StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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21 StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ January/February 2015 marketers. "We're really bullish on the Canadian cate- gory, at all levels," says Kevin Richards, marketing direc- tor, whiskey and specialty brands for Sazerac, which sells Rich & Rare, Canadian LTD, Canadian Hunter, Caribou Crossing Single Barrel and the recently-launched Legacy Small Batch Canadian Whisky. "It is a category that had a tremendous heyday not very long ago and we're inspired to bring the category back to those exciting times. To that end we have a number of new products in develop- ment (can't be specifi c about any just yet) and look for- ward to showcasing them in the coming years." The category continues to expand O ther new products have been trickling into the market. In the past year, Diageo unveiled a new fl avored exten- sion to Crown Royal, Regal Apple, a blend of Crown Royal infused with fl avors from Regal Gala apples. The 70-proof product joins 2012 entry Maple Finished in the Crown Royal fl avor portfolio. The brand also in the past few years has added Crown Royal XO, an ultra premium blend of the fi nest 50 Crown Royal whiskies; and the 75th Anniversary Monarch Blend, a limited-edition offering that celebrates the 1939 visit to North America of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (and founding of the brand). Van Gogh Imports introduced TAP Rye Sherry Fin- ished, an 8-year-old Canadian rye whisky blended with Spanish Amontillado Sherry (a companion to TAP 357 Maple rye and Canadian Rye whiskies). And Sazerac launched Rich & Rare Caramel Canadian Whisky in the middle of 2014, the brand's fi rst fl avor entry. Black Velvet has been working on an eight-year-old expression to push forward next year, and while Canadian Club 100% Rye and Canadian Club Maple are available in Canada, Beam Suntory is currently focusing on Canadian Club 1858, Ca- nadian Club Reserve, Canadian Club Classic 12 Year-Old, and Canadian Club Small Batch Sherry Cask in the U.S. Flavors have generated a lot of interest among most Ca- nadian producers. "After carefully looking at whisky and fl avored specialty spirit trends in the U.S., we decided to introduce four Canadian Mist fl avors," says brand man- ager for Brown-Forman, Pedro Berrueco. "Our intent is to provide consumers with a new and exciting brown spirit experience, blending Canadian Mist with its well- known clean and smooth taste without the harsh fi nish or bite with liquor-based fl avors. This combination will pro- vide an unexpected taste experience, especially for 21- to 29-year-old consumers who may be looking to start enjoy- ing Canadian Mist but have the tendency to search for fl a- vored products." The fl avor line extension includes Peach Mist, Maple Mist, Cinnamon Mist and Vanilla Mist. While Canadian has sold steadily in solid markets like the Upper Midwest, its performance hasn't been uniform; Robertie says she's seen a dip. "In the past year, I have noticed a decline in sales in the entire Canadian category. From 2012-13, Canadian whis- kies amounted to eight percent of our total whiskey sales, compared to fl avored whiskeys at 12 percent, and domestic leading the category at 40 percent. From 2013-14, Cana- dians have fallen to less than six percent in the category, whereas fl avored has increased slightly to 13 percent, and domestics maintain 40 percent." She points out that in her market, the resurgence of American whiskey, (especially fl avors), has diminished interest in Canadian whiskies. Time to differentiate O ne of the reasons Canadian has been lagging the other whiskies in growth may be its modesty, suggests Rich- ard McLeod, Brand Director, North American Whisky for Pernod Ricard. "I think that we have to start beating our chest a little more about our quality, what makes us different and how we stack up against the rest of the world," he says. "Globally speaking, over the last 10 to 15 years we have seen [most] of the major whisky producing regions in the world stand up and actively support their whisky export business. It is time for Canada to get involved and show the world that we really do make incredible liquid as good as any being made by our colleagues in those countries. We have as much fl exibility in the maturation and blending process as anyone, which gives us greater freedom to express different taste profi les for the consumer to enjoy." Each nation has specifi c rules for whiskey-making and naming, but Canada's can be confusing to an American. For instance, what can be bottled as rye whisky in Canada wouldn't meet U.S. standards, in that in this country a rye must be made with at least 51 percent of that grain as a component of the spirit. In Canada, a mostly corn spirit that gets small amounts of fl avorful rye added to the blend can be called rye. While all Canadian whiskies include some rye, it's primarily used as a "fl avoring whisky," adding a peppery punch to the Crown Royal Regal Apple, Monarch, and XO, Collingwood and Pike Creek