Wall Street Journal Features Absinthe Mata Hari

Eric Felten covered Absinthe in the May 9/10 weekend edition with a front page photo and jump to a great rating and review of Mata Hari. To give some perspective for those of you overseas, this kind of coverage is a major PR coup in the US. Eric is a very influential writer and blogger, and of course the WSJ is an extraordinarily influential publication.

In addition to the coverage and attention for the category, it was significant that the story captured the positioning and message we'd been working on for the brand. While the title indicates the author wasn't enthralled with the flavor of absinthe in general, he did pick up on our point of difference...a lower licorice profile which makes it more mixable. And the fact that he included a photo of the bottle was an added bonus. Sphere: Related Content

Hartford Courant Features BAT

The Hartford Courant ran a nice piece on our work with Absinthe Mata Hari

Avon-Based Company Helping To Distribute Absinthe, Once Banned In U.S.
By KENNETH J. ST. ONGE | Special to the Courant
November 13, 2008

Absinthe is an herbal-based liquor from France that until last year had been outlawed in the United States. (PATRICK RAYCRAFT / HARTFORD COURANT / October 9, 2008)


Vincent van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso all drank absinthe, a supposedly hallucinogenic liquor popularized in Europe in the late 1800s. But until last year, absinthe had been banned for nearly a century in the United States.

Now, two former executives of Heublein Inc. — once headquartered in Hartford and now part of Diageo, the world's largest liquor, beer and wine firm — are working with an Austrian-based beverage maker to help import and distribute a new domestic variety of the licorice-flavored, translucent green beverage in the hope that it will gain favor among American mixed-drink lovers.

To do so, Steven Raye and Jeff Grindrod, managing partners of Avon-based Brand Action Team, have tapped an informal network of several dozen former Heublein colleagues, all of whom have a different expertise and their own contacts in certain areas of the country.

So far, that recipe has been a major boost to Brand Action Team clients looking to sell their products through the often confusing, state-regulated distribution system.
"We're a small company — there are basically four of us — but through this virtual network of former Heublein [colleagues] we're a much bigger company, and we're able to do the same things as the bigger guys," Grindrod said.

Brand Action Team was born out of that attitude of collaboration. Grindrod and Raye left Heublein in the late '90s and worked on various beverage-industry products until they teamed up formally in 2005 to do marketing and other services for overseas beverage companies looking to gain a foothold in the U.S.

Over the last few years, their clients have include Ukrainian vodka companies and importers of cachaça, a rum-like Brazilian liquor made from sugar cane, and pisco, a brandy-like Peruvian liquor made from grapes.

The absinthe Grindrod and Raye are working with is called Mata Hari, a bohemian style liquor that differs from the French-style absinthes that are the only others available domestically.

Absinthe is in its own category as a drink, the two said, having a special aura of mystery and infamy. Absinthe is distilled from the herb Artemisia absinthium, or wormwood, that contains trace amounts of an oily compound called thujone, which is believed to possess mildly hallucinogenic qualities, although that has never been established. Regardless, absinthe enthusiasts claim that the drink induces "clarity," and rumors about its mind-altering effects have enhanced its scandalous reputation.

One story holds that Van Gogh was imbibing absinthe when he lopped off part of his ear. That type of publicity is difficult to buy.

That might be one reason Brand Action Team was able to get Mata Hari to market in 32 states over a 60-day period. That's unheard of, Raye said. Normally that would take 18 months or longer.

"It speaks to the demand for this drink," Raye said.

Still, it will take more than a buzz factor to support the long-term sales of absinthe. To get it established, Grindrod and Raye say the drink must possess a quality all widely drunk American liquors share: mixability.

"We live in a cocktail culture, and Mata Hari is far more mixable that the French-style absinthes," Grindrod said.

Part of the strategy is to develop new drink recipes that call for the $57-a-bottle Mata Hari, and Grindrod and Raye have been working with bartenders in Connecticut to come up with new ideas. They include the Hemingway (with champagne), the Bohemian Mojito (with equal parts absinthe and rum) and the Courtesan (a shot containing absinthe, whisky and lime juice). Sphere: Related Content

Stop the presses! Mata Hari scores 93 and GOLD at BTI

I just got word that Absinthe Mata Hari got a Gold medal at the recent competition held by the Beverage Tasting Institute, and scored a spectacular 93 point rating. More to come next week. Sphere: Related Content

Distributor Holiday Shows: Rhode Island

Anthony King and I worked a booth at the Johnson Brothers, Rhode Island holiday show for Absinthe Mata Hari. Good turnout and the attitude of retailers was very upbeat, very interested in new products, and especially interested in Absinthe. I was a bit surprised at the lack of awareness of its newly legal status among some, and a similar lack of any detailed knowledge of the category by others. Net net, while those of us involved in Absinthe think the category has "broken through"...my sense is, not yet. Sphere: Related Content

There's more than one way to skin a cat

OK, so I found a solution to the "Yahoo Problem" by deductive reasoning supported by trial and error....meaning I kept writing ad variations to see what got through the screen. Turns out the words that were a problem were related to "buy XXX online". They must have had an algorithm that flagged the word absinthe. All the other ads I wrote were accepted. Now I have to get creative...how can I say buy absinthe online without saying absinthe? Stay tuned for solutions. Sphere: Related Content

It's Not Fair!

