bonnie Brae Liquor, Mission Control, Country Club Liquors, and The Lodge at Woods Boss. MSRP for a four-pack of Hooch Booch is $15.99.

Visit the Hooch Booch website, here. 

What else is In Good Taste? Visit one of these Colorado distilleries for spirits to augment Hooch Booch.