Recently I was reminiscing with one of my current co-workers about the monthly company enewsletter that the local media company I used to work for would distribute. It was just a one-page PDF file that highlighted local events the newspapers would sponsor; share employee birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, etc.; and always included a “fun” section in which the editors would note the lesser-known holidays for that month.

One that drummed up a lot of excitement was National Waffle Day, which is Aug. 24. A group of people teamed up to have frozen waffles and all the fixings set up in the lunchroom for a little company treat. This walk down memory lane sparked my interest, and I started looking up some other fun “holidays” that might be coming up on the calendar. To my surprise, I learned that National Beverage Day lands on May 6 every year, according to holidayinsights.com.

The website notes that the day of pleasure and relaxation should center around enjoying your favorite beverage, celebrating all beverages, or, for the bold consumers, trying something completely new.

This last part motivated me to want to be one of the bolder consumers and go outside of my comfort zone, not just on National Beverage Day, but on a more consistent basis. I must note that my parents don’t hesitate to remind me that I was quite the picky eater as a child. Because of this, it took me a little longer to learn how much I enjoy pesto sauce or quinoa. However, now sounds like as good of a time as any to challenge myself once again and try new things.

When it comes to exploring what beverages to try, I shouldn’t have to look too much farther than our New Products section. Updated pretty much daily, there never seems to be a shortage of new alcohol and non-alcohol drinks that are hitting the market. One product that caught my attention was Tio Gazpacho. The line of gazpacho beverages seems to be hitting a number of beverage trends including health and wellness, spicy flavors and vegetable flavors/juices.

The alcohol market also is tapping into a number of trends with its new product releases. Big Bottom Oregon Gin contains 16 botanicals that are designed to complement the juniper used in the distilling process, the company notes. In fact, the Owner and Founder Ted Pappas and Head Distiller Travis Schoney have stated that the increased availability of botanical ingredients will create a market of new products outside of traditional gin.

 Whether it’s new flavors, new brands, new categories or category hybrids, I am at no loss of new beverages to try. Was anyone else bold on National Beverage Day and tried some drinks that they never had before? If so, feel free to share what products you tried by informing the magazine via our Twitter handle @BeverageInd.  I hope you had a great National Beverage Day!