Steve & Johanna
Vena's Fizz House
Pure genius and grand ambition aren’t always the most critical ingredients to success. Sometimes, just sometimes, you have to endure a few sleepless nights.
When life gives you lemons... Johanna & Steve Corman woke one morning and met necessity head-on after Steve lost his job to budget cuts after nineteen years of teaching. A strong constitution sprinkled with a bit of imagination, an entrepreneurial heart, and a long love-affair with seltzer (fizz); Johanna (though she didn't know it at the time) struck liquid gold. She told her husband Steve, "Mute the TV and listen!"
Both, having a fondness for flavors and beverage making (with or without spirits), created a line of products for the home bartender and beverage enthusiast that includes a line of botanical bitters, Spirit Sippers - a jar filled with fruits, herbs & spices where your favorite spirit is added to create a 'bar in a jar' perfect of picnics, camping, happy hour, or any occasion that calls for a special cocktail. Also included in the collection are Botanical Bitters, Maine Pine Syrup, Bitter Infused Sugar Cubes, that pair beautifully with that Old Fashioned, champagne, tea, coffee or hot toddies. All products are made with clean, all-natural ingredients and locally sourced when available.
Both, having a fondness for flavors and beverage making (with or without spirits), created a line of products for the home bartender and beverage enthusiast that includes a line of botanical bitters, Spirit Sippers - a jar filled with fruits, herbs & spices where your favorite spirit is added to create a 'bar in a jar' perfect of picnics, camping, happy hour, or any occasion that calls for a special cocktail. Also included in the collection are Botanical Bitters, Maine Pine Syrup, Bitter Infused Sugar Cubes, that pair beautifully with that Old Fashioned, champagne, tea, coffee or hot toddies. All products are made with clean, all-natural ingredients and locally sourced when available.
The business name is a nod to Johanna's great-grandmother, Irvina, or "Vena," for short. She was quoted on more than one occasion to say, "So you see, sometimes little things and even big things, can push us but it's the listening and the doing that make them happen."
So sit back and be prepared to taste a drink from an era gone by. A time when one "sat a spell" and "sipped a drink" that was crafted to be enjoyed.
So sit back and be prepared to taste a drink from an era gone by. A time when one "sat a spell" and "sipped a drink" that was crafted to be enjoyed.
Meet Vena
Vena's Fizz House Namesake
So you see, sometimes little things and even big things, can push us but it's the listening and the doing that make them happen.
Circa 1920’s, an era gone by, a young Portland, Maine woman named after her father, Irvine, took the Maine Women's Christian Temperance movement by the horns. Dedicated and self-assured, she was committed to curtailing the liquid sins of the day. This was the way it was for Irvina, or "Vena," for short.
Eighty years later - yes, 80 years - another strong-minded, free-spirited Portland native (Vena’s great-granddaughter, Johanna Corman) came up with an idea: A Fizz House. And, with libations free of spirits, what could be more fitting than naming the (then non-alcoholic bar) after her great-grandmother: Vena.
Over the years Vena’s liquid concoctions have grown, adding liquor to the menu (sorry Vena). Now no longer considered a toddler of mixology, they have become a trusted source for craft beverage enthusiasts looking for new flavor profiles that satiate the palate and a booming ecommerce product line of all natural beverage making ingredients stocking retail shelves nationwide.
So sit back and be prepared to taste a drink from an era gone by. A time when one "sat a spell" and "sipped a drink" that was crafted to be enjoyed.
Eighty years later - yes, 80 years - another strong-minded, free-spirited Portland native (Vena’s great-granddaughter, Johanna Corman) came up with an idea: A Fizz House. And, with libations free of spirits, what could be more fitting than naming the (then non-alcoholic bar) after her great-grandmother: Vena.
Over the years Vena’s liquid concoctions have grown, adding liquor to the menu (sorry Vena). Now no longer considered a toddler of mixology, they have become a trusted source for craft beverage enthusiasts looking for new flavor profiles that satiate the palate and a booming ecommerce product line of all natural beverage making ingredients stocking retail shelves nationwide.
So sit back and be prepared to taste a drink from an era gone by. A time when one "sat a spell" and "sipped a drink" that was crafted to be enjoyed.