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Change in TV Passion Fruit Syrup??? |
mangrovemike
Member
Joined: Jan 26, 2006
Posts: 9 |  Posted: 2007-07-08 2:30 pm Permalink
I just got my latest delivery of TV passion fruit syrup in the plastic bottles. The color is different, the syrup tastes different and all of the drinks taste different than the last order I received... a year ago?? I have not been able to adjust the recipes to compensate and I am getting tired of throwing good rum down the drain. Anyone else had problems w/the drinks not tasting right recently w/new syrup? Maybe my tastebuds have gone haywire..??
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martiki
Official Mixologist
Joined: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 3056
From: http://www.smugglerscovesf.com
| Posted: 2007-07-08 5:28 pm Permalink
You're not imagining things. They changed the formula and removed all of the natural passion fruit from the product. (used to be 11% passion fruit).
It sucks ass now.
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johnman
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 18, 2005
Posts: 452
From: RI
| Posted: 2007-07-08 8:14 pm Permalink
That's ashame that TV cheaped out on their passion fruit syrup. There are still good alternatives! Fortunately I read Beachbum Berry's new book Sippin Safari and found that Finest Call produces a good passion fruit mixer. I just got two bottles in but have yet to crack them (finishing up the last of my good TV supply). They have 13% juice and may even end up being better than the TV stuff.
Here's a link to the Finest Call product:
http://www.finestcall.com/products/product-page.asp?id=40
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The Gnomon
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: May 01, 2007
Posts: 1276
From: MD-DC-VA
| Posted: 2007-07-09 07:59 am Permalink
With the mysterious antics that seem to be going on in corporate TV, I'm not sure you can trust much of anything with a TV brand anymore. It seems like a company that's been bought out by opportunists that could care less about the quality and tradition that VJB, Jr always represented. Is it just me, or does the entire TV enterprise seem little more than a shell of its former self?
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velveteenlounge
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 13, 2004
Posts: 324
From: Velveteen Lounge, NY
| Posted: 2007-07-09 09:14 am Permalink
I made my own passion fruit syrup from the recipe at the end of "Sippin' Safari" and it's both really great and really inexpensive. Between that and the navy grog syrup I made I don't feel like I'll ever need to place another order for those syrups.
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quickiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Dec 29, 2005
Posts: 139
From: Stockton, CA
| Posted: 2007-07-09 4:04 pm Permalink
Beware, johnman, of the Finest Call product. It doesn't taste anything like Trader Vic's stuff. It's really thick like a nectar and is not as sweet as TV's. I too was really shocked when I got the latest batch of TV syrup and saw that it didn't look quite right.
Has anyone out there tried Torani's Passion Fruit??
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mattesq
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Mar 26, 2007
Posts: 27
From: Los Angeles, CA
| Posted: 2007-07-09 4:12 pm Permalink
do not buy the torani syrup. i purchased both their orgeat and passion fruit syrups and they are drink killers.
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velveteenlounge
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 13, 2004
Posts: 324
From: Velveteen Lounge, NY
| Posted: 2007-07-09 4:26 pm Permalink
I didn't think the Torani was disgusting or anything, but it doesn't taste like the kind made from real passion fruit.
I liked the TV orgeat better than the Torani, but I can't buy TV in the store and now, with the passion fruit being changed, I have less reason to order from TV, so it's probably either going to be Torani or, more likely, make my own.
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tin_omen
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 19, 2007
Posts: 19
From: Minneapolis, MN
| Posted: 2007-07-09 9:44 pm Permalink
*headsmack*! Figures. I've got an order in the air from last week that includes a bottle. Not a word in the product description about the change.
Guess it's back to Aunty Lilikoi's for another couple bottles, once the current crop run out. Good stuff, but runs roughly twice the price.
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Klas
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 04, 2003
Posts: 202
From: Stockholm, Sweden
| Posted: 2007-07-10 01:00 am Permalink
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Monin yet. They make a great passion fruit syrup using real passion fruit. I can also recommend their orgeat.
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Koolau
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 23, 2006
Posts: 323
From: Oahu, Hawaii
| Posted: 2007-07-10 01:21 am Permalink
Klas - I'll throw in for Monin too. I think it makes a far tastier drink than TV passion fruit syrup. The Monin ingredients are cane sugar, water, concentrated passion fruit juice, natural flavor and citric acid. That's pretty much the recipe for home made.
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UtopianDreem
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
Posts: 292
From: LA County, CA
| Posted: 2007-07-10 1:05 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-07-09 21:44, tin_omen wrote:
<snip>Guess it's back to Aunty Lilikoi's for another couple bottles, once the current crop run out. Good stuff, but runs roughly twice the price.
