Excerpts from Vodka article

While vodka sales make up a third of the U.S. market, the clear, almost flavorless liquor still has trouble finding respect among craft cocktailers.

According to the Distilled Spirits Council, last year Americans guzzled more than 65 million 9-liter cases of the translucent liquor — good for 32 percent of the market. But scan the cocktail lists at many local craft joints and vodka is often proportionately underrepresented and in some cases completely snubbed.

While Americans are consuming nearly four times the amount of so-called super premium or luxury vodkas (like Aviv 613 or Belvedere) than they were a decade ago, exotically flavored vodkas — which make craft bartenders’ eyes roll — have also thrived. Last week Minnesota-based Phillips Distilling Co. made national headlines when it rolled out a sriracha-flavored vodka under its UV brand.

The flavored vodka category — with all its cake- and marshmallow-inflected varieties — will continue to grow, and traditionalist cocktailers will be forced to embrace them, said Jim Aune, Phillips’ director of research and development. “This is going to be popular whether you like it or not, so you can jump on board or you can sit there by yourself,” he said.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/235733971.html

Zombie Apocalypse Vodka

We had to wait until after Halloween (their busy season) to speak with the founder.  We gave him a call at Brian Gates' suggestion, as they are a new brand, but not a competitor.

Their founder was fantastic, giving us loads of valuable advice.  Notably, they started with about the same amount of money with which we are planning to start.  The single best thing they did was focus on branding; and the biggest pitfall is that they can always use more money as marketing is a bottomless pit (not his words!).

The Gluten Issue

Like so many others, I have to eat gluten-free.  I get often get asked if our vodka, distilled from wheat, is gluten free.  


During the distillation process, heating up the alcohol removes it from the rest of the mixture used to make it.

Distillation involves heating, which vaporizes the alcohol as a way to remove it from the mixture. “Distilled spirits, because of the distillation process, should contain no detectable gluten residues or gluten peptide residues,” Steve Taylor, co-director of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Food Allergy Research and Resource Program tells Scientific American. “Proteins and peptides are not volatile and thus would not distill over.”

Basically — none of the gluten-y ingredients will come with the alcohol and shouldn’t show up in amounts that would bother many with gluten sensitivities. The rules governing gluten-free labels say anything bearing that distinction must contain less than 20 parts per million using precise, scientific methods. That testing might not be necessary, adds Taylor, calling gluten-free vodka a “silly thing.”

“All vodka is gluten-free unless there is some flavored vodka out there where someone adds a gluten-containing ingredient,” he adds. “I know that many celiac sufferers are extra-cautious. That is their privilege. But their [vodka] concerns are usually not science-based.”

http://consumerist.com/2013/11/18/is-labeling-vodka-as-gluten-free-just-another-marketing-gimmick/

Another Tasting

Had another tasting this past weekend, and garnered another investor, hurray!  And a second potential investor who's quite interested.

It's about the execution, or, Almost but not quite

So, even women get marketing to women wrong.  Link to article  However, it should be noted that this niche vodka is being started by Brown Foreman, one of the largest alcohol companies in the country.  I suspect that the women employees who created this brand and campaign were so used to "thinking inside the box" that they couldn't really be ground breaking.

From the Huffington Post:

Though there has been a lot of discussion in the news about who gets to make decisions about and for women these days, a new product is promising to relieve women of at least one "complicated" choice: what they drink. Little Black Dress Vodka's mission statement is to simplify the lives of the women it wishes to serve (or rather, be served to): "Too many people are intimidated by complicated cocktail recipes and ingredients. We wanted to design a brand all about women, accentuating ease and superb taste."

The company's press release announces that the brand is by women, for women (the concept, production, legal, brand management and finance heads are all women, according to the press release), and it's great to see female entrepreneurs going after a major share of the market -- women, after all, make 80 percent of household purchasing decisions. But it's hard to see why a group of women running their own liquor company (women who have arguably already reached some level of success in the liquor market) would imply that the "people" intimidated by complicated recipes are actually just one kind of people: the half of the population with an X chromosome.

Little Black Dress Vodka is only the latest alcohol brands to specifically target women with tired promises of ease, low calories and the cache of showing your "good taste" -- even while implying that women don't have the "taste" to discern between good and bad liquor without help.

