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Harveys Bristol Cream

Christmas is a key period for spirit sales when many consumers update their drinks cabinet. Fionnuala Carolan reports on the must stock brands this season

Brand Central

19 November 2010

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At a glance: Spirits

The selection of flavours available from Bols includes Bols Blue, Grenadine, Advocaat, Crème de Cacao, Cherry Brandy, Amaretto and many more
Sales of Jagermeister are up 10% for the first quarter of 2010
This Christmas, Absolut is tweaking its iconic bottle design by modifying the finish of the glass for a limited time period
This Christmas Jameson will be supported in the on and off trade with high visibility point of sale
Powers Gold Label Irish Whiskey is launching its new advertising campaign called Discover
New to the United Wine Merchants portfolio this year is Caorunn Celtic Gin
Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky will be available in a premium gift box presentation with a RRP of €36.50
Kulov Vodka offers an exclusive on pack promotion to win a luxury break to Iceland with an attractive price point of €13.99 (70cl)

Independent off-licences suffered bad Christmases in 2008 and 2009 with people traveling across the border and with fierce competition from supermarkets seeing sales drop 40%. The supermarkets are still posing a problem for the independents so with this in mind it is important to take advantage of any promotions or merchadising materiel from the brands to boost those holiday season sales. Spirits are among the most versatile products on the drinks market. And with the growth of the cocktail culture and the popularity of flavoured drinks, liqueurs have had sustained growth in this most vibrant of categories.

Harveys Bristol Cream

Great range from Barry & Fitzwilliam

Barry & Fitzwilliam distributes a wide range of premium spirits. They include Teachers Scotch, Harveys Bristol Cream, Courvoisier Cognac, Rémy Martin Cognac, The Famous Grouse Finest Scotch Whisky, Jim Beam Bourbon, Vladivar Vodka, Boru Vodka and Stolichnaya.

Cocktail party

Cointreau creates a cool experience on ice with a warm afterglow, surrounded by the scent of oranges while maintaining its elegant French heritage. Cointreau is the perfect partner for cocktails, renowned for livening up a Margarita, making a long drink even longer with 7UP or the stylish party cosmopolitan cocktail.

Bols Distilleries is one of the largest and oldest producers of fine spirits and liqueurs in the world, some dating back to the year 1575. Many of the unique flavours of Bols liqueurs are made with fruit juices, thereby creating the ideal platform for some of the best cocktails around. The selection of flavours available from Bols is vast and includes Bols Blue, Grenadine, Advocaat, Crème de Cacao, Cherry Brandy, Amaretto and many more. Among the classics, Bols Triple Sec Curacao is essential in a Cosmopolitan and Bols Crème de Cacao (brown) in a Brandy Alexander. More Bols cocktail recepies are available on www.bolscocktails.com. A new addition to the range that is doing very well is Bols Natural Yogurt.

Jagermeister has become particularly popular among students

Sourz has a unique, dual sweet & sour flavour that is both refreshing and tangy. Sourz apple is a low-strength (15%) shooter brand that is taking the clubs and style bars by storm. Look out for Sourz Cherry and Sourz Pineapple.

Going down a bomb

Jagermeister, the famous German schnapps, is a huge seller in the shooter market, particularly among student trend setters and is growing internationally. It is a half-bitter German schnapps with a unique blend of 56 herbs and spices, ideal served chilled or try the new phenomenon of mixing it. Sales were up 10% for the first quarter of 2010 which is a fantastic achievement in view of the state of the market.

New additions to the portfolio

Two new brands, Tia Maria and Disaronno, have been added to the Barry & Fitzwilliam portfolio.

Tia Maria is a hugely popular coffee liqueur worldwide, particularly in its mixability in cocktails, with coffee or in desserts, or mixed with milk and ice as a luxurious long drink. It will be heavily backed by the TV campaign “Mix It”.

With its distinctive square glass decanter and smooth almond flavour, Disaronno has a secret recipe which is said to include the pure essence of 17 selected herbs and fruits with an infusion of apricot kernel oil. It is very successful in the UK off trade and the company is hoping to emulate that in the Irish market.

Absolut has tweaked its bottle design for a limited time

A glimmer of glamour with Absolut

This Christmas, for the first time ever, Absolut is tweaking its iconic bottle design by modifying the finish of the glass for a limited time period. Consisting of numerous prisms that break and reflect light, Absolute Glimmer is an enhanced version of the Absolut bottle and will add an extra shine to this year’s festive period.

