The Best Chef in the Hudson Valley is creating a cocktail for us!

We've completed our label and are starting to focus on the "hang tag" that will go on each bottle, and Serge Madikians has very generously agreed to create a cocktail recipe or two.  Serge owns Serevan, an amazing restaurant one town over from us.  Check out the gorgeous website.

Serevan is a country restaurant with an intimate sensibility. Over the past ten years, chef/owner Serge Madikians has developed an original, distinctive cuisine based on both his proximity to the farms of the Hudson Valley and his heritage as an Armenian from Iran.

I met Serge when I took my parents to his restaurant several years ago.  Hanging on the wall was an old photograph of a Tehran street scene.  My father took one look and instantly recognized Cafe Naderi, which was THE place to be when he was a young man.  We told our server this, and Serge came over -- his grandfather started the famous cafe!  

Cafe Naderi in 1947

Naderi café and hotel were built in 1927 by a Armenian immigrant called Khachik Madikians. It was named so because it was build along the then Naderi Avenue. The founder started his career in Tehran first with baking confectionaries and he used Naderi restaurant to introduce Iranians to European foods for the first time. Later on, he built another hotel with the same name close to Naderi café. After Grand Hotel, the Naderi Hotel was the second hotel to be built in Tehran. More about the istory of Cafe Naderi here

And with that "small world" connection, I was lucky enough to meet Serge, who is one of the most high profile, talented chefs, working on not only a local, but national, stage. I am thrilled that Three Meadows will experience some of his creativity and genius. We are unbelievably lucky!

So, we can't say this, but I wish we could!

Read the government warning.

(Alex and his team put this in, greatly improving the standard caution that no one ever reads . . . but it is not actually legal to change the language one iota, so sadly, it had to come out).

And on to the next step

Having obtained our Formula Approval, we are filing for our Label Approval this week.  We've refined it and made it even better.  Though i say it myself, it is world class!

The question on my mind right now is that our designer added some -- extremely funny -- text to the standard government warning . . . I doubt it can stay in, but we're running it by our lawyer.  Whether it stays in or not, I'll post it some time on the blog, but first I want to get the answer.

Some excellent news

Just got word on Friday that we got our Formula Approval.  Hurray!  That's our second approval down, one more to go before we can start production.  Our label goes in for approval within the next two weeks.

And another label update

We've hired the illustrator, and given her a brief for what we want.  She should have something for us within a few weeks.  Next, we've picked the photograph.  And today I am sitting down and working on the contracts for both.

Gift packaging

We've always thought our brand lends itself to gift giving, and as I've been canvassing people I've been getting a strong indication that our audience agrees.  We've toyed with the idea of creating a gift box, but the expense (both for the design, and for the production) are pretty high.  Our bottle is so pretty that one retailer told me to just put it in cellophane bags with a gorgeous ribbon.  She pointed out that we want our bottle (and any accompanying gift, if we do that) to be easily seen.

And the winner is . . . .?

After polling over 45 people, the results are in: over  2/3's went for one of these finalists.  To see which one, stay tuned for our launch :-).

Misleading label?

While I'm so focused on liquor labels, this came across my computer -- Tito's Vodka is being sued in a class action lawsuit, which claims the label is inaccurate:

This is a class action case brought on behalf of all purchasers of all vodka (“Vodka”) manufactured, distributed, marketed, and/or sold by FIFTH DIMENSION, INC. dba Tito’s Handmade Vodka (hereinafter “TITO’S”). Through a fraudulent, unlawful, deceptive and unfair course of conduct, TITO’S, and DOES 1 through 100 (collectively “Defendants”), manufactured, marketed, and/or sold their “TITO’S HANDMADE” Vodka to the California general public with the false representation that the Vodka was “handmade” when, in actuality, the Vodka is made via a highly-mechanized process that is devoid of human hands. There is simply nothing “handmade” about the Vodka, under any definition of the term,1 because the Vodka is: (1) made from commercially manufactured “neutral grain spirit” (“NGS”) that is trucked and pumped into TITO’s industrial facility; (2) distilled in a large industrial complex with modern, technologically advanced stills; and (3) produced and bottled in extremely large quantities (i.e., it is “mass produced”). - See more at: http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/#sthash.gdNOuFi7.dpuf

I am happy to say that every single word on our label is true :-)

This also illustrates one of my theories:  it is very hard -- perhaps impossible -- for a small, artisinal, farm distillery-type brand to scale up.  By definition such a brand has to be small as it is impossible to be handcrafted and also produced on a large scale.

label update

We are continuing to work on the label and are getting very close to being done.  We've narrowed the four photographs down to two finalists.  They are very different!  Alex has done a mock up of bottles with both versions and I'm going around and polling my friends (because they fit our customer profile).  With only preliminary results in the voting is 50 -50 between the two pictures.  I suppose this means we can't go wrong!