So here's the bottom line:  the idea is a good one, BUT, it is all about execution.  And so far, none of the brands have got it right.

Here's a link to a more positive article, which highlights Brown Foreman's role:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brown-forman-designs-vodka-line-targeting-women-2012-02-22

Autumn berrries

From the Huffington Post. Would just point out we beat out the premium vodkas tested :-)

What's The Best-Tasting Vodka In America? (TASTE TEST)

The Huffington Post  |  By Kristen Aiken Posted: 10/04/2013 10:05 am EDT  |  Updated: 10/05/2013 9:45 am EDT

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Video, Absolut Vodka, Grey Goose, Ketel One, Absolut, Best Vodka, Drinking, Liquor, Liquor Taste Test, Smirnoff, Spirits, Stoli, Stolichnaya, Taste Tests, Taste Tests, Vodka, Vodka Taste Test, Worst Vodka, Taste News

Despite vodka being the No. 1 selling spirit in America, we're somewhat convinced that the majority of its fans are eating their meals in dining halls and walking around in pajama pants. Vodka isn't exactly a darling of the mixology community, but in terms of overall popularity, the numbers speak for themselves.

Last year, a consumer study revealed the top 5 vodkas preferred by American consumers, listing Grey Goose as the favorite. The study is in direct conflict with a2005 New York Times blind tasting of 21 world-class vodkas, which ranked Smirnoff the "hands-down favorite." So of course, HuffPost Taste had to put those top-5 finishers to the test.

We polled our newsroom to find both vodka lovers and haters, gathering tasters from opposite ends of the spectrum. We discovered that the vast majority of our newsroom abhors vodka, but there were a few vodka lovers (who ... happened to be young females). So …

Did our results align with America's? Check out the results of our taste test in the list below! And let us know where you stand by leaving a comment.

As always, this taste test is in no way sponsored or influenced by the brands included.

• #5: Stolichnaya (Stoli)
  Wendy George/The Huffington Post
  Origin: Russia
  Made with: Wheat and rye
  
  Comments: "POISON." "Tastes like straight rubbing alcohol." "An offense to humanity." "RUBBING ALCOHOL." "Please never make me drink again." "Really tough to drink and sickening." "Satan's piss."
• #4: Absolut
  Wendy George/The Huffington Post
  Origin: Sweden
  Made with: Wheat
  
  Comments: "Rubbing alcohol. This made me shudder." "It has a weirdly sweet aftertaste." "Oh god. Oh god. I feel like I'm being waterboarded." "Bitter and harsh. Yuck." "Too gross to drink." "This tastes like it's had something burnt soaked in it." "Smells like nail polish."
• #3: Ketel One
  Wendy George/The Huffington Post
  Origin: Netherlands
  Made with: Wheat
  
  Comments: "Pretty good. It's lacking that horrible sweetness some of the others have." "Not delicious, but basically inoffensive." "Spicy and going down smooth." "Not great but not gag-inducing."
• #2: Grey Goose
  Wendy George/The Huffington Post
  Origin: France
  Made with: Wheat
  
  Comments: "Slightly floral." "Smooth yet strong." "Yuck! Very sharp and acrid. Tastes like acetone." "I'd like this for martinis." "This reminds me of rubbing alcohol." "Smells like poison but mostly tastes like water." "Smooth, drinkable."
• #1: Smirnoff
  Wendy George/The Huffington Post
  Origin: Russia
  Made with: Wheat
  
  Comments: "Smooth, not sweet." "Kind of harsh, but manageable." "I don't hate that. It's pretty neutral." "Not too harsh. It tastes like vodka." "Drinkable and clean." "I would drink this again."

November on the farm

Solbeso

Today I sat down with one of the founders of a new spirit:  Solbeso (or, kissed by the sun) which launched a mere five weeks ago.  Solbeso is distilled from fresh cacao fruit and has a floral aroma and citrusy taste.  It  is only available in NYC (or, at Little Gates in Millerton) for now -- if you are in the area, pick up a bottle -- I did, and it is worth trying.

Much of our discussion centered on the nitty gritty of launching a brand -- self distribution, insurance, incentive programs, pay to play (they don't), brand ambassadors, benchmarking and a great deal more.

