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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Pyrat XO Reserve is one of the smaller, high-end sipping rums that are making inroads in the market. rum brands - Admiral Nelson's and Blackheart – the company will look to divide the consumer cohort further, with Blackheart aimed at a younger, edgier crowd interested in a bold, higher-proof style, and Admiral Nelson for consumers in their mid- to late-twenties and others in the forties looking for a high-quality rum at a reasonable price, according to Hannah Venhoff, brand manager, Admiral's Nelson's Rum and Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum. For Admiral Nelson's, there will be an expansion of flavor offerings that build on spiced rum. "Initially, we have introduced Cherry Spiced flavor. But flavor offer- ings will not be to the extent that you see with other spirits categories. Rather, we expect flavors that align with the spice flavoring," she said. Special Rums M ost brand reps agree, in the words of McCann at Malibu, "that the premium and super premi- um sectors will start to see more growth as con- sumers look for aged and boutique rums." For smaller brands like Pyrat, that means relying on word-of-mouth backed by targeted marketing initiatives in key markets and social media outreach. Even super-premium brands offered by major suppli- ers – Diageo's Zacapa, for instance – must drive distribu- tion and engage consumers in sampling opportunities to show how rich and well-crafted they can be, said Herbst. Appleton's Levine says the premium category is filled with opportunities to develop consumer interest and that once engaged, they want to discover and explore more. With four iterations - Appleton VX, Reserve, 12 and 21 Year Old rums operating in the pre- mium and above sub-category - educational materials, like a planned interactive kiosk display employing iPads and proprietary software, are key to spurring interest. "We've been saying it for years, but I think the rum category is going to change drastically and we're all going to benefit from that," he said, and as if to spur that along, Appleton just marked the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence with the release of Appleton 50 Year Old rum, a product unusual in the rum world, with only 70 bottles priced at around $5,000 each making it to the U.S. SW With a superpremium portfolio, Appleton Estate Jamaican Rums have always appealed to the rum connois- seur; now the brand is releasing a spe- cial, very limited edition, ultra-high- end Appleton 50 Year Old to mark the 50th year of Jamaican independence. LEADING BRANDS OF RUM IN THE CONTROL STATES (9-Liter Cases) Brand Supplier Bacardi Captain Morgan Malibu Castillo Admiral Nelson Monarch Cruzan Sailor Jerry Aristocrat World Famous Total Leading Brands Others Bacardi USA Diageo Pernod Ricard USA Bacardi USA William Grant & Sons Heaven Hill Distilleries Charles Jacquin et Cie Heaven Hill Distilleries Hood River Distillers Beam Inc. Total Rum in the Control States Source: Beverage Information Group Data from NABCA data. * 12-month rolling data from first quarter 2012 StateWays s www.stateways.com s July/August 2012 4,933,620 1,086,209 6,019,829 1,797,912 1,663,261 309,967 314,916 210,954 180,165 135,069 118,234 107,981 95,161 2011 4,960,339 1,157,097 6,117,436 1,796,302 1,664,721 323,178 297,853 219,573 180,630 151,150 130,618 107,127 89,187 2012* % Chg -0.1% 0.1% 4.3% -5.4% 4.1% 0.3% 11.9% 10.5% -0.8% -6.3% 0.5% 6.5% 1.6% 27