2016 MIGHT MARK RECORD COGNAC SALES

Before the holidays seasons cognac sales are already showing a strong sales for 2016 in the

"Shipments of Cognac to the U.S., by far the global category’s largest market, crossed the 5-million-case mark on 13.5% growth last year, driven by the double-digit progress of Hennessy, Rémy Martin and Martell" says Shanken Daily News.

With growth continuing in 2016, U.S. depletions could hit 5 million cases and value could cross €1 billion ($1.1b) by year-end.

Impact Databank Cognac Sales in the USA, October 2016

1. Hennessy continues to dominate the category, accounting for 44% of worldwide volume and 66% of the U.S. Cognac market. With its global volume expanding by 55% since 2005, to 6 million cases, Hennessy has risen to become the world’s third most valuable spirits brand by retail sales, at $3.5 billion (trailing only Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff). “A significant portion of consumers drinking white spirits a few years ago have come over to Hennessy,” says Giles Woodyer, senior vice president, Hennessy at Moët Hennessy USA.
2. Rémy Martin remains a distant second to Hennessy in the U.S., but it too has been on an impressive run. In the 12 months through June, Rémy Martin posted a 15% increase in U.S. depletions, and in the first half of this year the brand’s VSOP jumped 20% in IRI channels.
3. Martell, which neared 100,000 cases in the U.S. last year, is getting increased focus in the market. Brand-owner Pernod Ricard is looking to leverage robust trends in both Cognac and Bourbon with a new hybrid product, Blue Swift ($50), which was finished in Kentucky Bourbon barrels.
4. Bacardi’s d’Ussé brand has also been making strides. Thus far in Bacardi’s fiscal year (beginning in April), d’Ussé’s revenues are up 20% compared with last year, led by its VSOP quality ($50). Meanwhile, senior brand manager Tyler Phillips tells SND that d’Ussé XO ($230), which continues to expand into new markets, is growing exponentially from a small base.
5. Beam Suntory’s Courvoisier brand sells about one-third of its volume in the U.S. market.

The Cognac category comprises about 4% of all spirits by dollar value in the U.S., according to Nielsen, but it’s growing at 19%, compared with total spirits category growth of 6%.

The whisky category revival has inspired greater consumer interest in brown spirits, specifically among multicultural millennial males. They are looking for premium brands that project success and sophistication, and so Cognac is well-positioned to get their attention. 

Hence, non premium cognac brands such as Salignac and Ansac are seeing negative growths in comparison.

Source: Shanken Daily News

LUXURY ACCOMMODATION IN THE COGNAC REGION FOR NOSTALGIA AND ROMANTIC VISITORS: LOGIS DU PARADIS

Le Logis du Paradis is a lovely old classic Charentais property from 1712,former cognac estate. It is near a small river and in the midst of the vines of the Grande Champagne Cognac region. A renovated 18th century wing provides 5 highly comfortable and spacious chambre d’hotes with ensuite bathrooms.

In the 19th Century, vines were planted and the Logis became a distillery for Cognac. The “pressoir” with underground channels to the “cuves” where the wine was made, and the beautiful copper stills or “alambics” where the cognac was made, still exist. The other chais housed huge casks. The surrounding vines, reaching up the hill towards Lignieres, used to belong to the property.

Logis du Paradis, Cognac, Charente, Distillery

It offers a luxury Guest house with bed and breakfast (B&B) Chambre d’hote rooms and self catering cottages (Gites) perfect for discovering the south west regions in France including the Charente, the Cognac region with its vineyards, Angouleme, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Dordogne region.

BED & BREAKFAST
5 Bed & Breakfast rooms each have spacious bedrooms with Super King-size beds, which can also be converted into two singles if preferred, and en suite bathrooms. All bedrooms have a modern flat screen TV and a satellite decoder with large choice of channels.

Logis du Paradis, Bedroom

SELF-CATERING COTTAGES
Three beautifully converted cottages, ideal for 2 couples sharing. A high degree of comfort and privacy is offered for visitors within each cottage.

Logis du Paradis, Cottage

Sally and Nick Brimblecombe had been looking for somewhere to live in the Charente for a year, hopefully amongst the beautiful vines and hills of La Grande Champagne, between the rivers Charente and Ne. One day Sally and Nick received a phone call from friend about this place for sale. It took them ten minutes to fall in love with this old house that they call home since 2005.

Check the restauration page. Not for the faint hearted!

Logis du Paradis, Cognac, Charente, Renovations

Source: Le Logis du Paradis

AMERICAN BRANDY REVIVAL LEAD BY COPPER & KINGS NOW IN 28 STATES

Louisville, Kentucky-based Copper & Kings has extended distribution for its brandy and absinthe portfolio to California and Michigan.

Copper & Kings Distillery

Southern Glazer’s will distribute the lineup in California, while Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) will handle it in the Michigan market.

Copper & Kings’ lineup includes American Craft Distilled Brandy ($35), American Butchertown Brandy ($60), Un-Aged Apple Brandy ($30), Floodwall Apple Brandy ($40), Immature Brandy ($30) and Absinthe Blanche ($55).

Copper & Kings Brandy, Made in USA, Kentucky

Copper & Kings’ footprint now spans 28 markets:
Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

This is outstanding for a brandy created in 2014! Fast-paced business growth.

