Our Press and Recognition

Vena’s Fizz House offers mixology classes that teach people how to craft a delicious cocktail — with or without alcohol. The nostalgic, apothecary-style bar in the Old Port district of Portland, Maine, was expanded to offer virtual mixology workshops, where couples and others can share the science and the art of making beverages. The classes make for excellent date nights at home, and Vena’s Fizz House’s collection of vintage glassware and high-quality ingredients are popular gifts for that special someone.

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Vena's Fizz House is pleased to announce the acquisition of Maine based, Coastal Root Bitters Company. Vena's is currently a purveyor of a line of beverage bitters that are nationally distributed to wholesale accounts. "After 5 years of growing Coastal Root Bitters Co., along side our growing family I realized it was time to sell the business. Our bitters could not have found a more natural home in the world. A place that already boasts an admirable line of house bitters, and adds bitters to virtually every drink. I look forward to following the new trajectory of growth for our recipes in the very capable hands of Vena’s Fizz House", says Coastal Root Bitters founder and owner, Nolan Stewart.

Vena's Fizz House currently produces a variety of bitters. The recipes from Coastal Root Bitters will be added to their product line and will be distributed under their brand. "Bitters are flavor extracts made by infusing barks, flowers, roots, berries, and various other bits and pieces of plants in alcohol. You dole them out in drops and dashes, says Steve Corman, Vena's co-owner and "Bitterest Man in The World". Bitters are to cocktails as spices are to food.They improve and align flavors just like spices do; they help to accentuate flavor and they bring their own flavors."

"We are passionate about bitters and honored to have acquired this outstanding product line. We will be rebranding the combined recipes and will launch them this fall in time for the holiday season", says Mary Jo Marquis, Director of Business Development for Vena's Fizz House.

Portland, Maine (CNN) — It all came to Johanna Corman after four nights of tossing and turning.

Her husband of nearly 17 years, Steve, had just been laid off from his teaching job of 19 years right during April school break in 2013, and they had two children in high school.

After 19 years of teaching, he asked her what he should do next.

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With its cobblestone lanes and photogenic harbor, Portland’s Old Port district has long been a draw for travelers seeking a quick dose of urban New England charm before moving on to Maine’s more bucolic pleasures.

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I WOKE UP hungry. Fortunately, I was in a town that can satiate a big appetite. My husband, Paul, and I had flown to Portland, Maine from New York late the previous night for a five-day road trip up the coast. We went to savor the state’s spring beauty, hike along some seaside trails, dip our toes in the still-icy Atlantic. But mostly we went to eat. I had lobster rolls—that quintessential summer food—on the brain and after a long, tediously frigid winter, I was only too ready to usher in the season.

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At Vena’s Fizz House in Portland, Maine, there is truly something for everyone. Opened in 2013, Vena’s was first imagined as a spot for old fashioned, all natural fizz sodas and alcohol-free drinks, fun for all ages and tastes. But now, with a liquor license in place since 2015, Vena’s can make the same delightful drinks with a boozy option, too.

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Vena’s has an old-fashioned sensibility—it’s part cocktail supply shop (many, many bitters!), part soda fountain, and part cocktail bar. It opened in 2013, serving up fancy sodas—some as complicated as any five-ingredient modern speakeasy cocktail.

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The fruit of Johanna & Steve Corman’s labour, Vena’s Fizz House opened its doors to the public in 2013 and has quickly secured itself as an essential stop on any Portland bar tour. Situated in downtown Portland, the bar exudes turn-of-the-century charm, nostalgia for the past, and serves up a variety of memorable beverages that both drinkers and non-drinkers can enjoy.

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As the trend for alcohol-free drinks grows worldwide, one New England bar is playing its part in making mocktails mainstream. Johanna and Steve Corman own Vena’s Fizz House in Portland, Maine, and when it first opened, it had an inviting, copper-topped bar, plenty of proper, vintage glassware, and a range of bitters and infusions that would earn the approval of any mixologist. What it didn’t have, though, was a drop of alcohol. Johanna was inspired to launch the alcohol-free bar when her husband, a 19-year veteran public school teacher, got laid off from his job due to budget cuts. As the couple wondered what to do next, an idea came to her.

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Johanna Corman makes this refreshing lavender-and-grapefruit spritzer in large batches for easy summer entertaining. To turn it into a cocktail, swap gin or vodka for some of the sparkling water.

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Whiskey, maple, cider and spice all come together in this winter warmer from Vena’s Fizz House in Portland, Maine. Read more about Vena’s in our feature from the Nov/Dec 2015 issue, and remember to be careful when handling ghost peppers, as they’re one of the hottest on the Scoville scale.

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When Steve Corman first started creating drinks in 2013, his lack of knowledge about mixology was offset by problem-solving skills he’d honed as a math teacher. Unfettered by the formulas that veteran bartenders live by, Corman approached his task analytically: Who says liquor must serve as the foundation for a cocktail? Why not start with something more complex, like bitters, and build from there?

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In 2013, Steve Corman was let go from his position as a middle school math teacher. He had been a teacher for 19 years—he was just one year away from being able to qualify for retirement—so the news came as a shock. But instead of letting him wallow, his wife, Johanna, urged him to hurry to the bank. “I knew it would be easier for him to get a loan if he was still employed, and technically, he was still employed,” she explains.

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British sailors created it, frat boys and
church ladies perfected it. Nothing says holiday
entertaining like a bowl of punch.
It doesn’t have to pack a high-octane wallop,
although that could be fun. Maybe it’s a
playful pinch or a warm hug.
—Kathryn Williams

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The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs and its sponsor FocusMaine selected seven Maine companies to participate in the 2018-19 Cultivator Food, Beverage and Agriculture Accelerator program.

Selected companies are:

Vena's Fizz House, a bar and mixology shop in Portland specializing in old-fashioned, all-natural fizz sodas, "mocktails" and custom cocktails.

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