Market Watch April 2020

Once upon a time, the drinks business was known for being a little slow-moving—maybe even a bit sleepy. Those days are long gone. Now, innovation is building not just brands, but entire categories. Hard seltzer comes to mind, as do coffee-infused alcohol drinks. Flavored whiskies are also being built into a major category in their own right. The list goes on, and we haven’t even gotten to cannabis beverages—which are still in their infancy. All of this innovation has brought torrid growth, which leads us to the centerpiece of the current issue—our annual “Hot Brands” rankings. So many of the names on the Hot Brands list were barely a blip on the radar screen a decade ago, and some didn’t even exist at all. Look at them now: They’re the…

Wirtz Expands Presence In Missouri….The Wirtz family is expanding its presence in the Missouri market’s wholesale tier, agreeing to acquire control of wine, spirits, and beer distributor Major Brands, in which it already held an undisclosed stake. The ownership shares come from Major Brands chairman and CEO Sue McCollum, who will continue to lead the company. She is divesting her ownership in Major Brands in order to pursue philanthropic efforts including an LLC and a foundation. The Wirtz family initially gained an interest in Major Brands in 2014, when Major acquired Missouri Beverage, in which the Wirtzes held a minority stake. The company’s portfolio includes labels from Beam Suntory, Pernod Ricard, Proximo Spirits, Stoli Group, and William Grant & Sons on the spirits side, as well as wines from Caymus,…

AS PICTURED: 1. Actress Gabrielle Union and her husband, former NBA player Dwyane Wade, performed a karaoke duet at Budweiser’s BUDX Hotel pop-up in Miami Beach on February 1. 2. Bartender Alex Valencia competed at the Mexican Standoff Bartending Com-petition hosted by Tanteo Tequila at the brand’s private club, Casa Tanteo, in Brooklyn, New York on February 18. 3. Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell won the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. Chairman’s Leadership award during an industry awards dinner at the Omni Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky on February 18. 4. Model Martha Hunt mixed drinks at Bath-tub Gin in New York City on February 6 as part of Bacardi’s “Back to the Bar” initiative. 5. Award-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho attended the 35th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards—co-sponsored by…

Manhattan: Chef Charlie Palmer Unveils Upscale Lounge Chef and entrepreneur Charlie Palmer opened the chic bar and lounge Ava Social in Manhattan’s Fashion District in February. Located in the Archer Hotel New York, the upbeat venue offers a variety of craft cocktails ($13-$16), from the Socialista, made with Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge liqueur, Campari aperitif, and lemon and orange juices, to the Tête A Tête, mixing Bulldog gin, St-Germain liqueur, simple syrup, and lime juice, shaken with cucumber, basil, and peppercorns, and the Up To Date, blending Wild Turkey 101 rye whiskey, Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry, Grand Marnier Cuvée Louis Alexandre liqueur, and Angostura Aromatic bitters. Ava Social aims to simplify wine buying for guests, offering glass pours ($12-$19) and two tiers of bottled wines. The menu lists roughly…

Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Beam Suntory has launched a new offering in its Kilbeggan Irish whiskey lineup. Kilbeggan Single Pot Still ($45 a 750-ml.) features a mashbill that includes oats as well as malted and unmalted barley, with the recipe based on one used at the distillery more than a century ago. The whiskey is double-distilled at the historic distillery and bottled at 43% abv. Kilbeggan Single Pot Still is available nationwide. For more information, visit Kilbegganwhiskey.com. Courvoisier Avante-Garde Bourbon Cask Edition Beam Suntory has also debuted Courvoisier Avant-Garde Bourbon Cask Edition, the latest limited-time offering for the Cognac brand. The 40% abv spirit ($40 a 750-ml.) is made from Courvoisier’s VSOP blend and finished in Bourbon barrels. Due to labeling laws, the new Courvoisier is labeled as a spirit…

Barefoot E. & J. Gallo-owned Barefoot is the second-largest wine brand in the U.S. by volume at more than 18 million cases, according to Impact Databank, and is the only wine brand with U.S. retail sales exceeding $1 billion. While Barefoot continues to command heavy volumes with its traditional 750-ml. ($6) and 1.5-liter bottles ($11), alternative packaging formats and innovative offshoots are becoming a larger part of the mix for the franchise, in line with market trends, as it looks to cultivate the next generation of consumers. Among the newer Barefoot offerings leading the charge in the alternative packaging segment is the brand’s On Tap extension, a 3-liter box ($19) that launched in 2018 and depleted the equivalent of 640,000 9-liter cases last year. Midway through the year, the brand…