Innehållsförteckning för September 2023 från Market Watch

There are planning models of 30-year product cycles in the spirits business, which can be used to tell when a particular boom will end. Those predictive models were used (largely after the fact) for imported vodka. For Bourbon, we know that we’re well past the beginning of the boom, but precisely how far past it isn’t quite as clear. But Bourbon and American whiskey have certainly taken a remarkable ride in the 2000s, and that run has now prompted a variety of doomsday prognostications suggesting that the end is nigh. The reality on the ground tells a different story. Despite some worries about the next generation, new enthusiasts are pouring into the category. Demand for whiskey knowledge is on the rise—look no further than the robust tourism numbers on the…

Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate (2023 Edition) Highland single malt Scotch whisky Glenmorangie, part of the Moët Hennessy portfolio, is debuting the third release in its Cadboll series in the U.S. Aged for 15 years, the third batch of Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate ($100 a 750-ml.) is chill-filtered and bottled at 43% abv. Each release in the series is grown on the distillery’s own barley fields located on the Cadboll Estate. This edition was aged in Bourbon casks with a small portion finished in casks that previously held Amontillado sherry. It is rolling out to specialty whisk(e)y shops. For more information, visit Glenmorangie.com. Old Pulteney Coastal Series: Pineau des Charentes Old Pulteney single malt Scotch whisky is launching a new Coastal Series in the U.S. The first in the limited series…

Breakthru Bolsters Fine Wine Division…. Breakthru Beverage Group is rolling out its Aspect Fine Wine division in several new markets. Breakthru launched Aspect in Missouri in July. Additionally, in the mid-Atlantic markets of Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., the company is boosting its fine wine business by integrating its Bacchus Importers affiliate, which it acquired in 2017. The moves come as Breakthru reports that Aspect is seeing double-digit revenue growth in key markets including Illinois, Florida, and Arizona, and says it’s outperforming industry sales across the ultrapremium, luxury, super-luxury, and icon wine categories. The company’s Aspect portfolio includes offerings from Duckhorn, Moët Hennessy, Wilson Daniels, Gallo, Constellation, Treasury Wine Estates, Silver Oak, Copper Cane, Kobrand, Hess Persson, Santa Margherita, J Lohr, and Fetzer, among others. “In less than three years…

Tequila may be giving it a run for its money these days, but vodka remains the top choice for most U.S. bar consumers thanks to its wide appeal. “Vodka has been a staple for centuries; it’s a favorite among old, young, and new drinkers, and seasoned bartenders alike,” notes Victoria Pringle, hospitality manager at The Woodall in Atlanta. “But why, when so many other spirits are in demand because of their flavor, depth, and color, do we still always gravitate back to vodka? I believe it’s the crisp, clean, neutral taste. It literally lends itself to everything.” Even craft cocktail spots known for their more adventurous drinks feature vodka on their menus, Pringle adds. “Many bartenders feature vodka in weird and funky drinks since it’s so easy to play with…

Despite the overall volume decline of the U.S. beer market, competition from spirits, and the category’s difficulty appealing to emerging legal drinking age (LDA) consumers, a number of brands posted impressive rates of growth last year and demonstrated that with the right product attributes and marketing, share gains are achievable. Impact’s “Hot Brands” for beer, cider, and flavored malt beverages (FMBs) comprise a mix of returning labels and first-time honorees, all of which dramatically outperformed the at-large beer category last year and brought excitement to marketers, distributors, retailers, and consumers alike. Hot Brand honors are awarded to established brands with double-digit growth in 2020, 2021, and 2022; established brands with at least 15% growth last year; brands among the top ten in their respective categories with at least 5% growth…

Tiago Amaral’s hospitality history spans the country, from working his first job as a busser in Boston in the early 2000s to a server in San Diego in 2007 to a winemaker and bartender at Solterra Winery in Encinitas, California in 2012. But in 2015, after a move to Boulder, Colorado, he homed in on his current passion: mixology and cocktail creation. “I met my mentor, Ben Foote, at Emmerson Restaurant and he taught me the real art of mixology,” Amaral says. “I began buying cocktail books and traveling around the world to perfect my career as a mixologist. I may not have always worked in one style of venue but I’ve been in the food and beverage industry for over 20 years and a bartender for more than ten.”…

The bartenders who embrace mezcal are a passionate bunch. Though there are vastly less mezcal-focused bars around the country compared to the myriad venues that highlight Tequila, these bars are thriving thanks to their dedicated leaders, who have an unwavering appreciation for Mexico’s other significant agave export. Mezcal aficionados are on a mission to increase consumer awareness and education for the spirit and its Mexican heritage. “We opened a mezcal bar out of passion for the spirit and because nobody in our area had done it justice,” says Shad Kvetko, owner of the Dallas mezcaleria Las Almas Rotas. “We knew going into this that it would be a challenge to open with a spirits-focused program in a cocktail-driven city like Dallas, especially one that highlighted a relatively obscure spirits category.…

