Market Watch October 2024

Our annual Hot Prospects list is out—a roll call of brands that have been showing high growth rates over the past three years. To qualify, Hot Prospect brands required at least 15% growth in 2023, as well as consistent growth in the prior two years. As prospects these are not big-volume players: their volumes must be between 50,000-100,000 cases for spirits, imported wines, and RTDs, and between 50,000-250,000 cases for domestic wine. In some cases, these brands are not new, but their sales are on a strong growth run over several years. In other cases, they’re new to the market, representing a sign of what’s to come. Close observers of the spirits scene won’t be surprised to see that of the 27 spirits brands making the list, 11 of them…

McConaughey Tequila Makes National Debut… Pantalones, the super-premium Tequila brand from Matthew and Camilla McConaughey and spirits entrepreneur Andrew Chrisomalis, has partnered with Southern Glazer’s for national expansion. The organic brand initially launched last October in Texas, California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada with Blanco ($40 a 750-ml.), Reposado ($45), and Añejo ($50) expressions. Now Pantalones is taking aim at a full national footprint. Pantalones sold tens of thousands of cases in its limited rollout, and will look to double growth in its first year of national availability. Napa Valley Tourism Climbing Back…. More than 3.7 million people visited America’s premier wine region last year, according to a recent economic study, and those visitors are becoming younger and more diverse. That’s good news for Napa Valley just four years after the…

Houston: Local Chef Unveils Upscale Restaurant And Speakeasy Popular Houston chef and restaurateur Levi Goode, whose family operates six venues in the Lone Star State under the Goode Company Restaurants banner, has opened his first standalone projects, debuting the upscale American concept Credence and the speakeasy Sidebar at Houston’s The McKinley at Memorial City. Both venues, located next to each other, opened in August. Credence celebrates South Texas, featuring dishes inspired by the state’s ranch culture and culinary traditions (entrées are $32-$220). The restaurant’s bar serves both seasonal and classic cocktails ($14-$17), along with wine and beer. Located next door, Sidebar has its own drinks list, spanning from a Paloma and Cosmo to the Village Idiot, made with Monkey Shoulder Scotch, black mushroom-infused Lustau East India Solera Sherry, La Cigarrera…

Bowmore Sherry Oak Collection & Appellations Islay single malt Scotch maker Bowmore, part of Suntory Global Spirits, is augmenting its core range with a Sherry Oak Collection, while also boosting its travel retail offerings with the cask-finished Appellations range. The Bowmore Sherry Oak Collection ($78-$534 a 750-ml.) will make its U.S. debut early next year in specialty whisky stores and luxury retailers, while Bowmore Appellations ($67-$500) will arrive in travel retail stores this month. Both sets of whiskies will also be available for purchase at Bowmore Distillery beginning in October. For more information, visit Bowmore.com. Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1 In the U.S., Suntory Global Spirits has announced Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1. The new release ($200 a 750-ml.) blends whiskeys made by the sixth, seeventh, and eighth…

From humble beginnings working at a pizzeria during high school to helping run a hip Manhattan cocktail bar, New Jersey native Izzy Tulloch has worked her way up the hospitality ladder. Following a post-high school barbacking stint, she landed her first bartending gig at a private dining club in 2013. “I mostly worked weddings my first year, but my boss really loved craft cocktails and would share books and insights,” she says. When the dining club’s downstairs bar was transformed into a cocktail lounge, Tulloch’s boss encouraged her to contribute to the cocktail menu and eventually she started teaching cocktail classes to club members. “He introduced me to how creative cocktails could be and a bartending future beyond the monotony of a banquet bar,” she says. Bolstered by her experience…

Each year, MARKET WATCH sister publication Impact Newsletter recognizes the wine and spirits industry’s fastest-growing smaller brands with its Hot Prospects honor roll, highlighting the ascendant labels poised to make their mark on the business in the years ahead. This year, a total of 66 brands from the wine, spirits, and RTD cocktail categories met Impact Databank’s criteria to earn honors. To qualify as Hot Prospects, brands must have achieved at least 15% depletions growth for 2023, while also showing consistent growth in the two preceding years. For spirits, imported wines, and RTDs, brand volumes must be between 50,000 and 200,000 cases, while domestic wines and RTDs must be between 50,000 and 250,000 cases. This year, 27 spirits brands earned Hot Prospects awards, including 12 agave spirits (11 Tequilas and…