Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2015 i Market Watch

In this issue, we look at the Bourbon scene, where all continues to go well. While Bourbon consumption grew by 5 percent to 18.5 million cases in 2014, recent Nielsen numbers show the category more than 10 percent ahead of last year’s pace, with new expressions emerging at increasingly premium prices. Meanwhile, Bourbon supply is moving back into balance. Kentucky’s distillers now hold about 5.7 million barrels of inventory—the highest level since 1975. Production expansion is underway at most major companies, and new distillers are popping up all over the place. Two years ago, Kentucky had just 10 whiskey distillers; today the total is 31, and it’s expected to hit 50 within the next two years. Not long ago in the world of beer, imports seemed to be rocked on…

Bacardi Tangerine Rum Bacardi USA introduced a new extension to its flagship rum brand in July. Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Bacardi brand’s flavor line, Bacardi Tangerine ($13 a 750-ml. bottle) also marks the debut of new packaging for Bacardi’s six core flavored rums—Limón, Pineapple, Coconut, Mango, Dragon Berry and Tangerine. The 35-percent alcohol-by-volume (abv) spirit, which has a tangy fruit flavor, is available nationwide. For more information, visit Bacardi.com or call the company at 305-573-8511. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Beam Suntory released a new expression of its Maker’s Mark Bourbon brand this summer. First introduced in 375-ml. bottles to select markets last year, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength ($59.99 a 750-ml. bottle) is uncut and unfiltered. The spirit, which ranges from around 55-percent abv to around 57.5-percent abv, is…

While the craft brewing segment remains the toast of the beer industry, Impact’s beer, cider and ready-to-drink (RTD) “Hot Brands” list shows U.S. consumers are also gravitating toward innovative entries that center on bold flavor profiles. An influx of new and returning flavored products helped swell this year’s list from 23 to 28 brands. Overall, 12 new labels achieved Hot Brand criteria for 2014, joined by 16 returnees, while seven winners from the previous year failed to keep pace. Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) saw three of its 2013 Hot Brands—Budweiser Black Crown and Bud Light Lime Straw-Ber-Rita and Lime-A-Rita—post declines and slip from the 2014 list, but the world’s largest brewer more than made up for those absences with the addition of six fresh faces. Among them are three more members…

Suzanne Schalow says she and her wife, Kate Baker, are longtime “beer geeks.” Several years ago, the two hospitality veterans sought to improve their beer education by shopping for special brews and became disillusioned with their retail options. “We were underwhelmed with the care that some stores gave to beer and wondered if we could do it better,” she recalls. In 2010, Schalow and Baker opened the Craft Beer Cellar in the Boston suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts. Five years later, the outlet has been expanded to include 19 franchised locations in about a dozen states, with at least 12 additional stores in the works. When Craft Beer Cellar debuted, Schalow never envisioned that it would travel as far as California, Colorado and Montana. But the concept’s reputation for its commitment…

On-Premise News Starbucks Expands Beverage Alcohol In Chicago The Starbucks coffee chain is aiming to double its beverage alcohol business in Chicago with applications for eight more liquor licenses in the city and suburbs. The company is expanding its “Starbucks Evenings” program, which has paired beer and wine with bistro-style appetizers since 2010, in a bid to boost late-day sales. Starbucks currently serves alcohol in 39 stores in the United States, with locations in Seattle; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Portland, Oregon; Orlando, Florida; and Washington, D.C. The company has announced that it’s seeking to broaden beer and wine to 3,000 of its 11,900 U.S. stores within the next five years. Delano Las Vegas To Launch Alain Ducasse Concepts Alain Ducasse Group, the on-premise operator backed by the eponymous French chef,…

Santa Margherita Leaves Terlato....Santa Margherita, one of the top-selling superpremium wine brands in the U.S. market, is leaving its longtime importer Terlato Wines to join Santa Margherita Wine Group’s U.S. marketing arm. On January 1st, 2016, the newly formed SM USA Inc. will begin handling Santa Margherita in the U.S. market. Terlato has imported Santa Margherita ($27 a 750-ml. bottle) for the past 35 years, and the brand’s sales have grown from around 200,000 cases in 1994 to 700,000 cases last year. Its U.S. retail sales value was slightly above $225 million in 2014, ranking it 20th among all table wine brands, according to Impact Databank. SM USA is headquartered in Miami and led by CEO Vincent Chiaramonte, formerly of Winebow. Its portfolio currently consists of the Torresella, Kettmeir, Lamole…

Highland Park Dark Origins Edrington Americas introduced Highland Park Dark Origins in September 2014, and the Scotch did “phenomenally well,” says brand manager and ambassador Stephanie Ridgway. “We exceeded what we intended to ship by double,” she adds. A permanent addition to the range, the 46.8-percent alcohol-by-volume (abv) Highland Park Dark Origins ($79.99 a 750-ml. bottle) is made using twice as many first-fill Sherry casks as the flagship 12-year-old offering, resulting in a dark, rich liquid. “It fills a gap where our highly allocated age-statement expressions sit,” Ridgway explains. The whisky skews toward 30- to 45-year-old consumers—younger than the traditional Highland Park demographic—and does well in California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Florida and Georgia. “We’ve focused programming on the on-premise,” she says, noting that the off-premise is generally stronger for…