On-Premise News: Robert Mondavi Winery Opens Hospitality Experience Constellation’s Robert Mondavi Winery has opened Arch & Tower, a new hospitality experience in the historic Borreo building in downtown Napa. Arch & Tower is open Wednesday through Sunday, with a limited number of appointments available each day. It will offer four different tasting and culinary menus including The Legend Lunch, Napa Exploration, The Taste of To Kalon, and The Golden Hour. The opening coincides with a multi-year renovation of the brand’s winery on Highway 29. Off-Premise News: Seattle Retailer Debuts Check-Out Free Location Seattle retailer Downtown Spirits is opening a new 4,200-square-foot location with a checkout-free shopping experience powered by Amazon Just Walk Out technology. Guests enter the store using the Downtown Spirits app at the front door. The technology detects…

For more than a decade Chilean wine hasn’t been able to find a seat at the table in the U.S. wine market. Chile hit its peak in 2010 at 7.21 million 9-liter case depletions, and while the numbers bounced up and down for a few years, volumes have been steadily declining since 2015, according to Impact Databank. For eight years, brands have been working to reestablish Chile in the imported wine space, but have struggled to capture consumer interest. Part of the overarching problem plaguing Chilean wine is that brands historically flooded the U.S. market with high quantities of low-end wines, focusing more on value and selection than quality. Roughly 40% of the wine Chile exports to the U.S. falls within the value price tier, and producers are working hard…

After a recent blind tasting of 15 different olive juices, select bar executives at the 20-location Mastro’s Restaurants chain landed on Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice as its brand for use in a variety of drinks. When the team was looking for a prickly pear option, a similar process prompted the adoption of Reàl Prickly Pear Puree Infused Syrup insto the portfolio. And after much searching for the perfect turmeric flavor, the team latched on to a newly launched Monin Golden Turmeric syrup, which “just blew us away,” according to Anna Orton-Pujol, director of training for wine and spirits at Mastro’s. For years, Mastro’s has embraced the stream of premium mixers making inroads into the U.S. market. “We’ve been using more luxury non-alcoholic ingredients,” says Orton-Pujol. “As our brand has…

APPLE TIKI Ingredients: 2 ounces Deviation Spice Trade gin;½ ounce John D. Taylor’s Velvet falernum liqueur;¼ ounce St. Elizabeth allspice dram;1 ounce The Perfect Purée caramelized pineapple;1 ounce lemon juice;1½ ounces homemade or store bought applesauce; Dehydrated apple slice, flamed cinnamon stick, and cinnamon sugar. Recipe: In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, falernum, allspice dram, pineapple purée, lemon juice, applesauce, and one ice cube. Shake vigorously and pour into a tiki glass filled with pebble ice. Add a dusting of cinnamon sugar on top, plus a flamed cinnamon stick and dehydrated apple slice. ZOMBIE Ingredients: 1½ ounces Deviation Citrus Rosé gin;1½ ounces Deviation Blood Orange gin;1 ounce Deviation Barrel Aged Spice Trade gin;½ ounce John D. Taylor’s Velvet falernum liqueur;⅛ teaspoon Herbsaint or Pernod anise liqueur;¾ ounce lime juice;½ ounce…

Polarizing. That’s the term beer marketers and retailers use when describing consumer response to smoked beer, the traditional German beer style that’s been revitalized by some craft brewers in recent years. “Consumers of smoked beers are part of a wildly passionate niche,” says Rob Day, vice president of marketing at Framingham, Massachusettsbased Jack’s Abby Brewing, producer of the year-round Smoke & Dagger smoked black lager. But other consumers—who may be sensitive to the style’s characteristic smoke flavor—aren’t fans. Smoked beers are U.S. brewers’ interpretation of rauchbier, the centuries-old beer style that resulted from the common practice of drying malted grain by sun or open wood flame, imparting a rich, smoky flavor to the beer. The creation of the drum kiln in the early 1800s allowed maltsters to better control the…

WES Brands, owner of Mark Wahlbergbacked Flecha Azul Tequila and BSB Flavored Whiskey, has named former Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits president Shelly Stein chairman of its advisory board. The move follows Stein’s July retirement as president of Southern Glazer’s. Stein will continue to serve as an advisor to Southern Glazer’s board of managers and remain CEO of Glazer’s Beer and Beverage. He will also continue to serve on the board of advisors for Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits. Stoli Group has named Chris Caldwell as global CEO and Mark Federighi as president for North America. Caldwell, who has served as Stoli’s CFO the past three years, came to the group after driving the turnaround of U.K. beverage business Enotria & Coe. He has also held senior positions in Americana Foods,…