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Though the overall premium gin segment remains sluggish in the U.S., the category’s high end is on the rise. The premiumization trend has been driven largely by the trailblazing success of William Grant & Sons’ super-premium Hendrick’s brand, which has long traded on its craft-like positioning and quirky advertising approach. The Impact “Hot Brand” was up 19.5% to nearly 300,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank, and its consistent double-digit progress has helped pave the way for an influx of boutique and craft players.
“We’ve gone to the shelf and seen the hundreds of new competitors that have come out over the course over the last few years in the premium and super-premium gin category. It’s very highly competitive,” Jonathan Yusen, William Grant & Sons’ president and managing director for North America, recently told SND. “That level of engagement has been driven by the craft movement and the opening of many distilleries, but also the resurgence of the high-end gin category, and Hendrick’s has played a large role in that resurgence.”
Among the rising competitors are fast-growing U.K. imports such as Proximo’s Boodles label and Quintessential Brands’ Greenall’s gin. Retailing at around $24, Boodles has put the emphasis on its country of origin with the tagline “Proper British Gin,” which helped grow the brand 25% to 36,000 cases last year. Greenall’s (around $18), has also performed well, rising 21% to 27,000 cases.
Also making marked gains is Pernod Ricard’s Plymouth brand, which plays in the $30-$35 range, and Cognac Ferrand’s Citadelle, a French label whose core offering retails at $25. Likewise, Reformed Spirits’ Martin Miller’s range, which hails from London, is performing notably well, offering its core gin ($28) and a higher-proof Westbourne Strength label ($35), as well as recently launching 9 Moons, a single-cask-aged limited edition. Plymouth, Citadelle and Martin Miller’s all achieved double-digit growth last year, with volumes for each ranging from 30,000 to 35,000 cases.
Edrington Americas has formed a strategic partnership with Partida Tequila. The deal, taking effect in the first quarter of 2017, will see Edrington Americas assume all sales, marketing and distribution of the upscale Tequila brand, which includes Blanco ($40-$50), Reposado ($50) and Añejo ($55) varieties, as well as a high-end Elegante expression ($350). Impact Databank estimates Partida at around 30,000 cases in the U.S., growing at 20% annually.
For Edrington—whose portfolio also includes Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse as well as Brugal rum and Snow Leopard vodka—the Partida deal offers exposure to the burgeoning luxury Tequila segment (above $40 a bottle), which has grown by 40% over the past five years and is closing in on 3 million cases, according to Impact Databank. Gary Shansby, Partida’s founder and chairman, said that both his company and Edrington are committed to “brand-building for the long term.”
Michael Goldstein, owner of New York retailer Park Avenue Liquors, passed away on December 9 at the age of 74. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Goldstein built his once-modest family liquor store into a nationally renowned mecca for wine lovers and whisky aficionados.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Goldstein began his career at Chemical Bank. He joined family-owned Park Avenue Liquors in 1965 when his father passed away, and helped his mother run the store. Wine became Park Avenue Liquors’ first area of expertise, as Goldstein learned to focus on high-end, hard-to-find labels. During the 1980s, he saw the untapped potential of selling rare and high-end whiskies, and burnished the store’s reputation in that area as well.
“My dad recognized the appeal of unique items, which built Park Avenue Liquors into a destination store,” said Goldstein’s son Jonathan, who runs the business with his brother Eric and cousin Scott Abramson. “But first and foremost, he was a people person who treated every customer the same—whether they were shopping for a first growth Bordeaux or a half-pint of vodka.”
Park Avenue Liquors derives its name from its original location at 97 Park Avenue. The store was at 292 Madison Avenue for 40 years, but last year moved to a new and expanded venue at 270 Madison Avenue, on the corner of 39th Street.
•Whisky Advocate has named Yoichi Single Malt as its Japanese Whisky of the Year. Yoichi Single Malt is 45% abv and retails at $80 a bottle. Whisky Advocate is announcing its annual award winners from across 11 different whisky segments one day at a time on its blog through December 19. The awards will culminate with the naming of a Lifetime Achievement honoree on December 20 and the Distiller of the Year announcement on December 21.
•Kobrand Corp. has acquired Joto Sake LLC for an undisclosed sum, and will begin marketing the Joto portfolio effective January 1. Founded in 2005 by Henry Sidel, a veteran of Brooklyn Brewery and Millennium Imports, Joto’s range includes its namesake label, as well as fellow premium sake brands Eiko Fuji, Izumo Fuji, Watari Bune, Taiheikai, Hou Hou Shu, Chikurin, Seikyo, Maboroshi, Yuki No Bosha, Yuri Masamune, Fuku Chitose and Shichi Hon Yari. Joto’s portfolio skews toward the high end, averaging around $35 a 720-ml. bottle.
•Sonoma-based V2 Wine Group has announced a new partnership with Dundee, Oregon’s Joe Dobbes Collection. Under the agreement, which takes effect January 1, 2017, V2 will handle sales and marketing for the Joe Dobbes lineup throughout the U.S. Sourcing grapes from select vineyards predominantly in the Willamette and Rogue Valleys, the Dobbes portfolio includes Wine By Joe, Dobbes Family Estate and Jovino brands. Dobbes Family Estate is the company’s luxury label, while Wine By Joe is a value-priced Oregon appellation brand and Jovino is devoted to restaurant accounts. Dobbes is one of the largest producers in Oregon, with 214 acres of estate vineyards. V2 president Dan Leese recently told SND the company’s goal is to double its sales—currently around 600,000 cases and $65 million—within five years.
•After paying more than $100 billion to acquire SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) has agreed to sell SABMiller’s Central and Eastern European business to Asahi for €7.3 billion ($7.7b). The sale—mandated by E.U. regulators as a condition for approval of ABI’s purchase of SABMiller—includes SABMiller’s operations in Poland, Czech Republic (where SABMiller’s Pilsner Urquell is the top-selling brew), Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Asahi, Japan’s leading brewer, paid more than expected, as analysts had been valuing SABMiller’s Central and Eastern European business at around $6.5 billion.
•Proximo Spirits will introduce a new raspberry flavor under its Jose Cuervo Authentic Margarita brand next February. The new offering joins Pink Lemonade, Mango, Strawberry Lime, Classic Margarita, Grapefruit Tangerine, Coconut Pineapple, Watermelon, Lime Light and White Peach Light in the premade cocktail brand’s lineup. Raspberry Margarita (19.9 proof) will be available in 1.75-liter bottles nationwide for about $15.99. Jose Cuervo Authentic Margarita, an Impact “Hot Brand,” sells more than 1.25 million nine-liter cases annually in the U.S.
•Boulder, Colorado’s Avery Brewing Company is adding to its Botanicals & Barrels series with the launch of Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tangerine Quadruple Ale. The new release will be available year-round in 22-ounce bottles nationwide. Avery’s Botanicals & Barrels series will be expanded to a total of six barrel-aged beers by mid-2017, with the addition of Apricot Sour, Ginger Sour and Coconut Porter, all of which are aged in barrels and feature an ingredient outside the standard beer recipe of grain, hops, yeast and water. The series also includes Raspberry Sour and Vanilla Bean Stout.
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