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Inventory for September 10th, 2017

Welcome back folks! This week we’ve got a short and succinct inventory for you. Liquor.com gives us a rundown on eight other red liqueurs that could make Campari sweat in its boots, Pernod targets Generation Z with its new “Gin Hub”, and Noma alumni have taken over an abandoned warehouse to produce the future of booze. Cheers!

The Long Island Ice Tea isn’t exactly the classiest of cocktails. Visions of fresh-faced college students who want all the alcohol their tiny bodies can handle come to mind. But last week Long Island native Alicia Kennedy penned a defense on the drink. She begins “Yes, I’m a bit tacky and loud, just like the absurd cocktail that bears the name of my homeland”. Self aware! She continues, “In both its purest form and in cleaned-up recipes, the Long Island Iced Tea refuses to be taken seriously. When you order either, you’re doing the same”. A lovely piece on one of our industry’s silliest exports that’s well worth a read!

Eight Bitter Red Liqueurs giving Campari a Run for its Money

When you see that specific red hue most of us immediately think of Campari (somebody give Campari’s branding department), but Liquor.com author Kelly Magyarics put together a list of eight other bitter red liqueurs that could give Campari a run for its money. First off, we’ve got Galliano L’Aperitivo which is made with more than 50 (!) ingredients. It’s fresh citrus note, mild sweetness, and long, gentle finish is said to go well with a Red Light Negroni. Another favorite is the recently launched Martini Riserva Speciale Bitter, its recipe is based on one that dates back to 1872 “Three rare botanicals [Italian artemisia, African caluma and Angostura bark] deliver a unique richness and complexity through different dimensions of bitterness,” says global Martini ambassador Robert Mariani.

It works well in a classic Negroni or Boulevardier. Lastly, and at the highest price point, there’s the Luna Amara Aperitivo. Though produced in Washington, D.C. it is modeled after a Italian bitter of Turin. Crafted with 16 botanicals this small-batch aperitivo is filled to the brim with notes of honeydew and prickly pear that are tempered with grapefruit and chicory. All of these very much seem worth a try, sorry Campari!

Pernod targets Generation Z with The Gin Hub

“French drinks producer Pernod Ricard has upped its focus on gin with the launch of The Gin Hub – an independent arm tasked with developing and innovating within the company’s portfolio of strategic gin brands to drive further growth in the category”, the drinks business reports. The producer says this launch marks “a show of confidence in the future” of its gin portfolio, nevermind the fact that the height of gin’s popularity has definitely passed us and we’re just waiting for the ennui to set in. The gin tonic’s been conquered folks, let’s not try and innovate the wheel.

However, Pernod doesn’t seem to agree. Sophie Gallois is in charge of the project and she’s been “tasked with taking the project forward as a standalone entity that will ‘move quickly and nimbly’ to grasp the opportunities that the growing gin category presents”. Beefeater did achieve a volume growth of 4% in the last fiscal year, largely due to the emerging markets in Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, and France. Gallois says “We really think this growth is going to continue for the next few years and that gin has a lot of room room to develop. To grab this opportunity, we thought Pernod Ricard needed to work differently. The Gin Hub will bring all of our strategic gin brands under one roof. This really is a great move that’s going to give more focus to gin with three key objectives; the co-ordination of brands, to work differently, and to win market share. We are going to be working in a more agile, entrepreneurial way”.

How a Danish once-abandoned Warehouse might Contain the Future of Spirits

Last week Munchies author Lars Hinnerskov Eriksen paid a visit to the new project of Noma alumni Lars Williams and Mark Emil Hermansen. The two bought a custom-built vacuum still with which they’re planning on “turning aromas into taste”. The plan is to distill their own alcohol to “preserve the base in its purest form and enhance the flavor profile of the ingredients. This is achieved by keeping the closed distillation system at low temperatures, and by distilling the ferment to a lower alcohol level”.

So far they’ve got four spirits at the ready: The Easy Tiger (made with Douglas fir), the Charlene McGee (smoky juniper notes), the Fallen Pony (made with quince kombucha), and a base distillate which was never intended for public consumption. The base spirit apparently was very popular with Danish bartenders and has a mango-like smell, which comes from koji. It’s likened to a Japanese shochu. The two have got the mindset of a startup: “Honestly, we started this knowing very little about the spirits landscape,” says Hermansen. “I love that by diving into a new field with a beginner’s mind, we’ve been able to look at things with a fresh perspective, oblivious to a lot of the unwritten rules”. This is either a recipe for disaster, or for success. It remains to be seen!

Credits

Foto: Photo via Shutterstock.

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