Sazerac completes buy of Constellation 'value line'
By Paul F. Vang
Constellation-Sazerac Sale a Done Deal
It took over two months, but Constellation’s sale of its "value line" of spirits, was completed March 25.
The sale, previously reported by Montana Tavern Times in February, brought Constellation $274 million in cash, plus a note receivable for another $60 million, which translates to after-tax revenues of $210 million.
In a press release, Constellation reports that the sale will result in the elimination of approximately five percent of their global workforce.
From the other end of the deal, Angela Traver, Sazerac’s public relations manager, sounds a cautious note. “We’re still trying to wrap our arms around everything. We’re trying to make sure we do everything right, and to figure out what makes sense on a state-by-state basis. I think it’ll be status quo for awhile.”
Campari Buys Pernod's Wild Turkey
In another international deal, a French company, Pernod-Ricard SA sold off the Wild Turkey brand of Kentucky bourbon to an Italian company, Davide Campari-Milano, best known for, logically, Campari, for $575 million.
In last year’s tumbling economy, Wild Turkey, the U.S.’s best selling premium bourbon, still managed 6 percent growth in the United States.
Pernod is selling off assets to help pay off indebtedness from their purchase, last year, of Absolut vodka maker, Vin & Spirit.
Brown-Forman/Bacardi?
Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniel’s and Southern Comfort is, according to the Daily Telegraph, considering a merger with Bacardi. Both companies are family-controlled and already have some distribution partnerships.
A business insider told this reporter that he believes B-F’s move might be related to a rumored threat of a takeover by spirits industry giant, Diageo.
On Tap? How About Chardonnay or Cabernet?
That line-up of taps at bars and restaurants may soon expand to include wine. As reported in the New York Times, the keg and tap system we usually associate with draft beer, also seems to be perfect for serving wine by the glass.
The system solves the problem of left-over wine in bottles that may possibly go stale. It involves keeping the keg filled with nitrogen, at low pressure, to keep the wine from going stale. The system is getting established in big city markets such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, and even in wine bars at ground zero of wine country, Napa, Calif.
EU Rosé Wine Reforms Delayed by WTO
The EU commission has delayed the adoption of changes to winemaking regulations which included the controversial allowance for making rosé wines by mixing white and red wines together. That change, which we reported last month, made French winemakers see red—or was it pink?
Spirits Makers Replace Bartender With a Box
Some of the big players in the liquor business are coming out with pre-mixed drinks to make it easier to serve cocktails at home.
The Beam company is launching Sauza Margarita In A Box, 15 servings of pre-made margaritas. Brown-Forman is ready to release Southern Comfort Sweet Tea, and Diageo will produce Captain Morgan Long Island Iced Tea.
It may be convenient, but try telling your sad story to a box of pre-mixed drinks.
Belly Up to the Bar and Buy a Suit
If you think buying drinks by the box is unfair to bartenders, how about getting a free drink while you go shopping.
Customers at Lost Boys in Washington, D.C., as reported by the Wall Street Journal, sip cold beers and watch movies on a flat-screen TV. Lost Boys isn't a bar. It's a men's clothing store catering to young professionals. The store offers shoppers free beer in hopes they'll enjoy hanging out in the store and shop a little longer, and buy more.
By offering in-store drinks, a growing number of retailers are trying to get men to shop more like women, who often linger and browse, buy items on impulse, and return time and again to a favorite store. The recession is driving stores to search for anything that gives them even a small edge over rivals. And generally slower traffic gives sales staff more time to offer drinks and talk with shoppers.
Taking this a step further, a Louisiana legislator introduced a bill to allow barber shops to give their customers complimentary beer, wine and liquor.
Apparently it’s a common practice in Louisiana for barber and beauty shops to give their customers a drink while they’re in the shop for a cut or a ‘do. Until, that is, the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control started cracking down.
Now, is the free drink to mellow out the customer before the haircut, or to make them feel better about a bunch of bad hair days coming up?
Mothers of the Year?
A Kansas City-area mother accused of providing alcohol to several 13- and 14-year-old girls at a birthday party made her first appearance in court recently.
Karen Christine Downs, and another woman, Kelsee Guest, were charged with first-degree child endangerment for allegedly providing liquor and beer for the girls. Six girls attended the overnight party.
Downs is accused of offering $10 to whoever could chug a glass of vodka fastest. Guest allegedly poured shots for the girls.
According to court documents, two girls, ages 13 and 14, eventually passed out after consuming alcohol at the 14th birthday party. They were taken to a hospital to be checked for alcohol poisoning. One of the girls had a blood alcohol content of .218, nearly three times the legal limit. Sheesh!
Utah Lawmakers Approve Liquor Law Changes
In an effort to boost tourism and make the state appear a little less odd, Utah legislators passed measures to modernize liquor laws and make it easier to go into a bar and order a drink.
The Legislature eliminated the state's private club system, which requires customers to fill out an application and pay a fee for the right to enter a bar. Bartenders in restaurants also will be allowed to serve cocktails directly over bar counters instead of walking around them.
One Utah bar owner said, happily, "Now we don't have the quirkiest liquor laws in the country anymore."
Gentlemen: Start Your Bar Stools!
In Newark, Ohio, Kyle Wygle, age 28, picked up a DUI citation in March. His vehicle? A motorized bar stool. He was cruising down the street in his home-made contraption and wrecked while trying to make a U-turn. Wygle admitted to drinking about 15 beers before deciding to go for a spin.
The man's ride consisted of a bar stool with a padded seat welded to a frame that also contained a 5-horsepower motorcycle engine that operated a chain drive attached to a rear wheel. A lawnmower steering wheel turns the front wheels.
According to the Columbus Dispatch story, bar stool racing is popular in some Midwest states, and you can buy motorized bar stools on-line.
The story hit my computer on April 1 and I thought, April Fool? I did an on-line search and, sure enough, found motorized bar stools. Really. I couldn’t make that up!
Montana Changes the Legal Definition of Beer
On April 9, Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed House Bill 400, which changes the legal definition of beer. Previously, Montana law allowed beer to contain up to 7 percent alcohol by weight. The new law permits beer to contain 8.75 percent alcohol by weight or 14 percent by volume.
Supporters of the bill claimed that this will expand the selection of beers that microbrewers can produce and distributors can carry. This market expansion, they say, would be of great economic benefit to the state, as it would provide for greater use of Montana agricultural products and meet consumer demands for a wider variety of quality beers.
Southern-most Whisky Distillery
From headquarters in the Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, Highland Park, Scotland’s northernmost distillery, announced plans to open a distillery in the South Orkney Islands.
The South Orkney Islands are considered part of Antarctica at 60° S, similar in latitude to the northern Orkneys at 59° N.
A big difference, however, is that the northern Orkney islands are in the Gulf Stream and have a mild, if wet and stormy, climate. The South Orkneys are ice-locked from April to November and travel there is possible just three months out of the year.
There is ample water in the South Orkneys, though barley and yeast will have to be shipped from Scotland.
The South Orkney Islands have been part of the British Antarctic Territory since 1962 and because of its British ownership the Scotch Whisky Association has agreed to allow the whisky to be labeled "Scotch Whisky."
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, May 2009, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W Granite, Suite 102, Butte MT. 59701