Sonoma’s 3 Badge Nears 400,000 Cases As Spirits Portfolio Climbs

Known for negoçiant wine brands like Leese-Fitch, Moobuzz and The White Knight, Sonoma-based 3 Badge Beverage Corp. (formerly The Other Guys) has been increasing its focus on spirits in recent years, a strategy that has boosted the company’s on-premise presence. Among 3 Badge’s spirits growth drivers are Uncle Val’s Gin, Bib & Tucker Bourbon and Kirk & Sweeney rum, all of which play in the $35-$50 price point that has lately been a sweet spot for the craft segment.

“My family has a hard-earned reputation for building retail-focused wine brands,” says 3 Badge president August Sebastiani. “But the spirits portfolio has opened doors for us, and opened our eyes to more on-premise opportunities.” Overall, the 3 Badge spirits stable increased 75% to 50,000 cases last year, as sales took off for Kirk & Sweeney, a Dominican rum range that recently added 18- and 23-year-old expressions behind its core 12-year-old offering. In March, 3 Badge launched a new Tequila label, Pesote, retailing from $50-$70, and a mezcal brand is also in the works.

“At the start of last year we formally split our wine and spirits into two separate portfolios and we’ve now built out a national sales team for spirits,” Sebastiani notes. “In many cases we’re in the same wholesale house for both wine and spirits, but the distributor is evaluated independently on both sides. Sometimes we’ve made changes and moved the spirits portfolio to a different distributor, which can give us different insights on the local market.”

Meanwhile, Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon continues to be the workhorse of 3 Badge’s wine lineup, which collectively grew 10% to 310,000 cases last year, with similar progress expected for 2016. The White Knight has benefited from the addition of a Prosecco, Sebastiani adds, and Moobuzz is being driven by its Monterey Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend and more premium wines on the horizon.

Also on the way is a new single-vineyard bottling under the small-lot Gehricke label, which is 3 Badge’s only full grape-to-bottle program. Retailing around $40, the core Gehricke brand includes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel, with “a couple of Cabs” in development, according to Sebastiani. Staking out new ground at the high end, Gehricke’s upcoming single-vineyard expression is expected to be positioned around $90.

Tagged : 3 Badge Beverage, spirits, wine

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