William Grant Targets Premixed Cocktail Category With Batch & Bottle

William Grant & Sons is targeting the white-hot premixed cocktail market with a new brand, Batch & Bottle. The line draws from Grant’s U.S. portfolio to create classic cocktails and includes four offerings: Monkey Shoulder Lazy Old Fashioned, Glenfiddich Scotch Manhattan, Hendrick’s Gin Martini, and Reyka Rhubarb Cosmopolitan. All four are available for a suggested price of $17 a 375-ml. and are rolling out now across the U.S.

According to Paul Basford, U.S. president and managing director at William Grant & Sons, Batch & Bottle’s development started when the company noticed changing trends during Covid like an increase in premiumization, growing interest in home cocktail-making, and the wider rise of spirits-based RTDs. “We’ve got a very good proposition here,” Basford told SND. “All four base brands are in very strong distribution and volume growth across the last 12 to 18 months.”

Each 375-ml. bottle contains four to five servings, with the cocktails ranging from 25% to 35% abv. The line is aimed at appealing to a wide variety of consumers, whether fans of the specific spirits brands used or of the classic cocktail recipes that inspired Batch & Bottle. “It made sense to use brands that in their own right were growing,” said Basford. “You’ve got a single malt, which appeals to a certain consumer type; you’ve got a blended Scotch to appeal to a certain consumer type. And then you’ve got two white spirits, a mixable brand in Reyka and a very well-known brand in Hendrick’s. Effectively, we believe this appeals to a full cross section of the market.”

The U.S. launch, which follows roughly six months after the brand debuted in the U.K. and Australia, is primarily focused on the off-premise, though Basford noted that the company sees interest in on-premise accounts looking to streamline their cocktail programs. Hotels, too, said Basford, have shown interest in adding the line to mini bars. Batch & Bottle will be supported with a variety of point-of-sale material as well as advertising through e-commerce channels.

Batch & Bottle will go up against competitors like Beam Suntory’s On The Rocks and Brown-Forman’s Up Or Over. On The Rocks earned Impact “Hot Brand” honors after more than doubling in size to above 400,000 cases last year. Like Batch & Bottle, Up Or Over is a new entry that debuted just last month.—Shane English

Tagged : Batch & Bottle, Glenfiddich, Hendrick's, Monkey Shoulder, Reyka, William Grant & Sons

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