Art on the label, part 2

Besides nailing down the photograph, we're working on hiring an artist for our label too.  We've narrowed the list down to two artists, both of which are interested in the job.  Both women.  Very hard choice.

And again, the law degree comes in handy

We've selected four finalists for the label photograph, and today I'm drafting the contract for the purchase of rights.

Article on launching new drinks

Here's the link

Highlights include:

One important thing to keep in mind is value, according to Larry Levin, executive vice president for industry insights at IRI. Consumers are willing to pay more for products they find valuable and that make their lives better.

“New product innovation is truly at the heart of consumer demand,” he said. “Value doesn’t mean cheap, value means making my life better.”

And:

According to Levin, coffee and tea and beer, wine and spirits take the top two spots among categories driving sales in consumer packaged goods, and consumers don’t care whether new beverage products come from big or small companies as long as they meet their demand.

“New product launches are for anybody and everybody who’s listening to the hearts and minds of consumers,” he said.

And another thing about our label

You may not be surprised to learn that we will have a flower photograph on the label.  Even though there are literally MILLIONS of photos of this particular flower on the internet, there are very few that have the look we are going for.

We hired a photo researcher who's come up with some contenders, and we've found an amazing photo on Facebook (from a friend of a friend's -- who, it must be said, is a successful fashion photographer).

Alex is coming up with a short list, and we'll be picking the one that is perfect for us within the week.

Procrastination . . .

One of the things on my plate is nailing down insurance for our company.  I've gone as far as talking to two commercial insurance brokers, one of which specializes in liquor.  As I've suspected, it's just like my farm insurance.  If a broker isn't familiar with the industry, the quote is astronomical.  The unfamiliar broker guesstimated our premium would be $10,000/year, which, quite frankly, is ridiculous given the very limited exposure we have.  The liquor industry expert guesstimated our premium would be $1,500/year.  Much more like it.

But now it is over to me to fill out the reams of paperwork for the brokers . . . . and, honestly, I'm procrastinating . . . .

Which charity?

We plan on our vodka donating generously to good causes.  There are many, bur main focus is rooted in our location.  The Hudson Valley is one of the most beautiful places I know,

We'll be donating a portion of our proceeds to land conservation.  It underpins so many things -- equestrian pursuits, gardening, country life, agriculture, wildlife and scenic beauty.

We have some other causes on our short list, and would love to hear suggestions as well.

More about our label

Because the label is the single most important marketing device we have, we've been really working hard on it.  We are on the third or fourth iteration, and each version is cleaner and less cluttered than the last.  I never realized how hard it is to be simple!  On the one hand, it is simple, elegant and powerful; and on the other, it has major elements that have never been seen on a liquor label before (not the art!).  It feels a bit like Christmas morning, where I'm bursting with excitement to SHOW everyone what it looks like, but that won't be possible until we launch. It just looks SO GREAT!!!

Art on the label?

Another reminder that there is nothing new we can do . . .

We are strongly considering putting original art on the back of our label and I came across this:

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2014/09/a-new-frontier-for-custom-wine-labels/

A vineyard is putting original art on their labels!  However, they are doing it a bit differently than we are.  We are thinking of  commissioning an artist to make a picture that embodies our brand and where we come from.  The vineyard is envisioning something a bit different.  They are putting collectible art on the bottles and selling them for $800 a pop.

And now for something completely different

A bald eagle landed on our farm!

Another trademark application filed

one of the farm's meadows

Our designer had a really fantastic idea for our vodka (having to do with how we describe it).  Our liquor-label lawyer immediately nixed it, saying the TTB would never allow us to use the phrase on our bottle.

