Market Watch December 2021

Few people remember it now, but there was a time in our industry—and other consumer goods sectors as well—when the concept of the brand was considered an old-fashioned anachronism, bound for the scrapheap of history. That sentiment was triggered by an incident in 1993 called Marlboro Friday, when tobacco giant Philip Morris slashed the price of its most famous brand in order to compete against generic cigarette products. The doomsday chorus went to full volume. Brands were now officially a phenomenon from a bygone era, these so-called experts told us. Brands of all types would soon go the way of the horse and buggy, to be replaced by the efficiency and affordability of generic goods. As usual, the experts got it wrong. Since 1993, we’ve seen great brands be nurtured…

RNDC Enters New York…. Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) is set to enter the New York market via a partnership with existing New York distributor Opici Family Distributing. The two companies signed a letter of intent to create an equal partnership in New York, expected to launch in the first quarter of 2022. RNDC ranks as the secondlargest wholesaler in the U.S. overall, with projected 2021 revenues of $12.5 billion. Also this year, the company announced its expansion into Illinois, as well as into five new control states. With New York, it will have a footprint of 38 states plus Washington D.C. Opici recently sold its Florida distributing business to RNDC for an undisclosed sum, naming RNDC the distributor of its import portfolio across Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and…

Venice Beach, CA: Hawaiian Izakaya Celebrates Surf And Tiki Culture Inspired by the Venice Beach boardwalk and rooted in the 1970s, Belles Beach House brings Hawaiian Izakaya fare and Tiki bar culture to the mainland. The venue opened in October in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood and is managed by Wish You Were Here Group. Its cocktail menu spans classics like the Moscow Mule, Margarita, and Old Fashioned and has a full roster of tropical tiki drinks, from a Mai Tai to signatures like the Perfect Storm, made with Bacardi Superior rum, Angostura Aromatic bitters, lime juice, açai sorbet, and mint, and the Monsoon Season, mixing La Luna Cupreata mezcal, Cocchi Americano Rosa liqueur, and Heirloom Liqueurs Pineapple amaro. The bar also pours a handful of drinks on draft and…

George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend Diageo’s George Dickel has teamed up with Colorado craft distiller Leopold Bros. to create the George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend, a new blend of rye whiskies. The 50% abv whiskey ($110 a 750-ml.) brings together Leopold Bros. Three Chamber rye (named for the type of still used to distill it) and George Dickel’s column still rye whiskey. The George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend is rolling out now in limited quantities in select markets across the U.S. For more information, visit Georgedickel.com. Clyde May’s Whiskeys Conecuh Brands is introducing four new expressions under its Clyde May’s Whiskey label. They include: Clyde May’s Single Barrel Straight Bourbon 5-Year-Old ($50 a 750-ml.); Special Reserve Straight Bourbon 6-Year-Old ($60); 13-Year-Old Cask Strength Alabama…

Shistory journal to track what workseveral years ago, whisk(e)y destination Sanfords Restaurant in Astoria, New York added a barrel-aged Manhattan to its signature drinks menu. The cocktail was designed to highlight the concept’s upscale brown spirits program and hopefully attract mature and adventurous drinkers. It has since become a fixture at the bar and is now joined by a full roster of other barrel-aged drinks all crafted using an elaborate system at the venue. Sanfords bar manager, Ali Sorensen, says the original barrel-aged Manhattan has been among the venue’s topper forming cocktails for the last six years. “Our guests love a barrel aged cocktail,” Sorensen says. “We added the barrel aged Sanfords Manhattan when we renovated in 2015 and it’s been our best-selling stirred drink to date. Our customers are…

While much has changed in the drinks business over the past year and a half, the annual gathering of industry titans at the Impact Marketing Seminar hasn’t skipped a beat, taking place for the 45th straight year. The industry’s top players convened at The Pierre in New York City on September 29 for a packed program at the sold out event, hosted by M. Shanken Communications chairman Marvin R. Shanken. This latest edition of the Seminar featured presentations from top executives across wine, spirits, distribution, retail, fine dining, and the emerging cannabis industry. Opening the festivities, Shanken paid tribute to the 416 speakers who’ve addressed the Seminar over its 45 years, observing that in many ways they represent the history of the industry itself. In particular, he highlighted the many…