I had set up a Yahoo! Search Marketing ad campaign for Absinthe Mata Hari (to run the text ads you see on the top and right rail of search query results)...and they "declined" to run the ads. Their rationale was that the product was of questionable legality. After two attempts to get them to revisit the issue, their final judgement was not to accept the ads. As many of you know, Google has a flat-out policy not to accept ads for beer or spirits, but Yahoo's policy is quite a bit looser. I guess we just found out where the line is. Sphere: Related Content

2 Strip Clubs, a Biker Bar and a Pizza Joint

Just returned from a sales blitz working the Atlanta market with Georgia Crown, our distributor for OVAL vodka and Absinthe Mata Hari. After one particular day of account calls this was how Dave Stringfellow summed up my accomplishments: "So let me get this straight, you were out in the market all day and you called on 2 strip clubs, a biker bar and a pizza joint?" Well, yeah. The good news is we sold both brands into all four accounts. Pictured here is the proprietor of Knuckleheads (the biker bar)

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Lessons learned from selling on the street

I've been in Atlanta working with our distributor Georgia Crown on a sales blitz/kickoff Oval Vodka and Absinthe Mata Hari.

Key learning 1: the pushback from on and off premise retailers we're hearing about the flood of new products, particularly vodkas, just isn't very significant. Sure, the first response you can expect is "Oh, no, not another Vodka." But when you start asking questions, we found that the reality is retailers very clearly recognize the importance of the category, the interest consumers in new items, and the need to carry new items to respond to those consumer needs and interests. And when it comes to new categories like Absinthe, the interest is very high.

So even in a "down" economy the market is still open and vibrant, albeit a little more cautious and conservative on inventory investments. So I guess the lesson I'm learning this week is get out of the office onto the street and see for yourself what's happening out there and where the opportunities are. Don't let the gloom and doom purveyers in the media determine your perception of what's really going on. We may be in a recession and consumers certainly are changing their drinking habits. But there is always room for new brands and programs. Keep in mind that what makes the difference for them is not your brands, but how your brands can help them grow their revenues and profits. Sphere: Related Content

TOTC Day 2 Absinthe Returns to America

Gwydion Stone, Paul Clarke and Jim Meehan did a super seminar on Absinthe. All facts, no hype and some thoughtful insights for where the category might be going. Gwydion gave a very clear history of how the product's renaissance in the U.S. came about. Check out details at www.wormwoodsociety.org. Paul did an entertaining powerpoint on some historic absinthe recipes, some good, some awful, some just incomprehensible. Clearly this category has always been polaraizing...old newspaper articles from David Wondrich's book that Paul shared portrayed it either it was a devil or angel, but never in between.

Then Jim took a thoughtful look at where the category might go. Key point, competition is great, the category will settle out, but all of us involved in the category need to insure we all market our brands with in an appropriate socially responsible way. Equally important is to grow the category...a rising tide will lift all boats. There are so many small producers getting into the mix perhaps it makes sense for all of us to get together to pool some resources. Just a thought.

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TOTC Beer Cocktails

A morning visit to Cafe du Monde for Cafe au Lait and Beignets and then it was back to work. Great presentation by Stephen Beaumont on beer cocktails. Certainly a category we've heard a lot of talk about but Steve did a great job of presenting the category in an understandable way: they fall into three different types: 1) beer blends (e.g. black and tan which by the way is an American, not Irish invention), 2) Spirits, juice or wine with normal size beer and 3) Beer as flavoring agent in traditional cocktails.

Some general guidelines Steve noted are that ales work better than lager in cocktails and bitter beers, especially IPA's take spirits better, especially rum. Lighter beers do well with fruit juice. One of the best combinations is Weissbier and fresh squeezed OJ.

Regarding wine cocktails he advised that since hops are naturally tannic, so don't try to pair with highly tannic wines like Cabs. And when mixing spirits and beer, measurement is critical...absolutely do not free pour.
One of the recipes we tasted was great, The Green Devil. 1 oz. Martin Miller's Gin, 2 drops Absinthe and one bottle of Duvel (he told us it's pronounced Du' vel)

I asked Steve later for a recco with Heineken and he suggested trying something like Chartreuse and also maybe some light fruit juices. Sphere: Related Content

Rome Day 1- Negroni's

I'm on a long planned vaca in Rome but will use this opportunity to stay in touch with my readers with industry related comments. I stopped at a little off premise shop that was featuring absinthes. Saw a pretty good selection including Grune Fee, the Hapsburg array (good job Dale!), La Fee and a few European brands I didn't recognize. Didn't have my camera, but I'll bring it today and try and find the shop again...it was a pretty interesting window display.

