NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 14: Sauza 901 Tequila founder Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel arrive at the Tribeca Film Festival "Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"screening after-party sponsored by Sau
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 14: Sauza 901 Tequila founder Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel arrive at the Tribeca Film Festival "Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"screening after-party sponsored by Sau
"What would you like to drink?" asks the bartender. More and more it is party time in the liquor industry across North America and while beer and wine were the dominating drinks coming into the last 10 years or so, it is liquor sales that are picking up rapidly and nonemore so than gin.
People are drinking more of the juniper-flavoured liquor as evidenced by global distiller Diageo which owns the Gordon's and Tanqueray brands which sold 18 per cent more cases in the six months through December, 2017, than in the comparable period of 2016.
Gin was associated for a long time with ageing drinkers but over the past five years the annual growth in the number of premium bottles sold averaged nearly 10 per cent while pricier bottles saw growth close to 30 per cent.
In the forefront of the revival has been Europe and in particular Spain and the United Kingdom and small brands have proliferated — vodka and gin — as they require no ageing or geographic stamp as Scotch, cognac and tequila do.
Helping to push the booze trade are celebrities! Actor Ryan Reynolds has bought an ownership stake in Aviation gin. Metallica, which won a Grammy for the song Whiskey in a Jar in 2000, is getting into the whiskey business. Jay-Z has invested in Armand de Brignac champagne and D'Usse cognac. Sean Combs has joined up with Ciroc Vodka to oversee life-style branding initiatives and helped launch Ciroc French Vanilla — and he and liquor titan Diageo bought DeLeon Tequila. Justin Timberlake co-founded Sauza 901 Tequila in 2014. AC/DC has launched a line of tequilas which they have named after their album Thunderstruck, and David Beckham has returned to his British roots for Haig Club scotch whiskey which he has promoted and for which he has starred in their commercials. (Apparently it was his grandfather's favourite.)
Liquor sales in North America hit $26.2 billion in 2017, up 4 per cent over the previous year and the eighth consecutive annual increase according to the trade association. Big names attract millions of potential consumers and millions of dollars in sales — whether it be T-shirts, decals, cars — and now booze.
Recently actor George Clooney and partners sold the Casamigos tequila venture for $700 million with the possibility of another $300m if the tequila continues to sell well. Loyal fans are known to buy what their idols are hawking, and if it's a higher-priced item, all the better for the stars. But care must be taken by the stars. A celebrity with a drunk-driving conviction would be a no-no and Disney stars are certainly not getting into liquor. (not that Mickey's "mickey" might not sell well!)
How long will it be before our own Kiwi celebrities follow the European and North American trends? Will we soon see "Carter's Cognac" or "Ritchie's Rum" or "Lorde's Lemoncello" on the shelves at our favourite liquor outlet or at our favourite pub? And how quick will be the service when we order (and how can a Whanganui guy resist this line) or will we be calling out — "WHO SHOT THE BARMAN?"
