WHISTLE PIG WHISKEY IS NOW SET TO BECOME A SINGLE ESTATE SPIRIT

Yesterday, Whistle Pig Whiskey announced that their company was able to start harvesting crop for their distillation turning around the company into a so-called 'Single Estate Spirit' company, sort of like the wine is known to be.

https://youtu.be/iSn1NpQiU0g

This is a paradigm change in the spirits industry. Normally, the spirits are using glamorous brand names, an amazing story, a marketing budget, several celebrity endorsers in case one fails, they always do, a big corporation with lawyers and committee members, some large distributors with well paid employees dreaming of Fridays, and glossy magazine ads and billboards.

The craft spirits trend had made it difficult for the big corporations because it meant doing things slowly and small for the benefit of a more authentic product. They had gone around this with crafty paper and small batch numbers on the bottle labels. This was not enough so they started creating incubators where they could nurture and grow these small craft spirit companies under their roof and control what was going on.

Now, with 'Single Estate Spirits'!  A real nightmare for most large companies as they will need to get into this soon!

Whistle Pig Whiskey 13 YO

Whistle Pig Whiskey is one of the most iconic craft spirits brand in America and perhaps in the world. If this is what they do that means it is happening in the USA, but perhaps the US is not leading this one.

See in the UK how The Guardian reports the growth of Single Estate Spirit's companies with Chase and Arbikie leading the path.

———>FRENCH

La super super nouvelle tendance pour les 5 ans a venir dans le 'craft spirits' c'est le 'Single Estate Spirit'!

Hier Whistle Pig a annonce le lancement de son entreprise en format 'Single Estate Spirit'. Je viens de voir ca aujourd'hui.

http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/10/whistlepig-opens-grain-to-glass-farm-distillery/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233870

Whistle Pig fondee en 2007 par Raj Peter Bhakta est considère comme l'icône des craft spirits aux USA, et peu être dans le monde.

Raj Peter Bhakta annonce a tout le monde que le Single Estate Spirit est la meilleure façon de se développer.

Sources: The Spirits Business, Entrepreneur, The Guardian

ALEXANDRE RICARD IS LEADING THE CEOS TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Chief executives are turning to social media more than ever and Pernod Ricard's is no different, with Alexandre Ricard looking to the medium to help align its corporate and consumer brands.

Ricard, who has set the company's agenda to get closer to people by tapping their digital behaviours, is part of a growing number of social chief executives. As of 2015 the number of chief executives of the world's top 50 companies on social media is still low at 28 per cent, according to Weber Shandwick's 'Socialising your CEO' audit. However, eight in 10 are now engaged online and via social media - a rate which has more than doubled since the audit started in 2010. The most popular social networks used by company bosses are LinkedIn (22 per cent) and Twitter (10 per cent), according to the study.

A stronger social media presence also chimes with Alexandre's bid to be a more consumer-focused business; meaning eventually it will be able to put a Pernod Ricard brand in any consumption occasion

Source: The Drum

SINGLE ESTATE SPIRITS REPRESENTS A NEW EMERGING CATEGORY

Now consumers are increasingly questioning the origins of the ingredients found in mass-produced spirits and are looking at more craft spirits, in hope of finding more accountability and more sustainable solutions. Hence, "Demand for all things 'craft' and local has stretched beyond beer into spirits" says The Guardian.

While not officially defined by the industry, single-estate spirits - also known as "farm to bottle" spirits - are generally understood to be products created using most, if not all, ingredients sourced from a single area of land. The brands producing such spirits are unique in their decision not to use neutral grain spirit (NGS) to bump up volume - a regular occurrence at both large and small distilleries.

Single estate spirits, on the other hand, conduct almost all stages of production on site, including growing, fermenting, malting, distilling, maturing, bottling and labelling.

Typical brands of Single Estate Spirits include:

. Arbikie Highland Estate

. Chase Distillery

. Cognac Philbert

. Maison Monteru Single Grape Brandy

. Vestal Vodka

These brands represent an emerging category that focuses on provenance, a concept traditionally associated with wine.

