Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2023 i Market Watch

When people think of Heaven Hill Brands, they see a traditional, family-owned company with strong ties to the Bourbon culture of its Bardstown, Kentucky home. While that part of the story is certainly true, there is far more here than meets the eye. As an independent player, the company does not have legions of investor relations professionals and quarterly profit worries of bigger, publicly traded companies. Heaven Hill goes at its own pace, like a distance runner calibrated to win the long race. And here it is, nearly 90 years since the founding, as diversified as a spirits company would want to be, with the third generation of leadership firmly in place. Amid the storms of industry consolidation over the decades, Heaven Hill might once have been considered a worthy…

For decades, total gin volume in the U.S., at least among the top ten brands by volume, has been trickling down. From a modern-day high of 11.74 million cases in 1995, gin landed at 9.19 million cases last year, according to Impact Databank—a volume loss of 2% from 2021. This translated to decreases for almost every major brand as well, some by double-digits. But that scenario misses the real picture: Super-premium brands are fanning the flames of growth, especially with flavored line extensions made from site-specific botanicals. Over the past seven years, the top ten super-premium gins have grown a collective 15.1%, reaching 1.19 million cases last year—up from just 361,000 cases in 2015. Increasingly, these super-premium brands are eyeing provenance, making gin a spirit that tells a story of…

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW By Laura Unterberg Ingredients: 1 ounce Aurora Manzanilla Sherry;1 ounce Patron Silver Tequila; ½ ounce Giffard Creme de Pamplemousse Rose pink grapefruit liqueur;¼ ounce Salers aperitif;Black lava salt. Recipe: In an ice-filled mixing glass, combine Sherry, Tequila, liqueur, and aperitif. Stir and strain into a black lava salt-rimmed Nick and Nora glass. SMOKE ON BLONDE By Abigail Gullo Ingredients: 1 ounce Valdespino Fino Inocente Sherry;1 ounce Lustau Amontillado Sherry;½ ounce Gonzalez Byass Noe 30-year-old Pedro Ximenez Sherry;1 ounce tepache liqueur1;4 chunks fresh cut pineapple;3-4 dashes Regans’ No. 6 Orange bitters;Spritz Del Maguey Tobala mezcal;Grapefruit peel;Pineapple rind. Recipe: In an Old Fashioned glass, combine the PX Sherry, bitters, and pineapple. Muddle together until the pineapple is broken down and mixed. Add the remaining Sherries and liqueur and…

GRAND MARTINY’S Ingredients: 1⅓ ounces Bombay Sapphire gin;1⅓ ounces La Cigarrera Manzanilla Sherry;⅓ ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur;⅙ ounce Kopke LBV 2016 Port;⅙ ounces Hine Rare VSOP Cognac;Grape. Recipe: In an ice-filled mixing glass, combine gin, Sherry, liqueur, Port, and Cognac. Stir and strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with a grape. TEA CEREMONY Ingredients: 1½ ounces Nikka Coffey Grain whisky;½ ounce Giffard white creme de cacao liqueur;1 ounce hot coconut water1;1 tablespoon matcha powder;Hana hojiso flower or shiso leaf. Recipe: In a bowl, whisk together matcha and coconut water, then set aside. In an ice-filled mixing glass, combine whisky and liqueur. Stir and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with matcha and coconut water mixture and stir. Garnish with a hana hojiso flower or shiso leaf. 1…

Gallo Bolsters RTD Stable…. Spirit of Gallo is adding to its RTD portfolio, announcing a deal to acquire Fishers Island Lemonade for an undisclosed sum. The 9% abv canned cocktail brand is made with barrel-aged whiskey and vodka and retails at $16 a 4-pack of 12-ounce cans. In addition to the flagship hard lemonade, its offerings include Fishers Island Half and Half and Fishers Island Pink Flamingo, both at 7% abv. The Fishers Island brand was founded by Bronya Shillo, whose family owned and operated The Pequot Inn on Fishers Island, New York. Fishers Island Lemonade is inspired by the signature house cocktail, the “FIL,” served for decades at The Pequot. The brand earned an Impact “Hot Prospect” award last year after climbing past 171,000 cases in 2021. “In the…

Diageo Distillers Edition 2023 Diageo has unveiled the 2023 Distillers Edition of single malt Scotch whiskies finished in a variety of barrels for secondary maturation. This year’s collection of six whiskies is sourced from the Lagavulin, Talisker, Cragganmore, Oban, Dalwhinnie, and Glenkinchie distilleries. The Lagavulin release ($125 a 750-ml.) is finished in Pedro Ximénez-seasoned casks and bottled at 43% abv. Oban’s entry ($95) is finished in Montilla Fino-seasoned casks and bottled at 43% abv. Talisker’s whisky ($85) is finished in Amoroso-seasoned casks before bottling at 45.8% abv. The Cragganmore release ($85) comes in at 40% abv and is finished in Port-seasoned casks. The final two whiskies, from Dalwhinnie ($90) and Glenkinchie ($85), are both bottled at 43% abv, with the former finished in Oloroso-seasoned casks and the latter in Amontillado-seasoned…

Former MARKET WATCH LEADERS Retailer of the Year Christian Navarro is leaving upscale retailer and restaurant Wally’s Wine & Spirits after a decades-long run to design high-end culinary experiences with the Oak View Group, a global sports and entertainment company. Navarro joined Wally’s in the early 1990s and eventually became president and principal, expanding the store from a neighborhood wine shop in Los Angeles into a three-unit hybrid retail and on-premise concept with $60 million in revenue across its locations in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, California and Las Vegas. With the Oak View Group, Navarro plans to up the ante on hospitality at top arenas and festivals around the world with a focus on curated menus featuring gourmet cuisine and fine wines and spirits. “I couldn’t feel more bullish…

