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 it saw decreased sales last year, the competitively-priced New Amsterdam is still the fifth best-selling gin in the U.S., with sales nationally of 750,000 cases after only four years on the market. In the control states, the brand actually saw a sales increase of 8.3%. "There exists an increased sophistication about the modern consumer, whom we have witnessed seeking out spirits with greater provenance and complexity," noted Jo Birkitt, Hendrick's senior brand manager, William Grant & Sons. Adding roses and cucumber to its botanicals, Hendrick's Gin was among a new wave of boutique gins. The Scottish gin is batch distilled and packaged in an attention- catching apothecary-style bottle. "We're pleased to lead a gin renaissance that attracts gin newcomers as well as consumers who have previously tried and left the gin category because they have not been satisfied with their previous experiences," Birkitt added. "With Beefeater, where our customer has historical- ly been a little bit older, younger consumers are much more interested in the gin category and wanting to learn about different cocktails and doing a lot at home cre- ation," said Puente. "The tide is turning and we are see- ing 25- to 35-year-olds starting to gravitate towards gin more than they have in the past." "With a few of new gins, we are tapping into a whole new target group of younger consumer, some- thing that some of the older brands have been unable to do," says Tal Nadari, managing director U.S.A. for Lucas Bols U.S.A. Inc. Genever 1820 was a new concept in gin when Bols introduced it to American consumers three years ago, and bartenders have embraced it. The Dutch spirit is a forerunner of the English dry style; genever has a sweet malty character from its grain base and a pronounced juniper accent. "Genever was the original cocktail spirit back in the 1800s," notes Nadari. "There is a consumer demographic overlap between craft spirits and craft beer," believes August Sebastiani, president of 35 Maple Street, the spirits division of Sonoma-based The Other Guys. "Anecdotally, I think the demographic tends to be younger, a foodie and liv- ing in hip urban settings." Stirring Up Interest ueling sales growth in the gin category are the new products that stir interest both on- and off-premise. These tend to be high-end introductions that get a lot of ink from print and bloggers. F "Over the past five or six years, we have seen an explosion of new brands," comments David Bromige, co-founder of Martin Miller's Gin. Launched back in 1999, the brand led the way in boutique gins; juniper and other botanicals are distilled separately and then blended with pure spring water in Iceland. "The category was unbelievably different back The Tanqueray brand is focusing its marketing efforts on its successful "Tonight We Tanqueray" platform throughout 2012. LEADING BRANDS OF GIN IN THE CONTROL STATES (9-Liter Cases) Brand Supplier 2011 2012* % Chg Seagram's Gin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pernod Ricard USA . . . . . . . . .685,477 . . . . . . 653,855. . . . . . . . . -4.6% Tanqueray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diageo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328,171 . . . . . . 323,503 . . . . . . . . . -1.4% Gordon's Gin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diageo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195,666 . . . . . . 190,042. . . . . . . . . -2.9% Bombay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bacardi USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181,338. . . . . . . 188,585 . . . . . . . . . 4.0% Gilbey's Gin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beam Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160,346. . . . . . . 153,205. . . . . . . . . -4.5% New Amsterdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E & J Gallo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117,204 . . . . . . 126,960 . . . . . . . . . 8.3% Beefeater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pernod Ricard USA . . . . . . . . . . .113,186 . . . . . . . 112,686 . . . . . . . . -0.4% Burnett's White Satin Gin . . . . . . .Heaven Hill Distilleries . . . . . . . .97,248 . . . . . . . 98,293 . . . . . . . . . . 1.1% Aristocrat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Heaven Hill Distilleries . . . . . . . .78,623 . . . . . . . 76,787. . . . . . . . . -2.3% Barton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sazerac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71,562 . . . . . . . . 73,918 . . . . . . . . . 3.3% Total Leading Brands Others 2,028,821 556,559 Total Gin in the Control States Source: Beverage Information Group Data from NABCA data. * 12-month rolling data from first quarter 2012 38 StateWays s www.stateways.com s July/August 2012 1,997,834 546,520 2,585,380 2,544,354 -1.5% -1.8% -1.6%