Zwitchel beverage enhancer is tangy. It’s also sweet… and then spices such as ginger come through, creating an intriguing swirl of flavor that makes even plain sparking water fun. So, where did Amber Frymark, maker of Zwitchel, which she sells under her company, Chowventions, get the idea?
It turns out that the tonic is nothing new. “It’s based on an 18th-century health tonic,” Frymark said. She studied culinary arts at a couple of different locations, and one of her favorites subjects was culinary history. “A lot of knowledge came out of that course. The old health tonic was a British thing and was first consumed in the United States in Massachusetts. There’s also documentation that soldiers in the War of 1812 drank it on the battlefield.”
Intrigued by this historic tonic, Frymark put some basic ingredients together in a pot and tasted the results. “I thought it tasted fantastic and couldn’t believe we’re not still drinking this,” she said. As one who always liked to reinvent culinary arts, she infused Wisconsin ingredients into her concoction: local beer, and maple syrup as a sweetener. “Cane sugar or molasses were used in the baseline recipe. For my own blend, I made it sweet, tangy and spicy, all in one flavor profile.”
In 2016, Frymark made a test batch of Zwitchel and packaged it into larger liquor bottles, originally intending to market it as cocktail syrup for bars and restaurants. It was a bit of a hard sell, she recalled, but a door opened when Zwitchel won the Wisconsin Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge in 2016. “Winning that told me that I must be doing something right,” she laughed, “and that led to what we have today, the beverage enhancer version of Zwitchel in a flask-sized bottle, launched around mid-2018.”
Knowing that she has a unique product that some people might not be familiar with, Frymark does samplings at Woodman’s in Oak Creek, and at all four Outpost Natural Foods locations—two of the first stores that agreed to put Zwitchel on their shelves. Good Harvest market, in Pewaukee, has just started carrying Zwitchel, and Frymark will be at farmers markets this year.
Frymark recommends Zwitchel in lemonade, tea, in smoothies, sparkling water or with light or dark spirits. It’s not just a beverage enhancer; Frymark said some chefs use Zwitchel as a glaze, a marinade or in salad dressing. Outpost Natural Foods recently approached her to ask if she could make them a steak sauce, which she’s currently working on and hopes to introduce this year.
Frymark served in the United States Air Force from 2001 through 2011 and did two tours in the Middle East. She works with veterans’ groups and donates to different organizations each year. She’s given to Operation Gratitude, which sends care packages to the troops, and this year she’s partnering with Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars. “They’ve given me support in the past, so I want to give back to them,” she said.
Frymark plans to launch new products under Chowventions, but for now she’ll primarily focus on growing Zwitchel. “I’m blessed to have it,” she said of Zwitchel’s success thus far. “It’s like a baby I’m waking up to take care of. It’s my mission and why I open my eyes every morning.”
For more information, visit chowventions.com.