At fine dining restaurant Providence in Los Angeles, environmental awareness is important throughout the menu. Sustainably sourced ingredients are paramount for the venue, and its bar is no exception. Providence bar director Kim Stodel works closely with the kitchen to incorporate items trimmed from the plate into the glass. “This way of working not only helps reduce food waste, it’s also economical and creates opportunities to come up with creative solutions for ‘undesirable’ parts of ingredients,” Stodel says. “This encourages a symbiotic relationship between the kitchen and bar. I make choices when it comes to spirit selection or style of beverage, but I like to leave the fruit and vegetable aspect up to the kitchen.” Providence routinely lists at least four drinks on its cocktail menu that include a sustainable…

Though he joined Heaven Hill more than 50 years ago to work alongside his father, Max Shapira is adamant that he’s never really worked because being at Heaven Hill has never felt like a job. The longtime president found passion and joy in the family business early on and maintained that level of excitement during his career. Now, as he’s transitioned to the new role of executive chairman and named his daughter Kate Latts and her husband, Allan, as co-presidents, Max has nothing but fond memories of his time at the helm of one of the country’s largest spirits purveyors. “The most important memory I have is seeing this organization grow with a group of dedicated individuals who have passion for this terrific industry and our business, and who’ve really…

Bryan Dayton, owner and beverage director of Corrida in Boulder, Colorado, believes that Sherry has been growing more popular in recent years thanks largely to two things: access and knowledge. “The top mixologists have been playing with Sherry for the last 15 years or so, which has made the category more accessible and less elusive,” he explains. “More educational opportunities have happened—and are happening—for Sherry and this is key to its success in the market. People understand it more now.” Wesley Jackson, manager at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba in Chicago, agrees with this assessment. “Of all the wines made in the world, Sherry may be the most unique, so knowledge of what it is and how to use it was lacking for a while, but with so much information available today, it’s…

Growing up in the wine business at Wente Vineyards, Niki Wente knew from an early age that she wanted to be involved in the family business and, specifically, in vineyard operations. “I love being outdoors; I love science and math and botany—basically plant health became one of those things that I just absolutely loved to investigate and explore at a very young age,” she says. “Going through college and taking winemaking classes as well as vineyard and viticulture classes, I developed a passion for wine and its whole form, from growth to bottle. Through my career, I’ve evolved to be able to make my own wine, which has been something that’s been really rewarding for me.” Theresa Heredia, director of winemaking at Gary Farrell Winery, came to winemaking in a…

Takuma Watanabe got his start in the bartending industry at Code Name Mixology in Tokyo in 2005, when he was just 20 years old. He learned the basics there for two years under the mentorship of mixologist Shuzo Nagumo, but it wasn’t until 2011, when he competed in the World Class Competition, that he began to make a name for himself in the cocktail world. Shortly after, he met Shingo Gokan, who at the time was the manager at the renowned Manhattan speakeasy Angel’s Share. Gokan quickly became another mentor to Watanabe. “He convinced me to move to New York City to further pursue my bartending career,” Watanabe says. Gokan did more than that: When Watanabe moved to the New York in 2013, a bartending job at Angel’s Share was…

If anything is constant in the India pale ale segment these days, it’s change. IPAs—the most popular style among craft beers—continue to evolve despite an overall slowdown in microbrew sales, with the emergence of new substyles, popular packaging, and a bevy of new brands. “The IPA boom hasn’t slowed down,” says Mikey O’Brien, craft beer buyer at High Spirits Liquors in Providence, Rhode Island. “For every pilsner we sell, we sell two IPAs.” Not surprisingly, New England-style hazy IPAs are the biggest driver for the segment at his store, O’Brien adds, pointing to releases from breweries like New York’s Finback and Other Half. The retailer estimates that High Spirits stocks hundreds of IPAs, generally priced $14-$17 a 4-pack of 16-ounce cans. Similarly, Dan Chacon, beer buyer at Denver’s Argonaut Wine…

On-Premise News: Mohari Acquires Tao Group Mohari Hospitality, owner of Four Seasons resorts in Costa Rica and Spain, among other luxury properties, has acquired Tao Group Hospitality from Madison Square Garden Entertainment Group in a deal that values Tao at $550 million. To secure Tao, Mohari bought out MSG’s majority stake as well as the shares of other investors and will now run Tao in partnership with Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, co-CEOs. While MSG is selling its stake in Tao, the companies will continue to work together, with Tao providing consulting services at both New York’s Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas’ Sphere. Distributor News: RNDC Acquires Young Won Trading Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) has acquired Young Won Trading, a distributor of Asian spirits, sake, wine, and beer…

Sazerac, the U.S. market’s second-largest spirits player in volume terms, has named Jake Wenz as president and CEO. Wenz will succeed longtime Sazerac chief executive Mark Brown, who is transitioning to the role of executive chairman. Wenz joined Sazerac in 2015 as COO, and in 2019 transitioned to become chief commercial officer. Prior to that he spent eight years with PepsiCo-Frito-Lay, rising to become region vice president in the Pacific Northwest. Infuse Spirits Group has announced Simon Burch as CEO. An industry veteran of two decades, Burch has held leadership positions at Pernod Ricard, Diageo, and Moët Hennessy, and most recently served as CEO of Charleston, South Carolina’s Green River Distilling. In his new role, Burch will oversee day-to-day operations at Infuse Spirits Group, which owns Broken Barrel Whiskey Co.…