"This sentence is false". If false, this sentence is true, and if true, it is false. Got it? Or not? This post is a reaction to a recent review which praised Bol's Triple Sec, specifically:
Now as we all learned in the recent bizarre thread on "Flavors, artificial and natural", "natural orange flavor" (unlike just "natural flavor") would mean that at least a single component of real oranges was extracted and used.Artic Wolf: "Bols Triple Sec is a crystal clear liqueur flavoured with sugar, Curaçao orange peel, and hints of citrus. I have met and talked with Bols Flavour expert, Peter Van’t Zelfde, and learned that all of the Bols Liqueurs are made from naturally produced flavours. These flavours have been extracted and/or distilled from base ingredients like fresh fruits and spices.
Now it may well be that the Frozen One may have gotten this right, but having just paid a three hour visit to Total Wine and a couple others surveying the use or abuse of "natural flavors" vs. say "natural orange flavor", it's hard to be sure. To be sure, anotherl trip back was made, this time to just to check out the triple secs.
Almost all the triple secs (and liqueurs for that matter) make NO mention of flavour categories on their labels, and this includes Bols and their Triple Sec. But there was one exception: Gaetano Triple Sec - whose front label loudly proclaimed "...made with Natural Orange Flavor".
This is meaningful, especially knowing that no sane marketer would ever fail to shout out the presence of real fruits, real fruit extracts, or "natural fruit flavor", all using real fruit or their components. Ergo Gaetano's front label claim of using "natural orange flavor".
A hypothesis then occurred to moi...
Hypothesis: "No sane distiller will fail to label real fruits or "natural fruit flavor" derived from them".
But despite Wolfie's claim, and his quote of Bol's "flavor expert", for some reason the Bols Triple Sec makes no mention whatever of real fruit, real fruit extract, or "natural fruit flavor", nor of even "artificial" or "natural flavor" (which do not contain the named fruit in any way). Nor do most of Bol's competitors. Only Gaetano Triple Sec made the claim of "natural orange flavor". Why was this?
Is it because they alone use this real component? If so, good on them.
Based on the hypothesis, I feel that it is fair to doubt Wolfie's claim. But as always to be fair. I responded to Bol's contact form and specifically asked if their Triple Sec contained any or all of the following, in accord with legal definitions for them:
1. artificial flavor
2. natural and artificial flavors
3. natural flavors
4. natural orange flavor
5. real orange extract
6. real oranges
So far, nada. If the hypothesis is right, distillers who use any of the last three will be proud of doing so, will consider their use a marketing/sales point and will make clear that they use them on their labels. Those who don't will not respond, or as in the past will hide behind a copout statement like : "...our products are made in accord with the law."
Stay tuned. My new hypothesis: Bol's won't answer - which is only natural, lol...