However, this very same phrase was trademarked in the past and -- luckily for us! --  abandoned just this year.  Yay us!  Our application is in.

In more developments

Another big decision was taken over the summer to replace our distiller.  While he makes an excellent product we found that he was unreliable.  We also learned we were not the only people to experience this.  Thankfully we discovered this before our first big production run.

We then spent a fair amount of time visiting other distillers both in and out of state, and have located an AMAZING one, who has an excellent product, and who is super professional.  Everyone who's ever worked with them (our accountant, American Spirits Exchange, our lawyer) gives their highest recommendation.

We are very happy to be working with them!

And so the next regulatory approval

So, we've managed to find the one lawyer in the US with the niche practice of getting formula and label approvals.  I've decided to stop posting names and firms as with everything I've learned from this journey I may want to do some consulting down the road to others wanting to start brands. (apologies for being a bit selfish).

At any rate, with this lawyer's help we've filed three different formula approvals (it is the same formula, just filed under different categories).  This should ensure that a) at least one gets approved and b) that we keep our options open as to how we describe our vodka.

The wait time is now 70+ days for approval, so while our applications wind their way through the labyrinth we will be extremely busy -- and I'll write about what we are up to in my next posts.

I'm Back!

note the bee photobombing my picture

OK, so I have a lot of catching up to do.  The Most Important News is that we have raised enough money to go forward -- and so we are.  Although we are working pretty feverishly there won't be very much tangible for the next six months, as we work through regulatory approvals, setting up a website, securing other trademarks, organizing promotional events for next summer etc etc etc.  But I'll break out the various things we are up to in future posts.

We knew we hired a good one: Alex Isley just won the design world's highest honor

A slideshow of Alex's work

Really worth clicking through -- he's done some amazing things.

We met with him and his team a few days ago to begin the exciting process of creating the design work for the brand (not only the label).

Crocuses, II

Crocuses, I

This is huge!

So, we've found a company that specializes in back office operations for liquor brands.  They will warehouse the vodka, ship it to distributors, take care of the billing and payment, do all the regulatory filings to get us qualified in every state (so we can launch in NY and CT fairly easily).  Their fee structure means that their interests are aligned with ours, and they act as an informal consultant to brands as well.

We had a great conversation with them.  As always we asked for advice.  One of the partners started (and sold) a vodka brand.  He said it was hard to focus on sales, when he had to devote so much time to permitting etc.  (Which is why he realized there was a niche for his business).  He said the best thing to do is focus on sales and marketing, and especially to the end consumer.  He's seen brands focus so much on getting into stores they don't pay enough attention to getting the product out of stores as well.  He also advised to use stock everything (bottle, cork etc).

This company comes highly recommended from a couple of brands we've talked to, as well as our accountant.  We are so excited to work with them.

Today on the farm: snowdrops!

Marketing to Women: They're doing it right!

check out their website!

The three Ross Valley moms always joked they should mass produce their famous school-fundraiser margarita recipe. No one thought they would.

But last year, Sydney Rainin-Smith, Jill Korst and Carey Clahan, who were up to their elbows in limes for yet another parent-teacher association party, started to get serious. In May, they launched Laughing Glass, a company that makes a low-calorie, organic agave-sweetened premixed margarita.

The unlikely alcohol producers, from divergent backgrounds, are realizing the market for their concoction – which they call “something women don’t have to hide in the kitchen” – might extend beyond the PTA.

The cocktails are selling out at 50-plus Bay Area storefronts where they are carried, and the founders just ordered a double production run and are getting five to 10 calls a day from grocery stores across the country.

“This is a bigger industry and a bigger market than I was prepared for,” said Clahan.

“But that’s true of any startup,” added Rainin-Smith.

Korst agreed, pouring herself another margarita. “Everyone said we’re not gonna be able to do it, and we’re like, ‘A-ha – in your face.’ ”

Article on the direction Vodka is heading (Spoiler alert: Our way!)

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304815004579417203778518742

YOU KNOW THE standard definition of vodka: colorless, odorless, tasteless. But a few producers are rethinking what this spirit can be—and we're not talking about fruit-flavored bottles, either.