We are so lucky to be able to ask people who've done what we want to do all the questions we can think of!

Oh, just a few more!

I don't think all these ads are necessarily aimed at women (though the second and fourth are), I just think they are amazing!  (Not amazing in a good way).  And amazing that major brands think they are worth spending millions of dollars on!

I can't help myself, here's another: Bacardi Breezer campaign

This is from the Jezebel website.

A  promotional site for Bacardi Breezers says all that women need to be more attractive is to find an more unattractive female friend to stand next to.

The site suggests that like Bacardi Breezers, ugly friends come in several different varieties and women can use them to appear more attractive in social situations, such as at the beach:

While misogyny is rampant in alcohol advertising, usually those campaigns are aimed at men. It's unclear why advertisers thought showing pictures of women they deem hideous along with degrading comments would make ladies line up for Bacardi.

And from the comments section of Jezebel:

My god! The layers of approval these had to have gone through. The multiple agencies, the various brand managers, the head of marketing, and then most likely the head of the company... impossible! 

(I should note, Bacardi has taken down the website and Facebook page associated with this campaign).

More marketing to women: Really??

So, you have to watch to the end of the video to have the point really driven home:  "I love to macerate!" proclaims the speaker.  For those, like me, who are a bit slow on the uptake -- add a "t" after the c and a "b" after the r, and you get Belvedere's drift.  (Especially since the process they ostensibly describe is usually called "infusion" -- but there's no double entendre using that word).

Why is virtually every ad aimed at women seeming to be the product of a fevered male ad executive's brain?  Is it something my friends would do, proudly announce they love to masturbate??  Or is it what the ad executive wishes women were like?

New York Wine, Beer & Spirits Summit

I attended the second annual Summit yesterday at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park.  There were many speakers; here's some of what I took away:

- the wine, beer and spirits business is "exploding" in NY
- NY has a "one stop shop" website for the alcohol business
-the industry is worth $22 billion in New York
-NY has the second most number of distilleries in the country
-NY's "Taste of NY" campaign has many events, contact state to participate
-in the past 32 months the number of new distilleries has grown 270%

There was more technical stuff about licensing, raising capital etc.  I met Ralph Lorenzo of Tuthill Town Spirits -- he launched one of NY's first distilleries since prohibition a mere 10 years ago.  And I learned of an accounting/consulting firm that specializes in NY's liquor business.

Here's a  Poughkeepsie Journal article covering the Summit.

Dandelion

Second Investor Tasting/Document Distribution

Another view:

Purple Asters

Why not a farm distillery?

moonrise over the farm

After all, we have a farm.

We did seriously consider starting one, but decided against it in the end for a few reasons.  One, the capital needed to start a farm distillery would run in the millions.  The best equipment comes from Germany, is made from copper ($$$), you have to convert barns or build new, and you have to hire a distiller. Plus do all the things we are doing: branding, marketing, website, graphic design etc.

Which brings us to the second reason we decided against it:  we don't have the expertise.  Distilling is not something one lightly picks up -- people get university degrees in distilling, after taking chemistry courses etc.  If you don't do it right, you can poison people!  So since we didn't have the knowledge, we realized we'd have to hire someone who did, and that wouldn't be easy.

An even bigger reason we decided against it is the fact that NY State just loosened its laws to allow farm distilleries to start up easily.  The number of farm distilleries has gone up 211% in the past three years.  They are popping up like mushrooms!  We believe that the competition is going to be intense, (erm, not that starting another vodka brand isn't!) and that in the next five years we'll be seeing a bunch of distillery closings.

same moon, different barn

Cosmos

First investor tasting/document distribution

Advice From An Investor

I had tea recently with an angel investor, and got some really good advice. Here's some of it:

-you can have too much money.  The biggest mistake she's seen startups make is to waste money on things like nice office space, equipment etc.  Do it with bubblegum and inspiration!

- debt is better than equity when going for more money later on.  Don't give away more of the company.

- the unexpected need for money is what often sinks startups.  Plan for how we will finance the large order that comes through.

- execution is key.  There are plenty of good ideas, but it is the people doing the work that makes or breaks a startup.  You have to have both a good idea, and good people.