Source: The Guardian

AFTER ACQUIRING ROULLET-FRANSAC CHANGYU GETS MARQUES DEL ATRIO

Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co Ltd, a leading Chinese wine producer, has continued its overseas moves with the acquisition of Marques del Atrio, a wine company in Spain.

The acquisition follows Changyu's takeover of France-based Roullet-Fransac Cognac in 2013.

This acquisition will further strengthen Changyu's globalization strategy. Changyu is growing an international vision for the growth of its company. To compete internationally, Changyu needs to acquire an international portfolio of brands in order to respond to its market in China but also control some main regional growths where wine & spirits are culturally bound.

Spanish wine is not going anywhere and it is here to stay, hence a safe investment in the long run for Changyu. Since China is going to eventually need more of the same, it is wise for Changyu to gain access to its own stocks of wine & spirits to weather the storms.

Changyu's interim results showed that its sales revenue rose 22.8 percent year-on-year to reach 2.83 billion yuan ($443.8 million) in the first six months of this year.

According to the Hurun Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2015 list, Changyu remains the most valuable privately owned wine brand in China, with market value of about 6 billion yuan.

Source: China Daily

COGNAC PAIRING DINNER AT THE SKYROOM RESTAURANT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

One of Southern California most prestigious restaurant, The Skyroom in Long Beach, will be offering a four course dinner pairing with Comandon Cognac this coming Friday October 23rd 2015.

Comandon Cognac Pairing Dinner at the Skyroom Restaurant in Southern California

Dinner pairings are not so common, but they are more common when pairing wines and dishes. In this case, the SkyRoom is leading the way by pairing multiple cognacs in a four course menu. The cognac selection will include Comandon VS and VSOP, and more interestingly a 2003 vintage single cask cognac from the Petite Champagne Appellation Controlee. This is a rare combination since there are not many vintages cognac and not many single cask cognac available that we know.

Seats are limited. Call 1 562 983 2703 to find out more and make your reservation.

Source: www.TheSkyRoom.com

MOONSHINE IS IN WEST VIRGINIA

I always thought Moonshine was illegal!

No, Moonshine is about fermenting grains like corn, rye, wheat, or barley and then distilling it to make a white whisky, that is an un-aged whisky. Eastern Europeans had vodka and western europeans had Moonshine.

Moonshine is often associated with the history in the hills of West Virginia and its southern neighbors, and rebellious hill Billies in the USA. The US has a long tradition of making whisky with different perspectives: Kentucky has bourbon, Tennessee has whiskey, and West Virginia has Moonshine.

HeraldMailMedia.com discuss Moonshine and presents Black Draft Distillery a recently opened West Virginia distillery embracing the local culture of craft spirits and Moonshine.

Black Draft Distillery Moonshine

COGNAC MARTELL IS 300 YEARS OLD THIS MONTH

Last June 2015, Cognac Hennessy had a huge private event on the docks of the town of Cognac to celebrate its 250th year anniversary. This event was named the most extravagant event to ever happen in Cognac.

This was a hard act to follow for Cognac Martell on September 2nd 2015 outbidding Hennessy with its 300th year celebration.

Martell 300th Anniversary

Martell often quotes being the oldest large cognac house established in 1715. If you look between the lines it is not the oldest but the oldest of the 4 large house of Cognac which dominate over 90% of the sales in volume.

The celebration took place at the Château de Chanteloup and was declared a local “tribute to Cognac and the people of Cognac”.

Only a selected few were invited to the event. What many people will remember from this event is that the invitation were personally delivered to the recipients. A little look back on how it was done back in 1715.

Invitees were made of winegrowers, distillers and partners who contribute to the production of Cognac Martell.

César Giron, Martell chairman and CEO, and Alexandre Ricard, Pernod Ricard chairman and CEO handed a number of special gifts produced specially for the event such as limited edition cognacs.

One must feel very small thinking about the 300 years that went by and the longevity of this business. It is remarkable to think that it all started with selling one bottle a long time ago, and that the founder was not specifically trying to be a cognac house but a trader of things to ship from France to England where he was originally from.

This is not the only event marking the anniversary. Martell had organized events earlier this year such as in Paris airport Charles de Gaulle or Versailles.

Source: http://pernod-ricard.com