The latest release from Rémy Martin is the brand’s new Rémy Martin XO Night Cognac.
This is meant to tap into the drinking occasion of nightlife and night-time celebrations.
Rémy Martin XO Night comes in a mirrored black decanter. Its signature solarised shape is meant to “radiate light from every angle,” the company says, furthered by “holographic flashes and UV details.”
To back this launch, the company will roll out activations in markets across the U.S. that are known for nightlife cultures. This includes New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Miami.
Currently, this latest Remy innovation is only available on-premise.
How does this reflect Cognac trends among younger consumers? Read here.
Ezra Brooks 99 Port Cask Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.
Lux Row Distillers has announced the latest addition to the Ezra Brooks brand family: Ezra Brooks 99 Port Wine Cask Finish.
The mash bill is 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malt. This new whiskey finished in port casks from Portugal for six months.
“We created Ezra Brooks 99 Port Wine Cask Finish for bourbon fans looking for an elevated taste profile and unique flavor option,” says Eric Winter, Ezra Brooks brand manager. “Lux Row Master Distiller John Rempe was intrigued by the juxtaposition of ryed bourbon’s spicy flavor profile and the sweeter, dark fruit notes often found in port wines.”
The packaging features prominent callouts and a special label color highlighting the port cask finish.
“This special finish brings notes of vanilla, tobacco and leather together on the nose, and sweet fruitiness and dark chocolate on the palate,” says Rempe. “We’re excited to share this special new variety with consumers as the first in a planned series of annual finishes for the Ezra Brooks 99 family.”
Ezra Brooks 99 Port Wine Cask Finish starts shipping to retailers later this month at a suggested retail price of $34.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
When looking to create their own ready-to-drink beverage brand, for actor Wyatt Russell and producer Rich Peete, it was all about going back to the basics without sacrificing taste.
The two friends’ vision for Lake Hour stemmed from their own upbringing around lakes. During the writer’s strike in which both Russell and Peete weren’t working, they began talking about creating a brand of seltzers that could be branded around lakes. “Since we both grew up around lakes and there was nothing similar on the market, we thought ‘oh, that would be a fun idea,’” says Russell. “Eventually, he called me and said he really wanted to do this, and I did too.”
Thus began the journey of Russell and Peete’s brainchild: Lake Hour.
A Refreshing Spin on RTDs
Made with vodka, blanco tequila, juice and only 3.4 grams of cane sugar, Lake Hour sparkling cocktails focus on the simple ingredients. Featuring flavors like Watermelon Cucumber, Rosemary Yuzu, Peach Jasmine and Honeysuckle Ginger, each 12 oz. drink has an ABV of 5%.
Currently, Lake Hour is available in seven states, with two of them being newly added. Now, the beverages are sold in Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Rich Peete and Wyatt Russell.
Building a Brand vs. Making a Movie
Even though movie production is a beast, Russell says it’s nothing like starting a beverage brand. “Neither of us had experience with starting a brand, but we approached it like starting a movie where you’re running a marathon at the pace of a sprint. It’s been really interesting and fun that way,” he notes.
One of the biggest differences between the two, according to Russell, is the fact that with a beverage brand, you have something physical you can sell to people. It’s a real product with immediate gratification to it — which makes the business a little easier to build.
“You can work on a movie for 10 or 12 years at a time. I have projects that are still bouncing around, and you hear that a lot in the industry,” explains Russell. “You’re kind of in a vacuum where you don’t know what’s working. And once you put it out, you’re crossing your fingers and hoping it does well.”
Another notable difference between the two industries is the fact that movies have a very clear beginning and end. Meanwhile, with a beverage brand, there’s no end.
“It’s a constant uphill battle,” says Russell. “With movies, once it’s out, that’s it and then you’re on to the next story. Once you start a brand, it’s like you’re pushing a rock up a hill that never stops ― you have to keep pushing.”
The duo are constantly concocting innovative marketing efforts to get the brand name out there, convincing distributors to buy their product, trying to balance inventory against sales… the list goes on and on. The effort of keeping a beverage brand up and running truly is a constant full time job.
It’s Not Always Smooth Sailing for Lake Hour
Aside from the fair share of differences between making a movie and getting a beverage brand up and running, Russell says he and Peete also faced a lot of difficulties in starting Lake Hour. One of them being balancing inventory against sales.
“We’re trying to fund the growth of the company with revenue,” states Russell. “Early on, that can feel impossible, but we were able to do it.”
Before launching on July 21, 2023, Russell says they made about 3,000 cases and expected that to last them until October. In reality, the cases only lasted three weeks. “We thought ‘Oh man, now we need to make more,’” he says.
After selling about 5,000 cases in total last summer, Russell explains they had some difficulties convincing distributors that consumers would also drink the beverages during the winter. But they didn’t allow the slow season to stop them.
“That dip in the winter allowed us to regroup, and now we have the full season ahead to sell,” says Russell. “We’re looking to continue to grow this year. We’re in seven states now, while we were only in three for the most part of last year, and we’re looking to get our beverages into more places.”