We had Negroni's at the rooftop bar of the Hotel Minerva overlooking the Pantheon and with a view across Rome. Very impressive vista, but at 15 Euros per drink it was a pretty pricey premium. Good potato chips though. Then dinner in Trastavere where we sampled the house Prosecco (fabulous) and the house Chianti (thin and expensive. We're staying at the Marriott at Villa Borghese which is just across the road from Harry's Bar Rome outpost. Plan to introduce my wife to Bellini's tonight.

Oh, and one idle thought...is the coffee really better in Rome...or is it that in Rome, everything is better? Ciao till tomorrow. Sphere: Related Content

What is Absinthe...What is Vodka?

I seem to have generated a bit of controversy at Wormwood Society with an introductory post So I thought I'd post some more thoughts on MY blog before stirring up the pot over there any further.

I hosted a booth where we presented Mata Hari as well as the range of other Alt Wiener Schnapsmuseum (aka Fischer Schnapps) Absinthes at distil. I ran into George Rowley who claims(and rightly deserves) credit for the renaissance of Absinthe in the U.K. and Europe. George put on a very informative seminar on Absinthe featuring (perhaps a bit too much focus on) La Fee Absinthes. And what I realized was twofold. One, most people even in the industry don't have much of a clue about Absinthe, what is "real", what are the different styles, alcohol levels, history, etc. And second, those that are informed tend to bring a biased point of view to the party. Certainly understandable...I'll be the first to say I'm biased as well. But that bias does tend to color (pardon the pun) how they view the subject. And the informed types fall into two basic categories as well: Purists who hold to a conservative, one might even say reactionary, perspective, and those with a contemporary point of view...sort of "that was then, this is now."

I think its important to recognize that nobody is right...at the end of the day, Absinthe is nothing more than an alcoholic beverage with a history equally as colorful as some others (think Rye and Scotch and Prohibition). So this whole issue of what is "real" Absinthe is analogous to the Martini. They used to be a mix of gin and vermouth. But by 1972 the martini morphed into a vodka based cocktail. And now we have appletini's, chocotini's and more variations of flavors and ingredients. Are they real martinis? To the purist, perhaps no. But to the consumer who orders them...most definitively YES! As Tony Abou-Ganim and Dale DeGroff mentioned in a seminar I went to recently...if it's served in a martini glass (more properly called a cocktail glass), then it's commonly considered a Martini...no matter what's in it.

In fact, take the argument one step further. Historically vodka used to be a very rough spirit so it was traditioonally flavored with something to cover up the roughness...buffalograss in Poland (Zubrowka), Caraway seed in Scandinavia (Aquavit). Then it became the spirit we know today as neutral spirits. Now all the manufacturers are becoming ever more innovative with ever more esoteric flavors and combinations. The TTB standard of identiy for vodka is "neutral spirits so distilled or so treated after distillation with charcoal or other materials, as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color."

So, the question might be asked..."What is vodka?" Sphere: Related Content

London International Wine Fair and Distil

(l to r: Cyril Necker, Steve Raye, Eugen Schwartz)
This was my first experience at the LIWF, and also the first time they’ve separated the spirits booths from the wine show into a separate hall. Overall, I’d give it a positive review. While traffic is significantly less on the Distil side, the consensus among exhibitors I spoke to was that the quality and focus of the attendees is pretty high. So, less traffic, but more valuable leads.



I’ve seen a number of clients and friends including Cyril Necker of byNecker---Girl liqueur; Eugen Schwarz from Oval Vodka; Dale Sklar of Wine and Spirit International. with Hapsburg Absinthe and the European HQ of MHW and the U.S. Drinks Conference in London; George Rowley of La Fee Absinthe; Emmanuel Solinsky, Nancy Little and Veronica Lamb of Walders Liqueur fame, Marc Charles of DBI and James Steiner of Cutty Sark. I also met with David Rose of The Drinks Business and Chris Boaz of Just-Drinks, both of whom are sponsoring the U.S. Drinks Conference. And surprisingly had literall run into Dave DeBoer on the street at Canary Wharf on Monday. Dave and I worked together at Heublein, and had a chance to catch up. He left Conn. for the vineyards of California, and has been heading up international sales at Delicato Vineyards since. Sphere: Related Content

Absinthe...a relatively unknown footnote

Here's an interesting bit of believable mythology regarding the history of Absinthe. In the 1840's during the Algerian War, the French soldiers commonly suffered from dysentery. The Army's solution was to issue opium to the troops because one of its side effects is constipation. But opium was bitter, so they also issued Absinthe to help them make the medicine go down easier. Absinthe also has some anti diarrheal properties of its own. But the soldiers figured out that a "spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down" and they put the opium on a lump of sugar, poured cold water over it through a slotted spoon and "Voila" a tasty beverage, the "louche" effect, and regular bowel movements. Well, anyway, that's the story Sphere: Related Content