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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While its overall sales declined in 2011, Seagram's Gin is still the top-selling gin brand in the U.S., and it continues to cre- ate new alternatives, such as its latest Seagram's Pineapple Twisted Gin. with still-developing cocktail scenes, the use of gin in re-created and revamped classics is imminent," said Rusti Porter, marketing director for Anchor Distilling Company. Founder (and owner of Anchor Brewing Co.) Fritz Maytag crafted the American dry style, Junipero, in the mid- 1990s. Anchor also produces Genevieve, an American take on the Dutch genever style of gin. Retailers have noticed the cocktail con- nection. "Just like the tra- ditional cocktails, gin is also having a resurgence," reported Patti Robinson, owner of Heritage Wine & Liquor in Centennial, CO. "The bars are doing a terrific job introducing people to those cocktails, and then they want to make the drinks at home. Just in the past week, I've had two requests for a Ramos Gin Fizz recipe, prior to that I haven't had such a request in five years," the retailer pointed out. Reading the Statistics A quick glance at the statistics for gin category isn't initially inspiring. Sales and volumes for the total category were generally flat to down last year, but a closer look at what's really happening reveals a vibrant and exciting white spirit coming into its own. British-style punch cocktails are the focus of a summer promotional effort by Beefeater, like this Beefeater Garden Party Punch. Overall, the gin category's volume was down 2.0% in 2011, to 10.87 million 9-liter cases nationally, accord- ing to the Beverage Information Group's Handbook Advance 2012. [In the control states, overall gin sales were off 1.6%.] However, 2011 revenues were up a mod- est 0.1%, saved by impressive gains in the superpremium gin segment, up 27.9%, and a respectable 8.5% rise in the high-end premium segment, according to Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS); volumes also saw increases for those top-shelf segments, up 23.8% and 7.6%, respectively. "Overall gin revenue was flat because so much of the volume tends to be in the lower-priced segments, but the high-end and superpremium categories are up," explained David Ozgo, DISCUS' senior vice president StateWays s www.stateways.com s July/August 2012 S of economic and strategic analysis. Indeed, many of the leading brands showed declines in volume nationally during 2011, according to numbers from the Handbook Advance 2012. Older, value-priced brands such as Seagram's (-5.1%), Gordon's (-1.3%), Gilbey's (-3.5%), Burnett's (-5.3%, but up 1.1% in the control states) and Fleischmann's (-2.5) endured a tough market nationally last year. Relative newcomer to the value segment, New Amsterdam Gin from E.&J. Gallo also saw a dip in volume nationally of -7.4%, after a huge initial sales surge following its first two years on the market (though the brand recently saw sales increase in the control states by a hefty 8.3%). "The growth is in the high end because that's where there has been a lot of brand development. As long as those top segments are doing well, it bodes well for gin overall," pointed out economist Ozgo. "In general, the category continues to remain flat, but we are certainly seeing some significant growth within the superpremium segment, there have been a lot of new entrants into the cat- egory, which always bodes well for the health of the category," noted Puente at Pernod Ricard USA. Retailers would agree. "My cus- tomers are reaching higher on the shelf for gin," said Robinson at Heritage Wine & Liquor, where the biggest vol- ume is from the pricier gins. Top-selling skus are Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray and Beefeater. On the lower-priced tiers, Gordon's, Gilbey's and New Amsterdam are the players. "People who are not traditionally gin drinkers are still willing these days to spend $25 to $30 on a 750 ml of a new and unique gin," the retailer said. The Changing Customer ome of the new wave of gins, with their unusual blends of botanicals that go far beyond juniper, is intriguing a different consumer than the old Gin & Tonic crowd. These new fans tend to be younger and tapped into cocktail culture and the foodie scene, with a thirst for the new and novel. Hendrick's, imported from Scotland, continues to be one of the well- known superpremium-priced gins that emphasize a lighter juniper flavor profile. 37