Standing Out in a Lake of RTDs
The RTD segment is extremely saturated at the moment. Especially with all the other celebrity-owned beverage brands out there, how is another one expected to make a splash? Aside from Lake Hour being the only RTD on the market branded by lakes, Russell hopes the brand can distinguish itself by making personal connections with consumers and giving them a sessional beverage that’s not too sugary and tastes great.
“At the end of the day, it’s a cased drink and it has to taste good,” Russell says. “The other ones we’ve tried have too much liquor, they’re very overly sugared and don’t drink easily or they’re not sessionable. With ours, you can have multiple and they’ll all taste good.”
“Marketing with the lips,” as Russell puts it, has been great with spreading the word. This way, people actually get to taste the beverage and see that they like it for themselves.
“That has helped us a lot,” Russell notes. “We’re looking into influencer marketing campaigns now, but we’re specific on how we want to do things. Just getting people to try the product is the key right now. It’s really good, so if they try it and like it, they’ll buy it.”
Lake Hour Standing the Test of Time
Instead of constantly trying to push new flavors into the market, Russell says he and Peete want to focus and perfect the brand’s four original flavors — which is something that will keep Lake Hour around for the long haul.
“For us, if you can’t make the first four flavors work, then that’s not good,” he says. “We’re concentrating on being the best in those four flavors ― the favorites ― and that’s what we want people to try, taste and get to know.”
“As long as you have a good drink and people like it, then you can stand the test of time. That’s where we want to be different,” he continues. “You have all these different RTD companies spending a ton of money, but at the end of the day, how long will they be around?”
As celebrity alcohol brands continue to capture market share, supermodel and entrepreneur Cindy Crawford has teamed up with Casamigos Tequila founders George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman to introduce Casamigas Jalapeño Tequila.
This is 100% blue weber agave jalapeño tequila naturally flavored with jalapeños.
“As much as I love Casamigos, my go to drink for a fun night is a skinny, spicy Casamigos margarita,” says Crawford. “Casamigas Jalapeño makes it that much easier. It’s Casamigos with a kick!”
“Cindy has obviously been part of the Casamigos journey since day one, and I’m excited that she now gets to put her special touches on Casamigas,” adds Gerber, Crawford’s husband. “It’s been over six years in the making.”
Photo by Stewart Shining.
Casamigas Jalapeño has tasting notes of spicy jalapeños, hints of citrus and sweet agave, the company reports.
The bottle shape remains the same with an altered logo. Flames of fire, a jalapeño and Cindy’s trademark lips and beauty mark are sketched on the label, along with a red “A” crossing out the “O” in Casamigos. The Casamigos’ founders’ initials are also crossed out with the addition of “CC,” and Cindy Crawford’s signature is added in between George Clooney and Rande Gerber’s, finishing off the design.
Casamigas Jalapeño Tequila is now available nationwide and offered in the sizes of 750-ml. and 1-L with suggested retail prices of $49.99 and $60.99, respectfully.
Korbel California Champagne Limited-Edition “Poppy” Bottle for spring 2024.
Korbel California Champagne has launched a limited-edition bottle wrap inspired by the spring season, featuring an orange petal design.
The “Poppy” bottle is also a nod to California’s state flower.
The bottle contains Korbel’s California Extra Dry champagne. The sparkling wine has flavors of citrus and vanilla, the company says. It was made using the traditional méthode champenoise.
Limited cases (just over 5,000 9-L cases) were produced of the “Poppy” bottle of Korbel California Extra Dry.
This rolls out to retail shelves in retail locations now, with a suggested retail price of $13.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
Tröegs Independent Brewing has released Field Study Summer IPA, the second beer in its rotating seasonal series.
With a fresh accent of blue, the updated look for Field Study matches one of the best times of the year to enjoy beer, the brewery says.
For Field Study’s grain bill, Tröegs uses a portion of rustic pale malt grown and harvested in Pennsylvania and produced by Double Eagle Malt just outside Philadelphia, PA.
“We like to use local ingredients because we can easily get out and try them,” says Tröegs founding brother and brewmaster John Trogner. “We really do dig getting in the fields and tasting the ingredients and using them in beer.”
The hop combination of Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado creates notes of ripe grapefruit, juicy pear and a hint of melon, the brewery says.
Field Study is 6.2% ABV. It’s available on draft and in 12-oz. bottles and cans across the brewery’s distribution footprint.
Additionally, look for Field Study in Tröegs’ new Perpetual Exploration variety pack for summer, also available everywhere Tröegs beer is sold.
Beer drinkers can find Field Study, Perpetual Exploration, and other Tröegs beers near them using the Tröegs Brew Finder.
As part of our ongoing tracking of the industry, the Beverage Information Group surveys our readers quarterly, collecting trends/sentiment data from distributors, on-premise and off-premise operators. The consumer obsession with agave spirits may be starting to level off slightly, but for our most recent study, conducted in January 2024, tequila is the category most impacting the business, both on- and off-premise.
