News Briefs for Tuesday February 6, 2024
February 6, 2024•Brown-Forman is debuting Batch 2 of Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey and Batch 3 of its 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey as the latest releases in the brand’s annual Aged Series. The second batch of Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old is bottled at at 107 proof (53.5% abv), while the 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 3 is at 97 proof (48.5% abv). The new bottlings are available in limited quantities across the United States this month in 700-ml. bottles retailing at $95 and $85 respectively.
•Pernod Ricard has extended Absolut into the ready-to-serve category with a new line of bottled cocktails. The line debuts with two offerings, Vodka Mojito and Raspberry Lemonade, both at 15% abv and retailing for $19 a 750-ml. Each bottle contains five servings and is now available in select retailers across the U.S. Last year, Absolut was at an estimated 2.8 million cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank, excluding its RTDs. These ready-to-serve cocktails are the latest move by Pernod Ricard to revitalize the brand, following the recently announced partnership with Ocean Spray to create a line of sparkling RTDs.
•Diageo is reportedly searching for a new chairman to replace Javier Ferran, whose term ends next year. Sky News reported that Diageo has tapped Russell Reynolds Associates to lead the search. Ferran, who is also chairman of British Airways parent group International Consolidate Airlines, has held the same post at Diageo since 2017. Prior to joining Diageo he served as president and CEO of Bacardi. Last week, Diageo posted sales down 0.6% to $11 billion for the first half ended in December, dragged lower by a 33% decline in Latin America, where falling demand forced the company to issue a profit warning late last year. Organic operating profit slipped 5.4% to $3.3 billion. Excluding Latin America, sales would have risen 2.5%.
•Rémy Cointreau is launching a special Louis XIII x LaQuan Smith Collection. The set includes a Louis XIII The Drop Collection Box—with five multi-colored 10-ml. bottles of Louis XIII Cognac—as well as The Drop chain pouch and boudoir gloves created by the designer. The package retails at $2,300 and is debuting in very limited quantities. Both Rémy and LVMH recently beat sales expectations despite the tough current climate in the Cognac category.
•Pernod Ricard has announced new ready-to-serve cocktails in the Malibu rum portfolio. The releases will roll out across the U.S. this spring carrying a suggested price of $15. Malibu’s RTS cocktails will come in three flavors—Strawberry Daiquiri, Pineapple Bay Breeze, and Rum Punch—all packaged in 1-liter Tetra Paks and at 12.5% abv. The new releases will join Malibu’s existing portfolio of flavored rums and canned RTDs. Malibu’s premixed cocktails and canned RTDs grew 24% to 518,000 9-liter cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank.
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