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/599364
www.beveragedynamics.com November/December 2015• Beverage Dynamics 43 Brandy/Cognac BONUS PACKAGE The holiday stars are value-added packs (VAPs), those classy gift sets of a bottle and logoed glasses, mixing kits, flasks or other paraphernalia, along with limited-release brandies in fancy bottles in wooden boxes, metal tins or other ornate cases. The festive packaging stands out on shelves, in stacks and on floor displays, and calls out to customers at the checkout counter. For harried holiday shoppers, VAPs are an easy gift decision. No wonder then that many brandy producers have one or more entrants. Holiday packs from Copper & Kings American Brandy Co. include the Butchertown Bloody "Meatpack," which includes a bottle of brandy along with a pint glass to make a brandy Bloody Mary. "We also have a 'Hitchhiker' program, where a 50ml bottle will sidecar with a 750ml bottle," says owner Joe Heron. American Craft Brandy will come with a small bottle of Absinthe Banche and the absinthe will include a craft brandy 'hitchhiker.' Copper & Kings is supporting the VAPs with display racks and sampling in key stores. Also, the distiller just launched an American Apple Brandy aged in Bourbon barrels and sherry casks at 100 proof. For the holidays, the company will also launch a reserve cask Butchertown Brandy at 124 proof. Martell Cognac has released a VSOP gift set packaged with two snifters for the October-December period. But it's not holiday specific, says Brian K. Smith, senior brand manager, Cognac at Pernod Ricard. Also launching now to run through next June is The Vanguard Series, a partnership with legend- ary band The Roots. Taking place in key cities nationally, the six-part series includes live concerts, DJ shows, culinary events and, of course, samplings of Martell Cognac. "Gift packages are a way to get extra visibility during the very busy holiday period," notes Voin. Camus offers gift sets that include two glasses for its VS, VSOP and XO Cognacs. Each year the designs are different; this year they jibe with a new advertising campaign, called the Perfect Cognac Moment. The ads are fashion illustrations of party scenes at the Camus chateau in Cognac. Support for the gift sets includes in-store posters, case cards and ceiling hangers. The three facings when stacked together in the store create a com- plete image of the chateau in Cognac. In addition to magazine and online ads, in the Atlanta market, a bus wrapped with the campaign illustrations is a roving billboard. Camus also boasts a limited-edition VSOP Borderies, released on an annual basis. "That's a flagship product we will continue pushing into 2016 in the U.S.," says Voin. For its part, Hennessy has many items created especially for the year-end, unveiling new offerings for its X.O, V.S.O.P Privilège, and V.S expressions, accord- ing to executive vice president Rodney William. The Hennessy X.O gift box features elegant metallic printing and embossing on the box and a unique black label on the bottle. In partnership with British art director Peter Saville, Hennessy launched the limited-edition V.S.O.P Privilège collection called "Chroma;" the copper coloring and vibrant bottle design refers to an alembic still, and the gift box features a metallic red-copper design. The Hennessy V.S comes in a gold and black gift box with a festive quilted pattern. "We will be offering gift sets this holiday season that include our Cour- voisier VSOP cognac along with luxurious glassware, and recipe sugges- tions," says Shah at Beam Suntory. "A new marketing campaign brings to life collaborations between French and American artists, celebrating their stories and the immense passion that goes into their crafts," he adds. Details on the campaign were not available at press time. BD Spirits, the American subsidiary of the family-owned Cognac fi rm Camus. "The holiday season is big for Cognac. Courvoisier, and the category overall, see a much higher sales rate in the fourth quar- ter and we expect this year to be no exception," says Neil Shah, senior brand manager, Cognac at Beam Suntory. Domestic brandy fares well during the holidays, too. "The holidays are by far the most important time of the year for E&J, with over a third of annual sales coming from the fourth quarter," says Gerard Thoukis, senior director of marketing for E. & J. Gallo Spirits. Retailers echo that sentiment. "Cognac and brandies have a nice following around the holidays," says Jeff Kreston at Kreston Wine & Spirits, with two stores in the Wilmington, Delaware area. "It's a nice gift option if people don't know exactly what they are looking for. And they are usually in a good price range." DO THE NOG Holiday brandy purchases are not just for gifts, says retailer Kreston. Mixing up big batches of homemade brandy eggnog is a long-standing tradition in the Delaware area. "Folks buy the good stuff for their old family recipes," he says. "We special order some brandies and Cognacs around the holidays just for that purpose." Although Christian Brothers Brandy doesn't offer any VAPs or other holiday promotions, its seasonal Christian Brothers Holiday Nog is a big seller this time of the year, says Josh Hafer, communications manager at Heaven Hill Distilleries. "The brandy-based dairy nog is one of the best-selling nogs in the business," he adds. Heaven Hill also celebrates the season with Evan Williams Eggnog and recently introduced an Admiral Nelson Eggnog. The company supports stackings with case cards and counter displays by the register. "It is a great grab-and-go item," Hafer says. "With a price point of $7.99-$8.99, you add to your buy without defl ating the wallet too dramatically." "Besides the gift sets and snifters, we sell all different variations of brandy this time of year," notes Herlofsky, citing Christian Brothers Holiday Nog and E&J Cask & Cream Original Temptation Brandy Liqueur. NOT QUITE SCROOGED Not every producer is sold on selling the holidays, however. Some are opting out of the gift pack race and looking to make brandy less of a special-occa- sion buy and more of an everyday quaff. Pierre Ferrand Cognac, for example, is not plan- ning any holiday promotions or issuing any gift packs. Indeed, the brand is de-emphasizing that year-end bump. "We are try- ing to reduce high fourth quarter seasonality as much as pos- sible," explains Guillaume Lamy, vice president-Americas for Maison Ferrand. "Our Cognac volume sales used to be 60% during that time, now it's closer to 40%." Christian Brothers Brandy, too, has opted out of the fray. "For domestic brandies, those are year-round consumers," says Hafer.