Up to now, priority has been placed on neutrality. "In whiskey, we preserve character," said Tad Dorda, CEO of the Poland-based Chopin brand. "In vodka, we lose it." To show how expressive vodka can be, Mr. Dorda created his Single series. Each of the four single-ingredient vodkas—potato, "young potato" (made with early-harvested potatoes), rye, wheat—is filtered just once. The results are startling: The potato vodkas are redolent of dark chocolate; the wheat is downright earthy. The standard Chopin vodkas—filtered four times—merely whisper where the Singles shout.

Swedish producer Karlsson's has released two limited-edition vodkas in its Batch series, each labeled with a vintage to showcase the character of a single potato harvest. Also filtered once, these are distinctly sweet, with a hearty mouthfeel. Collectors may want to procure a bottle just to see how extreme a vodka can be, while the easier-to-obtain Karlsson's Gold retains some of the same richness and singularity, taken down just a notch.

AO Vodka, new to the U.S., is a Japanese rice vodka with a fleeting, rounded sweetness. Napa Vodka, made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, is reminiscent of an eau-de-vie, right down to the fruity scent. From New York's Hudson Valley, COMB Vodka is a honey-based spirit with lush apple tones. Distilled father north, from milk sugar, Vermont White is a rich, sweet vodka made for a White Russian.

"There's been great evolution in beer and single-malt whiskeys," said Christian Gylche, president of Karlsson's. "The range of ingredients used, the geographic locations where they are made—now they are talked about." So it's going with vodka. On the horizon: barrel aging. Oak-aged Absolut Amber is already sold at duty-free stores; Karlsson's has one in the works. Since wood adds flavor, color and aroma, can we call these vodkas? These industry innovators are willing to test the limits.

1. Napa Vodka Vintage Reserve, 40% ABV, $70 | Made from single-estate Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc grapes, it's reminiscent of a fruity eau-de-vie, but with a crisp finish. Serve chilled, with aged cheeses.

2. Hophead Hop Vodka, 45% ABV, $30 | A beer-lover's vodka, distilled with hops. Super-fragrant, with grapefruit, grassy and floral flavors. As close to gin as vodka can get without going over the line.

3. AO Vodka, 40% ABV, $50 | This clean, lightly sweet vodka from Japan's Suntory is distilled from rice. The exquisitely silky texture makes it a standout. Serve in a martini glass with a splash of dry vermouth and a ribbon of fresh cucumber.

4. Chopin Single Young Potato Vodka, 40% ABV, $50 | If you're going to try just one of Chopin's four Single selections, make it this one. The mild aroma hints at dark chocolate; on the palate it's buttery, with ginger and black pepper notes.

5. Karlsson's Gold Vodka, 40% ABV, $33 | Made from Swedish potatoes, distilled only once and rebelliously unfiltered, this is an earthy, downright savory vodka. The flavor evokes truffles sprinkled with black pepper. A top pick for Bloody Marys.

A great resource!

So, as I mentioned, we've been very busy lately.  One of the things we've done is meet with Rob Unger of Judelson, Giordano and Siegel.  He's an accountant that came highly recommended by another small vodka brand.

His firm was one of the sponsors of NY's Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit I attended last fall.  They do a lot of work with distributors, and also represent other brands.  Rob was lovely to meet in person and has already given us great advice, as well as some contacts in the industry.  He'll be preparing our tax returns and the K-1's for investors who came on in 2013.

A refinement on the business model? Two Gingers

Story in Forbes here

And link to Chicago Tribune story here

The bottom line:  Beam bought this brand, started by one man, when it was only available in one state:  Minnesota.  This is a departure from the usual trajectory, of a conglomerate waiting until the new brand is selling regionally, and in the tens of thousands of cases a year before buying it.

For an Irishman, Kieran Folliard figured out the American dream quickly. Invent a product. Market it well. Become a wild success. Get bought out by a conglomerate for an untold fortune. Travel the country for weeks at a time promoting said product in an Airstream.

That has been Folliard's unlikely trajectory during the last two years with 2 Gingers Irish whiskey. The inspiration, Folliard said, was pouring phenomenal amounts of Jameson Irish whiskey at the bars he owned in Minneapolis.

Yet, he wondered if he could do it better. Folliard began contracting with a distillery in central Ireland in pursuit of the smoothest, most mainstream Irish whiskey it could manage.