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Is this the stuff you're talking about--Aunty Lilikoi Syrup? Interested to know how it compares in flavor and consistency?
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tin_omen
Tiki Centralite
Joined: Apr 19, 2007
Posts: 19
From: Minneapolis, MN
| Posted: 2007-07-10 7:23 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-07-10 13:05, UtopianDreem wrote:
Is this the stuff you're talking about--Aunty Lilikoi Syrup? Interested to know how it compares in flavor and consistency?
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Yup. That's the stuff. Ingredient list from the bottle: Water, Passion Fruit Juice, Pectin.
It's sweet and very fruity... Heh, I just stuck my finger in the bottle to "refresh my memory", and ended up repeating the process 3-4 times. It's very tastey!:^D
As I recall, shipping was probably $10 for the pair of 10.5oz bottles I picked up last time.
Consistency coming out of the fridge is... well it's quite a bit thinner than maple syrup, but it's definitely kind of viscous and solidly thicker than water. A bit cloudy -- sort of a "pulp" effect.
A TC search should turn up other folks that recommend it... That's where I got the recommendation from.
The brand new bottle of TV's "Passion Fruit" syrup I just received tonight, on the other hand, is about the consistency of water. Even more depressing is the Ingredient List:
"High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Cloud (Water, Acacia Gum, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Glycerol, Ester of Wood Rosin, Brominated Vegtable Oil, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative)), Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Xanthan gum, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Caramel coloring, FD & C Yellow 6 and red 40... Made in the USA"
Comparing Aunty Lilikoi's to the new'n-imroved TV's, side by side:
Smell: "Aroma of fresh fruit", vs. "Sharp chemical smell". Reminds me of a chemical smell from a dentists office.
Taste: "mmm-fruit!" vs. "Oh my god! How'd they get the TV chemical smell translated directly into a chemical taste?!" It's fricken awful!
I suppose folks have also mentioned that they screwed up the Grenadine as well. Here's My new TV Grenadine bottle's ingredients list:
"High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Artificial Flavor, Tartaric Acid, FD&C Red #40"
Fewer ingredients, but still no similarity to anything called "pomegranates". Likewise, "Made in the USA".
Hey, in for a dime, in for a dollar. Here's the ingredients from the latest new bottle of TV Orgeat (that some folks have been known to recommend):
"High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Cloud (Water, Acacia Gum, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Glycerol, Ester of Wood Rosin, Brominated Vegtable Oil, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative)), Propylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate (A Preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavors.
Hmmm, from the ingredients list, aside from the color and dyes, the Orgeat could almost pass for Passion Fruit syrup. 'Course neither one has any natural ingredients in them. :^P
Needless to say, none of them say a word about the need for refrigeration.
Now, what to do with my liter bottles of colored chemicals and water... I don't believe I'll be combining them with any decent rums...
This is the first time I've tried ordering from TV's stock, not exactly an encouraging outcome. It probably wouldn't bother me as much if they'd been up front and listed the ingredients from the revised formulation on the web site. It's pretty uncool trying to shill this garbage off as the same mixers. Esp. when you factor in $20 worth of shipping.
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GatorRob
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 20, 2004
Posts: 1766
From: 3 hrs 33 mins to paradise
| Posted: 2007-07-11 09:16 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2007-07-10 19:23, tin_omen wrote:
Needless to say, none of them say a word about the need for refrigeration.
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I think you may have just hit on the (or at least a) reason they took the passion fruit out of their passion fruit syrup. The old version requires refrigeration after opening. The new version does not. Perhaps they were fielding a few too many complaints about spoiled contents. Not that I'm defending their decision mind you. I certainly won't be buying the new stuff. I'll stick to making my own.
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thejab
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2984
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2007-07-11 10:34 am Permalink
On 2007-07-10 19:23, tin_omen wrote:
Quote:
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Yup. That's the stuff. Ingredient list from the bottle: Water, Passion Fruit Juice, Pectin.
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Not sure if that would work in a recipe that calls for syrup, though it may work well in recipes that call for passion fruit juice. Passion fruit syrup should be thick and very sweet and concentrated in flavor. I'll make the switch from TV's to Monin for my Knockout Punch, but I wish Monin was easier to find locally. I have made my punch with Torani and it tastes fine but it's slightly different in taste than it was with the old TV syrup.
[ This Message was edited by: thejab 2007-07-11 17:30 ]
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