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

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 Spirited Dinner

TOTC has taken over New Orleans. Hundreds of attendees fanned out across the city for specially prepared dinners matched course for course with cocktails. Sam and I ate at the Palace Café hosted by Paul Clarke of Cocktail Chronicles Jim Meehan of PDT in NY. We took over half of the top floor of the restaurant and it was a great feeling to be part of this group. We sat at a table with Karen Foley, editor and publisher of Imbibe, John Pellaton of Hine Cognac and shared some incredibly creative food and drinks. Then it was off to Muriel’s on Jackson Square for the Beefeater Gin Ruby Jubilee. A great party in an awesome location with a wrought iron balcony overlooking the square. More wonderful cocktails and samples of mini muffalettas, crawfish beignets and other twists on New Orleans classic foods. We also met Ashley Garver of Le Tourment Vert absinthe and had an interesting conversation on where Absinthe is going in the U.S. She validated what we’ve seen: people are fascinated by the concept of it having been illegal and the mystique surrounding its alleged hallucinatory effects. Initially they’ll taste it in a ritual, then straight, and then expanding into various drinks with Red Bull, Jagermeister et al. The key issue Ashley has found, as have we, is that the taste of licorice is just not an American favorite, and that lower licorice profile brands like Le Tourment and Mata Hari will likely find a home here 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