Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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Additionally, in February Pernod Ricard USA will debut a new expression of Redbreast, a 12-year-old cask strength whiskey. "With relatively minimal sup- port over the years, Redbreast has been growing organically," noted Hartunian. "There is definitely a base of fans out there and that's expanding." For Tullamore Dew, 2011 marked the first year under new owner William Grant & Sons, Ltd. "As a broad-based spirit company, we desired to have an Irish whiskey in the portfolio because it's a very fast-grow- ing category and complements our Along with the rest of the Irish whiskey category, the Bushmills portfolio is also seeing increased sales. overall strategy," said Shane Hoyne, Tullamore Dew global brand director. "Tullamore Dew provided the perfect mix of a brand that is currently very successful with a strong base that had commercial market opportu- nities for William Grant. It is also a brand that we believed would have significant upside in the future," added Hoyne. To support its acquisition, William Grant rolled out a multi-million dollar global communications investment in the brand late last fall. Among the plans that William Grant has for its acquisition are the intro- duction of some premium expressions of Tullamore Dew over the next few years and the development of the 1800s distillery and barrel warehouse in Tullamore town into a visitors center. New, more modern and contem- porary packaging has also been designed, slated to appear on shelves in July. Appearing on the market this past year from Sidney Frank Importing Co. was a new expression of Michael Collins, a 10-year-old Single Malt, which is double-distilled in copper pot stills, from both malted barley and peated malted barley and matured in bourbon casks for a mini- mum of 10 years. Michael Collins Blended Irish Whiskey also boasts a new packaging design. Named for the leg- endary Irish independence hero, the new label features an iconic image of Collins on a bicycle, the Gaelic saying, "Is maith an scealaí an aimsir," meaning "time is a great story teller," and a note that the spirit is double distilled. The ever-innovating Cooley Distillery has released a number of new expressions of its four core brands, including the The Tryconnell in Sherry, Port and Madeira finishes as well as Kilbeggan 18-Year-Old and Greenore 18-Year-Old, imported by Sazerac. Cooley is also experimenting with batches of poteen (Irish moon- shine) and a Connemara whiskey, matured in a cask with the barrel ends made from bog oak, wood that's been petrified for thousands of years. Growing Up Strong A ll this innovation wouldn't be possible with- out strong category growth. Certainly the category's major players are bullish on Irish and are betting on continuing expansion. "For the past few years, Irish whiskey has been the fastest-growing spirits category, and that growth rate is accelerating," declared Hartunian at Pernod Ricard USA. The company's contender, Jameson is the catego- ry leader, at about 1.2 million cases. Hartunian cites Nielsen research, noting that according to the latest 52- week data, Irish whiskey growth is up 21%. "That's a huge increase," he continued. "It is a small category compared to vodka or rum but because it has been grow- ing so fast for such a long time, it has about doubled in size over the past four years. So the category is getting to critical mass, and it is one of the key drivers of growth for the industry, driving overall growth. The scale is starting to make an impact." Two other Pernod Ricard Irish brands are also far- ing well. Redbreast, a pure pot still Irish whiskey has been winning a number of accolades and fans. Hartunian cites Nielsen data for the past 12 months indicating the Redbreast brand's volume has increased 47% over the previous period. "The growth has been organic, with minimal marketing support." The company's Powers Irish Whiskey is also growing decently without much support; it's up 11%. "For any brand to be growing with such minimal support, especially in this market, is pret- ty impressive," declared Hartunian, who believes there is a lot of potential for additional growth for both brands. "In general we are really optimistic about the category and the brand," affirmed Yvonne Briese marketing director for Diageo North American Whisky and Irish. The company's entrant is Bushmills, which grew 3% over the fiscal year ending June 30. "The brand's been growing, and we see lots of opportunities in the market." "All indicators point to a good year for the category, that double-digit growth will continue," concurred Hoyne, Tullamore Dew global brand director. "We are happy with the perfor- mance of Tullamore Dew; it has exceed- ed our expectations in the first year fully owning the brand." Redbreast is due to release a new 12 Year Old cask strength whiskey in February. 20 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • January/February 2012