Matt Shattock: 2011 an "Extraordinary Year"
FILED FEBRUARY 3, 2012
"2011 was an extraordinary year for Beam," said chief Matt Shattock as he opened the company's fiscal year earnings call with analysts. It was a big year indeed. At the end of 2010 they announced plans to become a standalone spirits company, which went into effect on October 4. In March 2011 they acquired Skinnygirl for an undisclosed (although highly speculated about) sum. Then in the waning days of December, they announced plans to acquire Irish whiskey distillery Cooley Distillery for $95 million. So within a year's time they entered two fast growing spirits categories: low-calorie RTDs and Irish whiskey. "The people of Beam feel very good about how far we've come, where we are, and where we're headed in 2012 and beyond," he continued. Read More

What's New at Centennial
FILED FEBRUARY 2, 2012
Dallas/Fort Worth has been a hotbed of retailer activity since many of the formerly "dry" counties voted to go wet. You'll recall there were press reports recently that Spec's Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods, which is the largest liquor store chain in Texas, was in talks to purchase Sigel's Beverages of Dallas. But in mid-January the Dallas Morning News reported that the deal was off, although Spec's appeared confident that could reignite talks at a later date. Meanwhile, Total Wine & More is soon moving to Dallas as its first entry point into Texas, and Trade Joe's will soon set up camp in 3 different locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. But our focus today is on Centennial Fine Wine and Spirits - the largest chain in North Texas, where it operates 40 stores (including Big Daddy's and Majestic). Read More

PlumpJack Purchases Steltzner Vineyards
FILED FEBRUARY 1, 2012
PlumpJack Group has acquired Steltzner Vineyards to add to its growing portfolio of vineyards in Oakville and Howell Mountain. The 40-acre property is located in the Stags Leap District in Napa Valley and comprises 36 acres of planted vineyards. The varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Tintoria and Pinotage. Read More

A Talk with Patron Spirits
FILED JANUARY 31, 2012
The biggest revelation from DISCUS' annual industry review yesterday , in our mind, was the share factor. New product innovations, more advertising and increased popularity among millennials helped spirits take another three-tenths (0.3) of a share point from beer in 2011, reaching 33.6% of the total beverage alcohol market. Since 2000, spirits has taken about 5 points of market share, and the industry doesn't plan on stopping there. DISCUS is looking, long term, for spirits to get back to its heyday in the mid-1970s high of 41% market share of ethanol . Barring any unforeseeable events, "we're confident in our ability to continue to grow," said chief Peter Cressy. Read More

Spirits Has Solid Post-Recession Growth
FILED JANUARY 30, 2012
The US spirits industry operated under "better circumstances than we experienced over the last couple of years," said Distilled Spirits Council ceo Peter Cressy this afternoon at the group's annual briefing, which helped ramp up volume and dollar sales growth in 2011 as we emerge from the recession. Read More