Patience was a key ingredient in a new liqueur developed from an idea of a Burr Ridge couple that has made its venture a full-time undertaking.
The original idea for SomruS, The Original Indian Cream Liqueur, came to Pankaj Garg five years ago when he was traveling on an airplane.
“I knew about Bailey’s, but I realized that there really wasn’t anything with flavors from the eastern hemisphere,” Garg said. “I’ve been working on this since 2009. The biggest thing is that I wanted to talk to people in the liquor industry, and then there was product development, which went on for three years.”
And patience was needed by Garg and his wife, Swati, to wait five years to see their idea become reality.
“There was a frustration; the most frustrating part was waiting for answers during the process before being able to continue on,” Pankaj Garg said. “We did have validations along the way, which was very helpful and exciting.”
Garg described SomruS as “creamy, but light and very refreshing, all natural and no aftertaste.” The actual product is made in Milwaukee and is a blend of eastern spices, nuts and cream combined with premium Caribbean rum. SomruS is gluten free and kosher with an alcohol content of 13.5 percent.
“The Indian flavors are so unique and rich and it is our belief that, up until now, they have been ignored in relation to spirits and liqueurs,” Garg said.
SomruS is now available at several area retail locations that sell liquor.
“We are very fortunate to have the number one distributor, Southern Wines and Spirits, handling our product, and they have had a very good response from stores,” Garg said.
While Garg expects many of Indian descent to recognize the flavors in SomruS, the market for the new liqueur is by no means limited to that demographic.
“We have been doing a lot of tastings; that’s a very good way to get people to know your product,” he said. “We want as many people as possible to taste it because we believe they will really like it. Even people who don’t really drink have commented that they like it. And the majority of people who have given very positive feedback are not Indian.”
Garg said the flavor of SomruS is reminiscent of Ras Malai, a very popular Indian dessert, and kulfi, a popular Indian ice-cream-like dairy dessert.
The former management consultant of 25 years left that career in March to focus on his new family business.
“It’s a little nerve-racking, but also exciting,” Garg said. “We are planning to expand, geographically, and add more products.”
Four other flavors are being developed, Garg said, with mango cream liqueur next in line to be in stores.
For more information, visit www.somrus.com or follow them on Twitter @EnjoySomrus or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EnjoySomrus