Previous special editions have included Absolut Rock Edition, Absolut Masquerade and Absolut Disco and all of these packs are a perfect example of Absolut’s creative vision and have all proven very popular with trade and consumers alike.
The Absolut Glimmer advertising features a number of large format outdoor sites, press and an extensive online presence.

Visibility tools have also been created to help drive interest in this pack and increase sales.

Absolut Glimmer is available now to purchase for a limited period. For further information contact your local Irish Distillers business development representative or call 1850 774748. Alternatively, visit www.absolut.com/glimmer or www.facebook.com/absolut.ireland

The Jameson gift pack includes two tall glasses

World’s number one Irish whiskey

This Christmas Jameson, the world’s number one Irish whiskey, will be supported in the on and off trade with high visibility point of sale. In the off trade Christmas offerings include the new single bottle carton and gift pack featuring two Jameson tall glasses. The smooth taste of Jameson means that it can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks in a cocktail or with a mixer making it the perfect drink for all festive celebrations.

More Powers to you

Powers Gold Label Irish Whiskey launches Discover, its new advertising campaign that aims to celebrate the brand in a powerful series of beautiful images. The series of five print ads highlight a number of the key attributes of Powers Whiskey, drawing on its strength of character and complex flavour, to convey what is renowned as a quality whiskey of real substance. The campaign puts Powers proudly at the heart of its Irishness, with the strap line ‘Powers. It’s ours’ reinforcing the brand’s strong sense of heritage and tradition.

Powers whiskey

Like the Discover ads, a new Powers Whiskey website, www.powerswhiskey.ie is educational and visually led, extolling the virtues of the Powers brand through information on its history, heritage, innovation, awards and accolades. The site features on-line videos from distiller Liam Donegan giving a Powers’ whiskey tasting while John C Ryan, great, great grand nephew of John Power, the founder of Powers Distillery in John’s Lane Dublin in 1791, shares the unique heritage and story behind Powers Gold Label.

United Wine Merchants works closely with retailers

This Christmas United Wine Merchants intends on working closely with retailers to get the most from its spirits business. With a diverse range of both premium and house brands United Wine Merchants Spirits Portfolio has a broad appeal to satisfy both connisseurs and price conscious consumers alike. New to the portfolio this year is Caorunn Celtic Gin. Pronounced ‘ka-roon’; which is the Gaelic word for Rowan Berry, this super premium quality gin is a small batch distilled, handcrafted gin, infused with five Celtic botanicals.

Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky

It is handcrafted at Balmenach Distillery; a working malt whisky distillery, using only natural resources, pure Scottish water and age old botanicals. Not only does it have a distinctive bottle design but Caorunn also has an award winning taste having won the Gin Masters Gold Awards in 2009 and the Travel Retail Masters Gold Award in 2009. Caorunn is the perfect ingredient for long drinks and cocktails and with a RRP of €34.99 this Christmas, it is on point as the perfect gift for discerning drinkers this festive season.

In the whisky market United Wine Merchants is promoting Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This genuine maritime malt is from one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland. Founded in Wick in 1826 this distinctive single malt has been described as “unashamedly excellent” by leading whisky writer Jim Murray. This Christmas Old Pulteney will be available in a premium gift box presentation with an RRP of €36.50.

Kulov vodka

With vodka being the leading tipple in Ireland, United Wine Merchants has a good selection.

Kulov Vodka offers the value for money option this year. With an exclusive on-pack promotion to win a luxury break to Iceland and an attractive price point of €13.99 (70cl) this brand will be a must stock item during the festive season. For those with a bit more to spend, triple distilled Red Square Vodka is available. Ideal for mixing and cocktails this vodka delivers great margin potential with an RRP of €18.99 (1Ltr)

Teachers is number one scotch whiskey

In Ireland Teachers is the clear market leader in the scotch category outselling its nearest rival 3 to 1.

Whilst all Blended Scotch Whiskies are made with both the malt and grain whiskies, Teacher’s Highland Cream is unique. The blend has an exceptionally high malt content – no less than 45%. This gives it a rich, bodied flavour.

Teacher’s uses over 30 different single malt whiskies. It is its master blender’s skill that ensures that these malts are balanced and harmonised delivering the same full rich taste that WM Teacher created over 175 years ago.

It has been awarded number three Scotch whisky in the UK and number 52 on the world’s top-100 spirits list.

This Christmas sees a new packaging launch which has been met with much acclaim by consumers and Trade.

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