A small distillery infused 1,400 pounds of Ganong’s infamous chicken bones into its liquor, and New Brunswickers lined up for hours at liquor stores over the weekend to get it.
“I am not even much of a drinker but when I heard about this I wanted some,” said Dawn Halborsen of Rothesay, N.B. who waited for over an hour at the local liquor store on Friday for the last few cases of Chicken Bones Liqueur to arrive so she could buy up three bottles.
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“I never imagine this would happen,” said Jeremiah Clark the co-owner of Mooshine Creek Distillery in Waterville, N.B. who partnered with Ganong Bros. to produce the special liqueur.
Chicken Bones Liqueur sold nearly 2,500 bottles in 48 hours.
Clark said that so many people from across the country have been clamoring to buy the product, so he had to shut down his online orders.
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He says that everyone he meets seems to have a touching story about eating Ganong’s infamous chicken bones during the holidays, which he attributes to his product’s overwhelming popularity.
“It brings back such nostalgia and it is something that New Brunswickers can identify with and connect with and I think that is the whole reason we have seen this sell off the shelves.”
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Clark’s distillery was only in business for 16 months before it struck gold – or pink.
While Clark’s first batch of Chicken Bones Liqueur has been sold out, don’t despair. Clark said that Ganong has ramped up chicken bones production so he can pump out 6,000 more bottles before Christmas.
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“We know that a lot of people would like to see this in their homes for the holidays,” said Clark.
Given its popularity he hopes it will become a holiday tradition, just like the candies it’s made from.
Chicken bones were first produced at the Ganong Bros. candy factory in St. Stephen, N.B., back in 1885, said Bryana Ganong, President and CEO of Ganong.
“They were created by Frank Sparhawk one of the candy makers that worked in the company at that time and it certainly has been a family tradition in the Atlantic region every since.”
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People outside of the Maritimes might not be overly familiar with chicken bones, but in Atlantic Canada they are a tradition for many families during the holidays says Ganong.
She said that no one knows for sure why Sparhawk called the candy chicken bones. It could be because of its pink candy shell and chocolaty marrow centre.
The company use the same secret recipe and back-breaking technique today to produce 7 million chicken bones every holiday season.
“People who love it really love it and people who don’t like it really don’t like it,” she said.
But given the number of people rushing to buy a bottle of Clark’s creation it shows that many love the taste.
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