News Briefs for October 21, 2020
October 21, 2020•Bacardi has announced that it will step away from petroleum-based plastics, shifting to biodegradable bottles by 2023. The company will replace the 80 million plastic bottles (3,000 tons of plastic) it uses each year with Danimer Scientific’s Nodax PHA, which breaks down within 18 months without leaving behind microplastics. Bacardi’s namesake rum will be the first brand to receive the new packaging before the company uses it to replace single-use plastics across all of its spirits—from Bombay Sapphire to Patrón Tequila. In addition, the company is developing a paper-based bottle to aid in its goal of being plastic free within the next 10 years. Bacardi will also stop using petroleum-based plastics in its gift boxes and point-of-sale material, where possible, within the next three years.
•San Francisco-based Hotaling & Co. is introducing Hine Antique XO 100th Anniversary 1920-2020 Cognac. A rare cuvée blended with a 100-year-old eau-de-vie from vintage 1920—with the balance of the blend featuring Grande Champagne Cognacs aged a minimum of 20 years—the luxury offering is limited to 270 hand-numbered decanters in the U.S., priced at $300 apiece. Made by cellar master Eric Forget, it commemorates the first blend of Hine Antique XO in 1920 by Georges Hine.
•Brewing giant Heineken USA has teamed with Arizona Beverages to create Arizona SunRise hard seltzer. The 4.6% abv seltzers will come in four Arizona juice flavors—Lemon, Grapefruit, Mucho Mango, and Cherry Punch—and have 100 calories per 11.5-ounce serving. Arizona SunRise will launch nationally in Q1 2021 in variety 12-packs of 11.5-ounce cans and single serving 19.2-ounce cans.
•Gonzalez Byass is launching Fundador Light in the U.S. Debuting in California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Washington, New York, and Oregon, the 28% abv brandy-based spirit retails at $14 a 750-ml. and is intended to appeal to “current Fundador consumers and a new generation looking for a lighter option to traditional Spanish Brandies,” according to Nicolas Bertino, CEO and country manager of Gonzalez Byass USA.
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