Invasion of the Pumpkin Spice Products
Limited edition Cathead Pumpkin Spice Vodka
It's still 90 degrees in some parts of the South, but as one keen trend spotter notes, the onslaught of pumpkin spice products is on.
While sweating it out over the weekend, we noticed PumpkinSpiceWatch, a blog by Jennifer Bailey Bergen of Columbia, South Carolina. Jennifer, a self-proclaimed "pumpkin spice addict," has made it her mission to document pumpkin spice products that are hitting the shelves via her blog and #pumpkinspicewatch.
The social media consultant launched the hashtag in 2010 as a way for pumpkin spice fans to share news about their favorite pumpkin spice flavored products. But not everyone is a fan of the flavor, Jennifer says. "There's a surprisingly sharp divide among those who love pumpkin and those who get so irritated by the constant pumpkin chatter that they threaten to unfollow the lovers until January." So she created a separate Twitter account (@pumpkinsw) to create a healthy separation from gourd and non-gourd content. We get that.
Her favorite: Autumn Spice Caramel Corn popcorn from Columbia-based Cromer's P-Nuts. (For the record, that one's not available till mid-September.)
So far this year, Jennifer and her pumpkin spice army have documented the arrival of pumpkin swirl cheesecake at Atlanta Bread Company, pumpkin pie filled and pumpkin cake donuts at Dunkin Donuts. and one we're most intrigued by: limited edition Pumpkin Spice vodka from Madison, Mississippi-based Cathead Vodka. (Just 900 cases distributed through eight states across the South MS, LA, FL, AR, TN, AL, GA, SC.)
We will have to try that.
Of course, one can't discuss pumpkin spice without a nod to that ubiquitous latte soon to make its return.
Other sources (Great Pumpkin perhaps?) tell us that Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte, celebrating its 10th anniversary, makes its annual debut on Tuesday. But word on the street is you can get one now using the code PSL10. Shhh. Get your gourd on.
Tell us: What's your favorite pumpkin spice flavored product? Are you buying them now or waiting until things cool off?
