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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17 StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ January/February 2016 SCOTCH Retailers are justifi ably concerned about the subject. "In Scotch, producers are getting away from age designations, using fancy names for special bottling, which is a way to avoid having to say just how old the liquid is," says Smith at Sarasota Liquor Locker. He reasons, "When producers are running out of old whisky stocks, they have to be creative." "A lot of these special bottlings are mostly marketing," says Ryals at All Star, which means product knowledge is key. Some customers used whisky age statements to gauge quality, and now need more information. "It's important that we as retailers are educated about the products and communicate that to customers." All Star posts descriptive shelf talkers on every product. Sales staff regularly tastes new products. "Information is a powerful tool," Ryals says. "Ninety percent of our customers come in the door look- ing for us to educate them." MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Scotch whisky is an involved and complicated topic - hence the need for education and brand messaging to retailers, bartenders and consumers. Glenmorangie is continuing its "Unnecessarily Well Made" campaign, which depicts the extraordinary lengths needed to create the whisky. For retailers, Moët Hen- nessy USA offers large and small footprint displays, as well as a wide range of VAPs. "With single malt, 40% to 50% of purchases are for gifting," Balay says. The VAPs encourage customers to trade up: a 750ml of Glenmo- rangie Original is packed with two mini-bottles of the 12-Year-Old, so customers can taste the difference. For further education, customers can buy the Taster Pack with four 100ml sample bottles. Balay also says that, as the demographics of the Scotch drinker change, communication has to change too. "The average malt drinker is probably 44, but the growth is coming from those in their late twenties and early thirties. That will impact the type of messaging to consumers and type of media, moving away from print and TV into the digital space," he says. William Grant has created two new ad spots for Glenfi d- dich. One talks about William Grant building the distillery with help from his seven sons and two daughters; the other focuses on Sandy Grant Gordon, the uncle of the current chairman, who fi rst brought single malts to the U.S. back in 1963. The Balvenie brand builds on a reputation for hand- crafting, noting that the distillery grows and malts its own barley, and employs a coppersmith to keep the still in good repair. "It's anachronistic," Nash remarks. The company has entered into a partnership with TV personality Anthony Bourdain to create a web series called "Raw Craft," looking at craftsmen who still do things the old-fashioned way. The series has already garnered multiple millions of views. Crossing over into new territory is Glenfiddich 14-Year-Old Bourbon Barrel Reserve, launched last September. "Born in Scotland but has an American ac- cent," is its motto. After 14 years in old Bourbon casks, it's fi nished in custom-charred new oak barrels. Nash de- scribes the whisky as having notes of vanilla and caramel like Bourbon, but a fi nish and complexity of Scotch—he thinks that calling out "Bourbon" on the label will com- municate that. For its The Glenlivet brand, Pernod Ricard places em- phasis on exclusive tasting events for its Glenlivet Guard- ians members. "We have fantastic experiential programs such as The Glenlivet Nights of Passage that immerse consumers in the world of The Glenlivet," says Wayne Hartunian, VP, Scotch & Cognac. Beam Suntory spreads the word about its brands with well-versed ambassadors in the fi eld, who conduct in- store personnel training and participate in consumer events. "For off-premise accounts, we have high-end re- tail displays, window displays, and POS to premiumize our retail footprint and attract consumers," Patel says. For the peaty Laphroaig brand, a #OpinionsWelcome social campaign encourages drinkers of Laphroaig to share opinions – both good and bad – about the liquid. The hashtag has garnered a variety of taste descriptions about the whisky, ranging from "a burning hospital" to "my grandma's baking."