Whiskey is the next most impactful category, though it’s tied with craft beer among on-premise respondents. The category with a sales decline that’s most impacting the business: Clearly domestic beer for both segments.
The beer category has been struggling enough, but the controversy last year caused by Bud Light’s brief association with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney — and resulting boycott of the popular beer brand — hasn’t helped. Still, on-premise respondents say that craft beer is the category generating the most buzz now, vs. whiskey for the retail participants. IPAs are the most popular, followed by lagers, for both segments.
The plurality of on-premise operators (47%) said that their most recent quarterly beverage sales met their plan, vs. 37% that said sales were below plan and 16% that said sales exceeded plans. In the off-premise, the same percentage (45%) that said they met plan said that sales were below plan, and just 10% exceed plan.
As such, on-premise respondents were far more optimistic about sales in 2024 than their retail counterparts. More than a quarter (26%) feel that sales this year will exceed their expectations, compared with 19% of the off-premise respondents.
For more information about our beverage reader surveys and for pricing information about adding questions to upcoming surveys, contact Debbie Rittenberg at drittenberg@epgacceleration.com.
As tequila sales continue strong, 1800 Tequila has released 1800 GuachiMonton, an añejo aged in American and French Oak barrels and finished in orange tequila liqueur casks.
1800 GuachiMonton comes in a red ceramic trapezoidal-shaped bottle with a wooden circular cap, inspired by the pyramids and red clay found throughout the UNESCO World Heritage site of Los Guachimontones.
1800 GuachiMonton is made with 100% Blue Weber agave, grown and matured between six to eight years and sourced from a single estate in the lowlands regions of the Tequila Valley. The harvested agave is cooked for a duration of 40 hours in masonry ovens, distilled twice and then matured in both American and French Oak barrels for a minimum of 12 months.
The añejo liquid is then married together and finished in casks that once held orange tequila liqueur, which creates a tequila with a citrus finish, the distillery reports.
Inspired by Los Guachimontones, the red bottle and wooden cap take shape from the circular pyramids dating back to before the Hispanic era, where communities would gather for ceremonial rituals. Accordingly, 1800 Tequila will provide long-term support to conserve the UNESCO site, its museum and the cultural, art and educational initiatives tied to the area.
“1800 GuachiMonton not only represents the roots of Mexican tradition and culture but also Mexican terroir and ritual,” says Master Distiller and Head of Production, Alex Coronado. “A nod to the fragrant orange trees surrounding the pyramids of Los Guachimontones and our family-owned distillery, the liquid is inspired by the timeless ritual of plucking fresh oranges to garnish a glass of añejo. Its decadent and persistent orange citrus flavor profile provides a premium, modern twist to an already luxurious añejo tasting experience.”
1800 GuachiMonton is first available in California and Texas with a suggested retail price of $159.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
American whiskey blender Dixon Dedman, founder of 2XO, has launched The Kiawah Blend, a limited release and the fourth release in 2XO Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey’s Icon Series.
The name of this bottle references Kiawah Island, a barrier island on the Atlantic coast, 25 miles southwest of Charleston, SC.
“Kiawah Island is a special place for me,” says Dedman. “It’s where my family has been vacationing since I was a kid, where my wife and I have been taking our children. It’s my happy place, where I can get away with family and friends and step off the grid.”
2XO, meaning Two Times Oak, refers to Dixon’s blending process where every 2XO expression has additional oak exposure. The Kiawah Blend is comprised of two mash bills, a high rye 35% bourbon mash bill and a moderate rye 18% bourbon mash bill. Dedman double barrels the high rye 35% bourbon mash bill into new charred oak barrels, both #3 and #4 char levels, for nine months to a year. The double-barreled high rye mash bill makes up 60% of The Kiawah Blend. That additional oak interaction is meant to build sweetness to balance out the spice from the rye in the mash bills.
The result is a palate of vanilla, oak, clove, lemon and a light peppery spice, the company reports.
Booker's Batch 2024-01: The Springfield Batch bourbon whiskey
Booker’s Bourbon from Jim Beam has announced the first release in its 2024 lineup: Batch 2024-01, Springfield Batch.
Each release of this whiskey has a unique name that alludes to the people, places and/or history behind the brand. This batch gets its name from the small town in central Kentucky where Booker Noe was born and raised. Located 18 miles from Bardstown, Springfield is where a young Booker worked on farms while growing up, the company says, from hay fields to tobacco patches.
Springfield Batch is made up of five production dates stored in four different aging warehouses at the distillery:
• 17% came from the 5th floor of 9-story warehouse G
• 7% came from the 4th floor of 9-story warehouse H
• 31% came from the 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Z
• 45% came from the 4th floor of 7-story warehouse 3
The age is 7 years, 7 Months and 8 days, bottled at 124.5 proof:
Booker’s Springfield Batch is now available nationwide in limited quantities with a suggested retail price of $89.99 for a 750-ml. bottle.
