Exclusive: Brown Spirits Lead Way For Impact’s “Hot Brands,” While Vodka Also Looms Large

Impact’s “Hot Brands” are being unveiled at this morning’s Impact Marketing Seminar, and 27 spirits brands are among the honorees.

Making the list is no easy feat. All spirits Hot Brands must meet a minimum volume requirement of 200,000 cases, and also represent at least one of the following: 1) an established brand with double-digit growth in each of the past three years; 2) an established brand with at least 15% growth in 2015; 3) one of the U.S. market’s top 10 spirits brands with at least 5% growth in 2015 and at least 15% aggregate growth since 2012; and 4) a significant new product.

Despite such challenging criteria, every major category boasts a representative this year, including vodka; Bourbon, Canadian, Irish, Scotch and flavored whiskies; rum; gin; Tequila; Cognac; brandy; liqueurs and RTDs. The breadth of the group is testament not only to the ongoing importance of attractive branding—with many of this year’s Hot Brands clearly transcending their category—but also to the ever-evolving tastes of the younger generation of consumers, whose penchant for experimenting across multiple categories is well known

Brown spirits in all their forms remain the order of the day, and sitting atop the list is one of the category’s household names—Crown Royal. While the Diageo-owned Canadian whisky had been making respectable progress recently, adding around 25,000 cases annually from 2012-2014, the 2015 launch of its Regal Apple expression ignited a year of explosive growth. With Regal Apple surging, Crown Royal advanced by more than 700,000 cases last year, according to Impact Databank, rivaling ascendant brands like Tito’s (+800,000 cases), Fireball (+610,000 cases) and New Amsterdam (+730,000 cases).

Meanwhile, Sazerac’s Fireball—the biggest driver of the flavored whiskey craze of the past half-decade—posted a healthy 16% advance last year, but that rate marked a clear deceleration from 2014, when the brand skyrocketed to incremental growth of more than 1.5 million cases. Nevertheless, in a sign of how quickly a brand can blast off in this era, it’s important to remember that Fireball—now at 4.6 million cases—sold only 800,000 cases in 2012.

The full report on Hot Brands for both spirits and wine appears in the March 1&15 issue of Impact. Beer’s Hot Brands will be announced in the May 15 edition.

News Briefs:

•Massachusetts-based retailer Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors recently opened its first Boston location. Spanning 3,000 square feet, the unit marks the chain’s fifth outpost, joining four existing stores in Waltham, Watertown and Newton. Market Watch mag has the full story. 

•Phillips Distilling Co. has extended its Revel Stoke Canadian whisky range with a new Roasted Pineapple expression. Rolling out this month, Revel Stoke Roasted Pineapple is line-priced at around $15 a 750-ml. and joins the brand’s existing core whisky and its Spiced, Cinnamon, Roasted Pecan and Roasted Apple offshoots. Revel Stoke, which is positioned primarily as an on-premise shot option, was up more than 40% to 30,000 cases in 2014, and tacked on a roughly 25% gain last year.

•Opici Wine Group is honoring its centenarian chairman Hubert Opici with the launch of a limited edition Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon called “H.” Sourced from Oakville, H is being released in select markets, retailing at $33 a bottle. Hubert Opici, who grew his family company from a small New Jersey distributor into a national importer and seven-market wholesaler, turns 100 on March 13.

Craft Brewing and Distilling News:

•Baltimore, Maryland’s Heavy Seas Beer is releasing a new spring seasonal, TropiCannon IPA, in addition to its latest year-round offering, Pounder Pils. Available from April through June, the TropiCannon IPA (7.25% abv) is a variation on Heavy Seas’ flagship Loose Cannon IPA that features a modified hop profile and the addition of orange, grapefruit and lemon peel in the brewing process. Meanwhile, Pounder Pils (5% abv) is a German-style Pilsner lager made with Czech malts and European hops. Both new beers will be available throughout Heavy Seas’ 17-state distribution footprint.

•Lexington, Virginia’s Devils Backbone Brewing Company is rolling out its flagship Vienna Lager (5.2% abv) and popular Eight Point IPA (6.2% abv) in canned format. Both beers will be available in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and 16-ounce single-serve cans. Devils Backbone operates its original Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as the Outpost Brewery & Taproom in Lexington. Founded in 2008, the company produced 45,000 barrels in its first three years and recently expanded to reach a capacity of 250,000 barrels.

•Florida-based Timber Creek Distilling has introduced a new line of whiskies, including Timber Creek Florida Bourbon, Reserve Florida Bourbon and Rye Whiskey. Each of the newcomers is made with 95% Florida-grown grains and aged in charred Missouri oak. Located in Destin, Florida, Timber Creek also produces a Wheat Vodka, Rum, Dark Rum and Apple Pie Rum.

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