Although the cocktail renaissance led to a massive resurgence of brown, aged spirits—whiskies in particular—vodka has remained a bar staple thanks to its accessibility and broad appeal. Though the cocktail revival initially sparked an aversion to vodka, which was believed to lack complexity, mixologists have become more knowledgeable about the spirit and its nuances, leading them to use vodka just as creatively as they do whiskies. “On a national scale, the cocktail boom has shown bartenders that vodka is an essential building block and not something to be ignored,” says Otis Florence, Skyy vodka’s international mixologist. Thanks to the proliferation of higher-quality vodkas on the market today, more mixologists are reaching for vodka to make innovative cocktails. “A lot of the stigmas that used to be associated with vodka have…

This year’s Vinexpo trade show, which took place in Bordeaux from June 14th through June 18th, hosted an international audience of nearly 50,000 visitors and featured some 2,350 exhibitors representing 42 wine-producing countries. The wine world’s brightest stars were in attendance, including Angelo Gaja from Italy, Philippe Guigal and Marc Perrin from France, Peter Gago from Australia, Laura Catena from Argentina, and Aurelio Montes from Chile, among numerous others. Two gala dinners during the week highlighted Bordeaux’s allure in attracting visitors to the biennial trade show. Château Margaux was the venue for the 1855 Grands Crus Classés dinner for the international press, while Château Montrose hosted 1,600 guests at this year’s Fête de la Fleur. Both estates showcased striking new architectural additions, while the dinners featured menus created by Michelin…

When the Capella hotel opened in Washington, D.C. in 2013, The Rye Bar was conceived as a way to resurrect rye whiskey consumption in the city. “Rye whiskey wasn’t mainstream in D.C. for the last 25 years,” says head bartender Angel Cervantes. “I’ve worked in bars that didn’t even have one bottle of rye. And to this day people always ask for Manhattans made with Bourbon, but the original recipe used rye.” The Mexican native hopes to change rye’s reputation by highlighting the spirit in various cocktails that appeal to both men and women. Four of The Rye Bar’s seven signature drinks ($16 to $22) feature the whiskey, including the Old(er) Fashioned, made with (ri)1 straight rye, Hidalgo Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Luxardo Maraschino cherries and orange peel. “It doesn’t matter…

The Beer Bible The publisher of “The Wine Bible” released a comprehensive guide to the world’s beers in August. Written by Portland, Oregon, beer expert Jeff Alworth, “The Beer Bible” ($35) is a 700-page tome that features research spanning six countries and 52 breweries. The book is divided into six parts—“Knowing Beer,” “Ales,” “Wheat Beers,” “Lagers,” “Tart and Wild Ales,” and “Enjoying Beer”—with chapters that cover more than 100 different beer styles in-depth. Details for each beer include geography, history, amusing anecdotes, ingredients, flavors and brews to try, as well as infographics illustrating beer essentials. For more information, visit Workman.com. Bourbon Curious Fred Minnick, author of “Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch and Irish Whiskey,” has unveiled a new book dedicated to Bourbon tasting. Published…

AS PICTURED: 1. Mixologist Ivy Mix, owner of the Brooklyn, New York, cocktail bar Leyenda, was named “American Bartender of the Year” at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, held on July 18th at the Sheraton hotel in New Orleans. 2. Country singer Kacey Musgraves judged Zodiac vodka cocktails at a launch party for the brand held on June 16th at Acme Feed and Seed in Nashville, Tennessee. 3. Mixologist Brittini Rae Peterson of the Los Angeles bar Melrose Umbrella Co. won the 2015 Speed Rack competition on June 15th at Webster Hall in New York City. 4. Mixologist Enzo Cangemi whipped up cocktails with Bombay Sapphire gin at the Dinner Lab supper club, held in a pop-up space in Brooklyn, New York, on July 9th. 5. Olympic gold-medalist…

For just about any beer wholesaler in the country, Gregg Christiansen’s problems would be enviable ones. As the chairman and CEO of Columbia Distributing Co., Christiansen runs the largest beer wholesaler in the Pacific Northwest and one of the largest beer houses in the country. Operating in Oregon and Washington—where craft beer claims more than 40 percent of the beer market, according to Christiansen—Columbia Distributing is also quite possibly the biggest wholesaler of craft beer in the country. Still, Christiansen is cognizant of the responsibility that comes along with the company’s good fortune. “We’re very careful about what brands we bring in,” the 35-year industry veteran says. “We want to ensure that we do a good job for them. And we also have to make sure we take care of…

Diageo made a series of executive changes this summer. Following the announcement in June that Diageo North America president Larry Schwartz will retire at the end of 2015, the company named current Diageo chief financial officer Deirdre Mahlan as his successor. A veteran of the company since the Seagram purchase in 2001, Mahlan will remain in her current role until a replacement is named. The company also promoted managing director of global reserve James Thompson to chief marketing and innovation officer for North America, succeeding Peter McDonough. In addition, Diageo appointed Tom Looney as the North American unit’s president for open and control states, replacing Mark Hubler. Diageo-Guinness USA senior vice president of sales Tom Day has assumed Looney’s former post as president of the beer unit. Furthermore, Diageo NA…