"Nonsnobby was my approach," Folliard said.

2 Gingers quickly became a Minnesota sensation, mostly because of a cocktail that Folliard trademarked called the Big Ginger, which is composed of 2 ounces of 2 Gingers topped with ginger ale and fresh squeezes of lemon and lime. If such a cocktail sounds like a betrayal of all things whiskey, well, neither 2 Gingers nor the Big Ginger is intended for you.

Folliard is candid about the fact that his whiskey is meant to appeal to both men and women (as opposed to the usual whiskey target: men) who prefer vodka and beer to whiskey. Hence, 2 Gingers is as easy to drink and burn-free as whiskey gets — especially when topped with ginger ale and citrus.

"We're never going to win over the aficionados, and I'm not sore about that, honestly," Folliard said. "The focus is absolutely on converting nonwhiskey drinkers, both male and female."

That plan appealed to Beam Inc., the suburban Chicago spirits giant behind dozens of brands that include respected whiskeys such as Maker's Mark, Basil Hayden's and Booker's. It bought 2 Gingers in late 2012 and kept Folliard as its face. Beam is expanding 2 Gingers' availability to all 50 states.

"An interesting piece to us … is that through the brand of 2 Gingers, he was able to convert people," said Chris Bauder, Beam's vice president and general manager of whiskey and cognac. "It seemed different than what was on the market."

Indeed, 2 Gingers threads a unique needle: It provides Beam an opportunity to compete with Jameson with an accessible Irish whiskey while appealing to people who don't even like whiskey much.

And for that reason, 2 Gingers deserves credit; it provides a little heat on the tongue with hints of oak and citrus before reaching an impressively smooth finish.

But from a straight whiskey drinking perspective, the flavor peters out without ever quite becoming interesting. At $20 per bottle, it's tough to recommend, especially when very good bourbons can be had for only slightly more money

Then again, I'm not the intended audience. And that's just fine with Folliard and Beam.

And a Minneapolis story here

A couple of pieces of advice

I spoke yesterday with another distiller (more on this later).  We had a great, wide-ranging talk, but two things he said stand out.  One, he agreed our budget was right on target for a new brand.  And two, he said you really can't go "belly up" in this business.  That's because you always have goods (vodka) to sell, so worst case scenario, you'll get your money back.  He also agreed that word of mouth was the best way to launch (OK, so three things stood out).  If you spend a ton of money of advertising, you could lose that, but it is not necessary at the start.

A snowy sunset over one of our meadows

photo courtesy of Sarah Tompkins

We've hired a designer

We went through quite a process, interviewing local designers, internationally famous design firms, a firm who's business is creating and designing new alcohol brands and packaging . . . and after great deliberation decided to go with Alexander Isley and his team.

The Isley Manifesto

If you read even a third of the way down, you will not be surprised to learn that he was the art director for the late lamented  Spy Magazine.  He is the funniest person we've met in this vodka journey.

So he is really impressive and has a really impressive client list

But we are taking a little risk.  We know he and his team are amazing designers, but they haven't done a vodka brand before.  We think this will pay off, as we want to think outside the box, be different than every other vodka brand out there.  

We'll be getting started on the design in about a month's time -- we have to finalize the wording on the label first, and that's a matter for the TTB.

Basic Permit

So . . . we've filed for another one of our required permits, called the Basic Permit.  The TTB (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) has an online filing system.  It sounds like nothing, but actually has taken a few hours to organize.                                                                                                              

Tree on the farm

Accountant

There is so much going on, which is paradoxically why the blog has been quiet.  We've been busy following up with potential investors, winnowing our designer choices, finding a label printer, identifying a company with back office capabilities, and contacting an accountant who specializes in the liquor industry.  Whew!  None of what we are doing is final yet -- we haven't hired anyone -- but these are some things in the works.  More later!

Another Tasting

We had our first tasting at someone else's house, and had a fantastic time.  We got great feedback and lots of interesting ideas, and perhaps some more investors.

Fantastic article on launching a new superpremium brand

Here's the link


There's always room for one more product, don't you think? I'm amazed at how product marketers keep reinventing everything from toothbrushes to dish soap to perfume to jeans to yogurt to artificial sugar for your coffee -- with vitamins in it!

