Shanken’s Impact Newsletter, the leading source for exclusive data on the alcoholic beverage industry in the United States and internationally. Every issue features up-to-the-minute data and analysis on trends in the worldwide drinks market.
EVEN AFTER SEVERAL CONSECUTIVE YEARS of surging growth, Bourbon is not only still booming—it’s picking up speed. After climbing 5% by volume in 2015, the global Bourbon category rose roughly 6% to more than 33 million nine-liter cases last year, according to Impact Databank. The expan-sion is being driven by the U.S. market, where Bourbon has surpassed 20 million cases for the first time in three decades. And while the U.S. accounts for nearly two-thirds of worldwide Bourbon volume, the category is also gaining steam in several es-tablished markets such as the U.K., Austra- lia, France and Japan, where growing inter-est in American whisk(e)y cocktails and the craft spirits movement has helped bolster Bourbon’s allure. “We see several key factors supporting the sustained growth of Bourbon, and the first is…
IF THERE’S ONE DRINKS CATEGORY THAT CAN TRULY be described as red-hot, it’s got to be Bourbon. The once dusty whiskey segment continues to see soaring consumer demand, amid heavy investment from leading marketers and robust premium-ization activity. As this issue’s exclusive report shows, the Bourbon market in the U.S. has surpassed a total volume of 20 million cases for the first time in 30 years, with upscale players like Maker’s Mark, Bulleit, Woodford Reserve and Knob Creek posting some of the category’s most eye-catching gains. Meanwhile, ambitious players from across the spectrum are in innovation mode, vying to capture consumers’ at-tention with either entirely new brand propositions—like Brown-Forman’s Cooper’s Craft—or returning heritage whiskies that had disappeared over the decades, like Diageo’s I.W. Harper and Campari America’s Bond & Lillard…
SANDRA LEDREW, A VET-eran wine executive who formerly led Diageo Chateau & Estate and Treasury Wine Estates Americas, has been ap-pointed president, winery operations, and chief development officer of Terlato Wine Group. LeDrew will be based in California and report di-rectly to company presi-dent and CEO Bill Terlato. The ap-pointment is effective February 27. LeDrew’s role as president of winery operations is a new post within the company, overseeing Terlato wineries around the globe, including California holdings such as Rutherford Hill, Chimney Rock and Sanford as well as joint ventures in France, Italy and Aus- tralia. She will also manage production of the Federal-ist, Seven Daughters and Terlato Family Vineyards brands, as well as all direct-to-consumer business and retail sales at Terlato’s win-eries. In her additional du-ties as chief development…
DIAGEO IS GETTING BACK INTO THE THRIVING IRISH WHISKEY CATEGORY, IN-vesting $25 million in a new Dublin distillery that will produce an upscale brand called Roe & Co. Diageo director of U.K. and Ireland operations Colin O’Brien recently told reporters that the company will soon begin rolling out Roe & Co. in major European markets. The new brand will be priced at around £30 ($37) and will join Diageo’s reserve unit. Diageo will initially source Roe & Co. whiskey from undisclosed third-party distilleries, but plans to start building a new distillery at its Guinness headquarters in Dublin. Whiskey production is slated to begin there in 2019. Diageo has been absent from the Irish whiskey category since late 2014, when it sold Bushmills to Casa Cuervo, in exchange for Cuervo’s 50%…
ITALY’S GRUPPO CAMPARI HAS AC-quired Bulldog Gin for roughly $58 million. Campari has distributed Bull-dog since 2014 through its own net-work. Launched in the U.S. in 2007 by entrepreneur and investment banker Anshuman Vohra, Bulldog (roughly $26 a 750-ml.) is currently available in nearly 100 markets around the globe, with a strong concentration in Europe. It sold around 150,000 cases in total in 2016, with net sales growing 22% to $12 million. The deal gives Campari a company-owned gin to pair with its namesake bitter brand in the popular Negroni cocktail. It values Bulldog at €13.6 times the expected CAAP (contribu-tion after advertising and promotion) of approximately €4 million ($4.3 mil-lion) in 2017.…
SPURRED BY SIGNIFICANT GROWTH in the U.S. market, Cognac exports reached record highs in volume and value in 2016, according to the BNIC trade group. Exports rose by 6% to nearly 15 million nine-liter cases, while export value grew by 6.8% to €2.76 billion ($2.94b), according to the BNIC. Volume and value both eclipsed their previous records set in 2015. North America was the growth engine, with shipments up 14.2% to nearly 6.5 million cases. The U.S., Cognac’s largest global market, ac-counted for more than 95% of North American volume. While a number of leading brands are making progress, category leader Hennessy is more dominant than ever. In 2015, Hennessy rose by 18% to pass 3 million cases. Remarkably, the brand’s 2016 performance is estimated to be even better. According…