Our First Investor Get Together

Is this weekend.  We'll have a tasting, pitting our vodka against Premium vodkas already on the market, have some food, and distribute the legal papers for the investment.  The first of many fun times!

If you are thinking of starting your own alcohol brand

Read this book!

It is a little dated but essential reading to understand the industry and how brands work.

Morning Glory

Our first two cases are in production!

(no this isn't really our vodka on the production line!)

We've got plans for them -- tastings for anyone interested in learning more about our vodka and our company!  So calling anyone keen on learning more, and having a taste of the BEST VODKA EVER -- you are invited to a tasting at my house.  Seriously, get in touch :-).

Autumn Hydrangea

The branding work continues

Besides Tom's wealth of experience doing branding work (for Stolichnaya and Bacardi, among others) we are so, so lucky to work with Rachel Bellow of Frequency 540.  Rachel is an old friend, who happens to be a co-founder of Frequency 540 among many other impressive things.  Check out some of her ventures here.

I love her firm's approach:

ALIGNMENT ISN’T SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENS.

It is created.

We begin by studying behavioral analytics to see what
people are passionate about – and why.

We identify true brand purpose – how your brand is viewed
today and why it matters to the world.

We create content and experiences that position your
product at the point where passions and purpose align.

Alignment is kinetic. It’s constantly evolving.
Optimization and agility are key.

Some call our proprietary methodology, The Alignment
Approach, quite visionary. (Thank you.)

Because where visionaries go, prosperity follows.

The above is from their website.

Trademark success!

Just got the official notice that our application for Three Meadows Spirits was successful.  Yay!  We are officially protected now.  (And can use the "R" in the circle symbol, above)

I do have to say the application for the vodka name was sent back as being "descriptive".  We may or may not keep the name; if we do, I know if we register the logo, or the name exactly as it appears on our label, we should be able to get trademark protection in that way.

Clover

Catskill Distilling

Spent some time on the phone with the distillery's owner.  Like some of the other distillery owners we've met, he's most passionate about distilling, and his advice centered around his business model.  He did give information about bottles, an insurance broker, and liquor lawyer, which was very helpful.

WSWA

It stands for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America.  This trade group is the national trade organization representing the wholesale tier of the wine and spirits industry, and is an invaluable resource.  Three Meadows joined some time ago.  I find the daily email briefing useful for keeping my finger on the pulse of what's happening in the liquor business.  Recent news: maple is the trendiest whiskey flavor for fall, and the author of "Fifty Shades of Grey" is launching red and white wines  ("Red Satin" and "White Silk").  Erm, there's more serious stuff in there too :-).

Lucky 13!

Just got word that a thirteenth person has decided to invest!  (Happy dance!).  That leaves just seven more spots until we've reached our minimum capital needed to START.  Onwards!

Queen Ann's Lace

Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation

On Friday we met with Brian Gates, of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation.  Besides his current position, Brian was at Bacardi for 20+ years.  He gave us lots of valuable advice, including

- Get NY right -- be great locally; start with concentric circles

- put the product in mouths as quickly as possible

- do no advertising, it is too expensive.  Put the money into promotions.

- he gave great advice on distribution, and was impressed with our distributor connection

- branch out to other states in 2 - 3 years

- we must have a gift box for the holidays

- talk to other distillers to get their advice

- there are NY State grants for business, but it all hinges on the number of jobs created

- and he invited us to the "Beer, Wine and Spirits Summit" he's organizing in a month's time

It turns out he knows our distributor contact and was effusive in his praise.  (Before he learned we'd already talked to this distributor, he told us "if you can get him interested in your brand, you are set!")

He also told us we'd already avoided a lot of traps and were well on our way.  

Another meeting where we left feeling pretty great about where things were.

Farm View

And more wildflowers

Hudson River Ventures

from their website

Hudson River Ventures is a new venture capital fund concentrating on Food, Beverage and Agriculture investments in the Hudson Valley.  Right up our alley!

We contacted them over the summer, and met with their CEO in August.  He gave us some economic development leads that we are following up.  And while sadly they are not funding us now, they did encourage us to recontact them when we are further along.  In hiindsight we were probably a bit premature in speaking with them, as their announced investments have all been to ongoing businesses, some many years in operation.