So why not super-premium tequila? That's what Ken Austin asked himself. Austin, 46, was one of the founders of Marquis Jet, and before that spent over a decade with Seagram and E&J Gallo Winery. Austin has long had a thing for really good tequila. The kind that doesn't burn your insides and require chasing with a beer. There's already a dominant brand in the super-premium ($40-$60 a bottle) category -- the ubiquitous Patron. But try naming the number two super-premium tequila brand. You probably can't, because there isn't one that's even close to Patron.

Not having a major second-place player doesn't make creating a new tequila a slam-dunk. The liquor market is a mature, highly competitive, highly regulated arena with all kinds of barriers to entry. Austin got in anyway, and started Tequila Avion in 2009. He is fueled by what he calls his "insane DNA." And, as any entrepreneur knows, a little insanity definitely helps.

Lesson Number One from Austin: Ignore "Them."Everyone will tell you that you're nuts when you want to start a company, and "they" are of course correct. Austin had money from his success in the liquor business and Marquis Jet. He could have coasted and sipped other peoples' tequila for the rest of his life. So he started by ignoring the people who said, "But what do you know about the tequila business?" He learned a lot from working for and with Ernest Gallo and then at Seagram, but that was as an executive running field operations, not as a CEO. All he really knew when he decided to start Tequila Avion was that there was only one really good, highly developed brand in the space.

"I knew nothing about making glass, corks, about federal label registrations. I was a total neophyte on the back end of the business," he says. So, like any insane entrepreneur would have done, he said to his wife, "Honey, I'm going to Mexico." She went along with his plans (did she have a choice?) and he started visiting distilleries in search of a company that would make Avion according to his recipe and specific filtration requirements. "I found people with the best agave plants, grown in the highlands, where the agave is sweeter," Austin notes.

Lesson Number Two: "Visualize the end zone." Austin says his goal with Avion, now in its second year in business, is not primarily about money. His goal is to create an "iconic brand that lasts 100 years." Tell that to investors and others and "they" will say you're even more insane! Create an iconic brand? How the heck do you do that?

One way to get a brand going is to create some serious buzz. Through his being a top exec of Marquis Jet, Austin had his share of celebrity clients and leveraged a relationship with the creator of the HBO series Entourage. to feature Avion in the series's plot. The writers wrote it into the story line -- at no cost to Austin's company. The branding was so successful that many people thought Avion was a fake brand invented just for the show. The company had to resort to skywriting in Hollywood during the Grammy Awards: "Avion Tequila....Yes it's Real." The thing that really convinced the public Avion wasn't fake was when it won a Double Gold award at the 2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

But even getting onto Entourage doesn't guarantee success, and Avion's launch hasn't been without its bumps. The product officially launched in July 2010, which Austin concedes was bad timing since tequila is a somewhat seasonal (summer) drink. The company launched in New York and California initially and, Austin says, and did not have national distribution and promotional programs in place. Earlier this year, though, the company concluded a national distribution and investment agreement with Pernod Ricard to assure Avion's broad availability.

Austin offers a bit more advice for entrepreneurs:
"It's important to listen to other people, but as an entrepreneur you have to listen to yourself more than anyone. Everyone told me I would never break in to the business."
"Never quit. When you think it's over, fight harder. Avion is going to be big because I'm going to make it big."
"Don't breathe your own vapors too much. If something is wrong, you've got to change."

States with the highest spirits sales

Winter Trail Ride

photo courtesy of Sarah Proper

Another design firm

We met with another firm a few days ago.  They have many impressive clients; here are two pieces of their work I admire:

Don't you love the retro New Years' Resolution Garden, above?  I already know I cannot plant to save my life, and even so I would want to buy those seed packets!

Trends!

Winter berries

Wild rosehips

More Designers

We will be  meeting with potential designers for our label/bottle/logo etc. through February.

Here's the work of a couple more amazing women:

http://new.pentagram.com/2013/09/new-work-milly/

If you click on that link, you'll see how Natasha Jen rebranded the fashion house Milly.  Here's their new logo:

We also have an appointment to meet with another designer in a couple of weeks.  Here's some of her work:

Top Vodka Brands

from the Beverage Information Group's 2013 Advance Handbook

Click to enlarge

Farm Fencepost