News Briefs for April 19, 2013
April 19, 2013•New York-based Ty Ku Sake & Spirits has appointed two former Patrón Spirits executives to its sales team. David Ramirez has been named vice president for Ty Ku’s West Coast region and Sean Hartnell has been named vice president for the group’s Central Region. Ramirez and Hartnell most recently served as vice president of Patrón’s Western Region and Central Regions, respectively. Prior to that, Ramirez—who started out at Seagram—led the Central Region for Absolut, while Hartnell served as a wholesaler with National in Florida, and has held sales positions within Diageo’s Florida and Central Region divisions.
•Anheuser-Busch has agreed to sell its stake in its largest local distributor in the Chicago market, City Beverage. The agreement is part of a bill—HB 2606, which is expected to clear the Illinois House this week—that amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934 by establishing that “no person licensed as a manufacturer of beer…shall have any interest, directly or indirectly, in a holder of a distributor’s license or importing distributor’s license.” A-B now has until Jan. 1, 2015 to sell off the interest. The brewer and the Illinois Liquor Control Commission have been involved in litigation since the commission blocked the company from acquiring City Beverage in 2010.
•Diageo has announced has made Johnnie Walker Double Black a permanent offering in the brand’s U.S. lineup. It is now available nationwide as an official part of the range, “on the tails of the overwhelmingly positive response in America,” according to the company. Double Black was initially launched to the U.S. market in fall 2011—after being sold exclusively in duty free—as part of an effort to move the blended Scotch whisky upscale (Double Black retails for $40 a 750-ml., compared to $34 for the regular Black extension).
•The World of Beer chain will open its first unit in Washington State on Monday, followed by two new locations in Florida in early May. WOB’s Renton, Washington unit, the chain’s first venue in the Northwest and its 40th location overall, will feature 500 bottled beers and 50 rotating taps. On May 6, WOB will unveil two additional Florida units–one in midtown Miami and one in Gainesville. The beer bar’s chain first New Jersey location is planned to open in New Brunswick in the fall, while the concept’s website lists Ann Arbor, Michigan; Katy, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida among the markets to soon welcome units of the beer-bar chain. Founded in 2007, World of Beer currently operates in 13 states.
•Following completion of its 250-barrel brewhouse expansion, Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing Co. is entering new three states. SweetWater will begin shipping to Kentucky, Virginia and Louisiana in the second and third quarter of this year, bringing its total footprint to nine states across the Southeast U.S. Concurrently, the craft brewer will also be expanding its presence in several existing states, opening distribution to South Florida’s Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm and Florida Keys (via Gold Coast Beverage); Outer Banks, North Carolina (City Beverage Co.); and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (The Yanis Co.). SweetWater’s expanded facility, which features ten 1,000-barrel fermentation tanks and four 1,000-barrel brite tanks, will kick-off production with a new, limited edition release, Some Strange. Part of the brewer’s Dank Tank series, Some Strange is billed as a 10%-abv black IPA and is set to debut this month.
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