Market Watch July/August 2022

The Tequila category continues to top itself. While case volume has more than doubled since 2010, last year’s Tequila growth was 14.5%, reaching 24.35 million 9-liter cases. Although still far from Bourbon’s 41 million cases, the spirit is inching ever closer—and certainly has established the critical mass to become a major force, and maybe the major force, in U.S. spirits growth. The action at the high end is what makes Tequila so special right now, as its luxury labels ($40 and above) now account for about a quarter of the category. Last year luxury Tequilas grew by 18.5% to over 6 million cases‚ double the volume level of just four years ago. Meanwhile, the super-premium tier ($25-$40) is more than keeping pace, growing by 25% last year to hit 5.8…

RNDC Creates Craft Spirits Unit….Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) has launched The Artisan Group (TAG), a new division of the company dedicated to craft spirits. The group, which will be led by vice president Simone Bianconcini, will start with a phased launch and will be fully up and running by the end of the summer. TAG will unify RNDC’s craft portfolio and offer dedicated support for the craft market. Bianconcini has been with RNDC for 25 years and most recently served as vice president of sales for Kentucky. In his new role, Bianconcini will report to Mike Young, senior vice president of spirits. “RNDC has a long history of finding, nurturing, and developing craft spirits brands using the strength of our local teams and their execution,” said COO Bob Hendrickson.…

Miami: Lebanese Culture And Wine Shine In South Florida Canadian lifestyle firm Ink Entertainment Group added to its Florida portfolio in late May with the opening of the Lebanese concept Amal in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. A nod to Ink Entertainment’s CEO and founder, Charles Khabouth, who has Lebanese roots, Amal serves upscale fare designed for sharing and boasts an extensive wine and cocktail list. The venue offers a lengthy list of Lebanese wines, including myriad labels from the Bekaa Valley, Batroun, and Bhamdoun from such producers as Château Musar, Massaya, and Domaine des Tourelles. Beyond its roughly 30 Lebanese wines—some of which are available in flights—Amal also has a full selection of labels from France, Spain, Italy, Argentina, and the United States (wines are $13-$40 a glass; $30-$1,300 a…

The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10 The GlenDronach, a Brown-Forman brand, has released the tenth edition of its cask strength bottling in the U.S. The whisky ($100 a 750-ml.) comes in at 58.6% abv and is made from a blend of single malts matured in Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry casks. The GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 10 is now available nationwide. For more information, visit Glendronachdistillery.com. The Balvenie Twenty-Five The Balvenie, part of the William Grant & Sons portfolio, has launched the Rare Marriages Range, a new collection that introduces one new whisky and brings together two of the distillery’s ultra aged releases. The range marks the debut of The Balvenie’s new 25-year-old whisky ($800 a 750-ml.), a 48% abv single malt selected from American and European oak casks before…

Bursting with your Favorite Flavors In the last decade or so, enthusiasts have discovered the beauty of barrel-proof whisky. Sometimes known as "cask-strength," it’s exactly what it claims to be: whisky bottled straight from the barrel with no water added. Barrel-proof whisky is packed with aroma, flavor, and especially texture, with a chewy, almost oily mouthfeel. If you typically enjoy lower-proof whisky, these might sound too hot to handle, but you always have the ability to add water to cool it down a bit. To shop these whiskies & download tasting tools visit whiskyadvocate.com/tools.…

As cannabis legalization continues to move forward across the country, with more states regularly allowing for medicinal and recreational cannabis use, the platform for CBD-enhanced products behind the bar is growing. Federal prohibitions remain in place to prevent serving alcohol and fully loaded THC products in the same space, but cannabinoid offshoots like CBD, and now marijuana terpenes, are slowly being embraced in creative new ways by mixologists. “CBD has exploded in popularity and I truly believe the stigma of it being marijuana has largely diminished in recent years as people become more familiar with the benefits of CBD,” says Paige Nast, corporate beverage director and mixologist for Tap 42 Craft Kitchen + Bar, a chain of nine restaurants in southern Florida with strongholds around Miami and Fort Lauderdale. “We…