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.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/565520
American Whiskeys & Beer 48 Beverage Dynamics • September/October 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com BOURBON ISN'T HAVING ALL THE FUN AMERICAN WHISKEYS SHOW NO SIGNS OF SLOWING BY JACK ROBERTIELLO There may never have been a time like now in the long history of American whiskey. Bourbon, of course, is on fire, and distillers are now dealing with the scramble to create greater supply, an enormous change from the bad old days of the 80s and 90s when gimmicks and discounts sustained the category. But along with Bourbon have risen the other American whis- keys, especially Tennessee and most remarkably, rye. Add in the formidable presence of moonshine and flavored whiskies (and the steady performance of even blended whiskey) and there seems to be no end of good news for American whiskey makers and sellers. According to the Beverage Information & Insights Group, total American whiskey - Bourbon, straights and blends - jumped more than eight percent in 2014. Since 2009, rye whis- key volumes alone have grown 536 percent, from 88,000 9-liter cases to over a half million cases (561,000) in 2014, according to DISCUS. That equals into a 609 percent jump from about $15 mil- lion in supplier revenues in 2009 to over $106 million in 2014 (approx- imately $300 million in retail sales). Meanwhile, moonshine grew more than 12 percent, from 580,000 to 650,000 cases, last year. Of the 13 leading straight (non-Bourbon) American whiskeys, only three didn't show sales increases. Nu- merous blends also did well. And while the volume from so-called craft distillers is generally too small individually to count, in aggregate that niche is also growing at an impressive clip. TENNESSEE WHISKEY For the most part, Tennessee whiskey means Jack Daniel's (4.887 million cases in 2014, up 1.7 percent), although a renewed inter- est by Diageo in its American whiskey portfolio promises good things for the second-largest brand, George Dickel (162,000 cases, down 4.7 percent). Jack Daniel's has been introducing new iterations at a steady clip, with the recent high-end Sinatra Se- lection followed up with the nationwide release of Single Barrel Barrel Proof. Barrel Proof, ranging from 125 to 140 proof, is the second offering in the Single Barrel Collection after Single Barrel Select, a 94-proof single barrel whiskey. The new expression will be in regular but limited release, with the focus on higher-end inde- pendent stores showing success with Gentleman Jack or Single Barrel Select. "We see that Jack Daniel's has a long runway, and is making a great connection in today's con- sumer market," says John Higgins, Brown-Forman's North Ameri- can marketing director for Dan- iel's. "The brand has an incredibly strong following and the new ex- tensions of the brand are meeting the current flavor profile needs of new consumers and bringing them into the portfolio." LEADING BRANDS OF STRAIGHT & BLENDED WHISKEY, 2013-2014 (Thousands 9-Liter Cases) 13/14 Brand Type Supplier 2013 2014 % Change Jack Daniel's Straight Brown-Forman Beverages 4,805 4,887 1.7% Seagram's 7 Crown Blend Diageo 2,175 2,130 -2.1% Kessler Blend Beam Suntory 712 730 2.5% Early Times Straight Brown-Forman Beverages 558 531 -4.8% Gentleman Jack Straight Brown-Forman Beverages 287 312 8.7% Kentucky Deluxe Blend Heaven Hill Brands 295 302 2.4% McCormick Blend Blend McCormick Distilling 237 240 1.2% Beam's 8 Star Blend Beam Suntory 173 180 4.0% Heaven Hill Blended Whiskey Blend Heaven Hill Brands 160 163 1.9% George Dickel Straight Diageo 170 162 -4.7% Total Leading Brands 9,572 9,637 0.7% Source: The Beverage Information Group.