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StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ September/October 2015 32 WHISKEY / MOONSHINE fi rst major marketing initiative. "The rate of growth has slowed somewhat and we de- cided it was time to create a really great marketing cam- paign to build both the category and our brand," says Meg Bruno, head of marketing for Ole Smoky, which offers 20 varieties (the biggest sellers being 40 proof blackberry and apple pie and the 100 proof cherry and white lightning). "The category still needs to prove itself; we're still the new kid on the block and retailers who took in multiple brands may have seen it slow. Now they need more sup- port from brands," she adds. Joe Michalek, president of Piedmont Distillers, maker of Catdaddy as well as Midnight Moon, says the tipping point was the inclusion of fl avors in 2007, and as interest in moonshine TV programs. As fl avored spirits and other cultural infl uences grew, so did moonshine. "Now that there are about 75 brands with about 125 SKUs at a minimum, and some competitors with signifi - cant resources out there, we're seeing a lot of interest," he says. "We have close to a 50 percent share of white whiskey and a fairly loyal franchise out there with Midnight Moon, but we're in a proverbial street fi ght at retail. I think this will all shake out in the next 18 to 24 months and we'll get back down to the number of brands and offerings refl ective of the volume, because right now there are more brands than there is demand for this segment of spirits." Midnight Moon's leader is also apple pie, with almost 50 percent of the brand's business, but as Michalek says, "How many apple pie moonshines does a retailer actually need?" Flavored whiskey Flavored whiskeys are unlikely to reach the level of vari- ety that vodka achieved, but new fl avors are still coming. Jim Beam has just introduced a green apple version, join- ing Beam Suntory's Red Stag black cherry and spiced, Jim Beam maple and Kentucky Fire and Knob Creek's Smoked Maple (the main super-premium fl avored whiskey). "If you're the biggest Bourbon producer out there, you have to play in all the spaces," says Beam Suntory's Harris. "We put things like green apple fl avored whiskey out there for people who want it." But Beam also included last year in their Beam Signature Craft series a limited edition fi nished with Oloroso sherry and Spanish brandy. "It was not a barrel fi nish but a liquid fi nish, and you could honestly say it was a fl avored whis- key," he adds. One of the fl avored whiskey success stories among new suppliers is Bird Dog. Jon Holecz, vice president, market- ing for brand owner Western Spirits, says the brand will pass 250,000 cases this year, up from 28,000 three years ago. Its fl avor line has just added spiced and jalapeno honey to a portfolio that started with blackberry, peach, hot cinnamon, maple, apple, chocolate and a peppermint moonshine (a straight Bourbon completes the line.) Apple sells best, with peach and blackberry not too far behind. "Retailers are still very accepting of our fl avors, although we may be reaching a plateau in the category," Holecz says. "Retailers now want more and are constantly asking for tastings and samplings to help drive it out the door." Bird Dog isn't the only player in the spicey-sweet sweep- stakes. Flavored whiskey pioneer Wild Turkey, which launched a honey fl avor in the 1970s, now offers American Honey Sting, spiked with the infamously hot ghost pepper. Heaven Hill, which has done very well with the Evan Williams fl avored line, has recently added Raven's Lace. It's designed to appeal to a female base, says Kass, who points out that while fl avored whiskies do attract some women, the larger consumer segment is young males. To that end, Evan Williams has added peach to the line that includes honey, cherry and fi re and two seasonals, cider in fall and eggnog in holiday. "Our fl avor franchise is really, really strong, and a lot of the fl avor growth has moved over from white spirits to whiskies. There's a lot of interest and growth there and we are certainly benefi t- ing from it. But I don't expect many cupcakes or whipped creams - there will be a slower, more deliberate innovation to package fl avors that work well with whiskeys," he says. Blended whiskey While long-time blended whiskey category leader Sea- gram's 7 faltered last year (down 2.1 percent to 2.130M cases), other brands in the top tier showed growth - Kes- sler (up 2.5 percent to 730,000 cases), Kentucky Deluxe (up 2.4 percent to 302,000 cases), McCormick Blend (up 1.1 percent to 240,000 cases), and Beam 8 Star (up 4 percent to 180,000 cases). The leading blends accounted for more than four million cases sold all told, nothing to sneeze at and a sign that this portion of the whiskey market seems to have stabilized. "Purely because of the halo of whiskey itself, even blended whiskey is catching more eyes than it used to," Kass says. Concludes Beam Suntory's Harris, "The whiskey boom has certainly brought attention to all the suppliers, big and small, of all kinds - not just those in Kentucky but all across the country. The challenge now will always be having enough whiskey." JACK ROBERTIELLO is the former editor of Cheers magazine and writes about beer, wine, spirits and all things liquid for numerous publications. More of his work can be found at www.jackrobertiello.com.