COGNAC MISCONCEPTIONS AND FACTS CHECK

In the USA, and soon France, it is voting seasons and many people including the candidates are continuously getting their facts checked.

There are many misconceptions when it comes to cognac and I do not want to bruise anyone but let's look at some examples.

CITY A.M. just published an article on cognac:

"...In particular, cognac can only be made using certain grape varieties, the most typical being Ugni blanc, a grape that tastes as bad as it sounds. It’s the most widely planted white grape in France and produces a fairly terrible tasting white wine that’s often blended with other grapes or turned into industrial alcohol, the kind used to make rocket fuel and hand sanitiser.

To turn this nasty-ass wine into something that won’t launch a satellite into orbit, it’s distilled twice in a copper pot before being aged in oak barrels for at least two years. This distillation increases the ABV of the drink to 40 per cent and transforms brandy from a wine into a spirit. For it to become cognac, even the barrels must be up to AOC standards: only brandy aged in barrels from Limousin or Tronçais gets to bear the cognac label..."

1. "Cognac can only be made using certain grape varieties".

This fact is true. My stats is that 95% of the grapes in Cognac are Ugni Blanc. But other grapes are also allowed: such as Folle blanche, Colombard, Folignan, Jurançon blanc, Meslier St-François, Sélect, and Montils.

2. "Ugni blanc, a grape that tastes as bad as it sounds".

This fact is false. Ugni Blanc is also called St-Emilion in Bordeaux (not the cru), and Trebbiano in Italy for instances. These are good wines!

3. "It’s the most widely planted white grape in France".

True fact. Even in the Loire Valley!

4. "To turn this nasty-ass wine into something that won’t launch a satellite into orbit, it’s distilled twice in a copper pot".

This fact is false. Best grapes for distillation are white grapes. That's the rule of thumbs because they have a better acidity which enhances subtle notes and balance. It is distilled twice which is not much because it is the right amount of distillation to keep the most flavors. 1 distillation keeps too many impurities, more than 2 distillation would start nutralizing the flavors.

In pot stills because it is a smaller still which makes more delicate distillates, and in copper because copper has the best characteristics for heating, sterilizing and adding to the flavor than any other metals.

5. "Only brandy aged in barrels from Limousin or Tronçais gets to bear the cognac label".

This fact is false. First a barrel is a specific size of cask of approx. 200 liters, and most cognac makers use hogshead of 400 liters. Second cognac was originally aged in all kinds of different wood even chestnut wood. Eventually, the cognac appellation set the wood to be French oak. Limousin and Tronçais oak cask are normally oak that comes from the forests in France with the same names. Nowadays this means mostly a style of oak where Limousin  is a much more dense compact wood whereas Tronçais is more open.

Anytime someone talks about cognac this is great, and the more information the better. Never was my intention was to pick on this article [sorry]. I hope you can see that cognac has many complexe elements and that it is easy to get confused.

NO AGE DESIGNATION FOR THE NEW COGNACS FROM LARSEN

Cognac Larsen has just launched a neat collection of cognacs with a focus on aroma and flavor rather than the traditional VS/VSOP/XO age designation.

Larsen offers a Summer and a Winter blend in hope to provide bartenders with a cognac option for the summer and another for the winter cocktails.

Larsen Summer and Winter Blend 2016. No Age Statement.

In 2013, Rémy Cointreau sold Larsen Cognac to Altia, less than one year after acquiring the brand itself. Altia already acquired Renault a couple of years prior. Late 2015, Altia appointed former BNIC communications head Jérôme Durand as managing director for its 

Larsen and Renault Cognac brands.

The ‘spirit of adventure’ is the new positining and new concept that Cognac Larsen will interpret in its future communications.

JENNIFER LE NECHET FIRST FEMALE WORLD BEST BARTENDER

Jennifer Le Nechet from Café Moderne in Paris wins the 2016 World Class Bartender competition organized by DIAGEO.

Jennifer Le Nechet is named World’s Best Bartender 2016

Almost 10,000 bartenders entered the Diageo-run global competition, which marked its eighth anniversary in 2016.

After a series of regional heats, 56 made it through to the Miami-based final, where bartenders took part in a series of challenges to assess technique, personality, spirits knowledge and performance under pressure.

In addition to naming the winner, judges also announced five runners up: Dries Botty from Belgium; Adrián Michalčík, Czech Republic; Jonas Andersen, Denmark; Ryu Fujii, Japan; and Nick Wu, Taiwan.

Le Nechet, the first female bartender to win the title.

Source: the Spirits Business

ONLINE COGNAC STORE IN GERMANY: COGNAC PARADISE

www.cognac-paradise.de is a famous site that specialize in cognac in Germany. It has a wide selection of lesser known brands of cognac, but it also carries a smaller selection of Armagnac, Brandy, Calvados, Eau-de-vie, Gin, Grappa, Pineau des Charentes, Porto, Rum, Sherry, Tequila, Vodka and Whisky.

It serves only the German market, and therefore is in German. Sie sprechen Deutsch!

"Exklusive Spirituosen Wir bieten Ihnen eine der größten Auswahlen an Cognac in Deutschland." It says.

It has a large number of Cognac brands which most people have never heard because its owner Marko Körner who is always seeking variety, novelty and value, is looking for brands outside the beaten path.

Cognac-paradise.com