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American Whiskey
o
lds its Own
The Maker’s Manhattan atCafé Nell in Portland, Ore.
Tato a o aat otu too uot fo Ama bo oo.
By Jack Robertiello
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you were wondering how the American whiskey businessis doing these days, a glance at
Te New York imes
this pastsummer might provide a hint. A ull page Knob Creek ad in late June announced thatdemand or the Bourbon had outstripped supply, and that new shipments wouldn’t arrive until November. In addition to beinga brilliant marketing play, this is a sure sign that the premiumand super-premium side o the American whiskey business ishumming along nicely despite the country’s economic woes. American whiskies are beneting rom a number o trends,not the least being the relative bargain they represent. “Evenat the high end, they aren’t outrageously expensive, and they are a phenomenal value, especially compared to other brownspirits like Cognac or Scotch,” says Michael Bonadies, presidentand CEO o single location 21c Museum Hotel. Te hotel hasa Louisville, Ky. location and is developing its second hotel in Austin, exas.Te return o classic cocktails also has helped drive thecategory’s strength, pushing the Manhattan, Sazerac and Mint Julep back onto many menus. Among whiskey connoisseurs,the buzz about the return o rye is creating a halo eect orall American whiskies, with brands such as Rittenhouse andSazerac ryes selling out their small productions. Among leading straight whiskey brands, Jack Daniel’s continuedgrowing in 2008, up 1 percent in volume. Jim Beam, the secondleading brand, sank more than our percent, but Beam Global’s othermain brand, Maker’s Mark, grew 6.9 percent. Most brands that lostvolume last year—Early imes and en High, or example—doa large share o their business o-premise. Meanwhile, strongon-premise whiskies such as Wild urkey, Jim Beam Small Batch(Knob Creek, Booker’s, Baker’s and Basil Hayden) and WoodordReserve showed great strength.Many brands that are popular on-premise but too small toshow up on the list o top brands by volume, such as Blanton’s,Old Weller and Michter’s, also are gaining popularity amongconsumers and mixologists.
Old FAvOriTes
When it comes to American whiskey at casual dining chains,sales are good but it mostly is the usual—Jack and Coke.“When you look at what spirits we sell most, Jack Daniel’sis in the top three,” says Peter Czizek, vice president ood andbeverage research and development or Dave & Busters, the53-unit, Dallas-based chain. While he oers drinks such asLynchburg Lemonade on the menu, Jack and Coke is the whiskey sales leader. “Te Jack drinker is a little more traditional, anddrinks in a ashion that hasn’t changed over the years much,” henotes. Jack, Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark are the three straight whiskeys on the concept’s core list, with units having leeway to add up to three additional brands such Gentleman Jack andother small batch whiskies. Whatever impact classic cocktails are having, though, they’realso not aecting trends much at the 99 Old Chicago and 35 Rock Bottom restaurants, says racy Finklang, corporate beveragemanager or the two Louisville, Colorado-based chains.“Bourbon is not an easy thing. I you’re drinking vodka andcranberry, Bourbon is not likely to be your next thing,” she says. When drinks eaturing American whiskey make the menu there,they usually include Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek or WoodordReserve, but Finklang doesn’t nd her chain customers rangingar beyond their own “classic,” or the most part: Jim Beam or Jack Daniel’s and Coke. Te super-premium brands make thelist to oer guests a trade-up, but they are not sales leaders.
Mixing iT Up dOwn sOUTh
In the whiskey heartland o Kentucky and ennessee,operators report that traditional consumption patterns areholding sway. At the contemporary American, single-locationconcept, F. Scott’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar in Nashville, mostcustomers like their brands served straight or on the rocksrather than in classic cocktails, says Elise Loehr, the proprietorand wine director. “We’re a conservative market here—wedon’t have a lot o the trends that you might in more majormarkets.”o thrive in a whiskey market such as Nashville, F. Scott’sstocks about a dozen whiskeys, mostly super-premium brands
Proof (above) and other Washington, D.C. restaurants say the Bourbon business is brisk.
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such as Blanton’s, Booker’s and Black Maple Hills, priced rom$8 to $24 a serving. “Tey look or Gentleman Jack or Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel rather than Jack Black,” she says.In Louisville, there is no lack o operations eaturing Bourbon.In act, the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau promotesthe Urban Bourbon rail, a collection o establishments,including landmarks the Old Seelbach Bar and Te Brown, thatserve at least 50 Bourbons each. While Proo on Main at the 91-room 21c Museum Hotelmakes the list, the restaurant was designed not as a Bourbonpalace but as a ne dining establishment and cocktaildestination, a place downtown where woman could wear theirlittle black dress, says Bonadies.“It was key to include Bourbon, but also great cocktailsbecause there were plenty o great Bourbon bars but not somany where you could get great cocktails,” Bonadies notes.ourists and locals are driving interest in whiskey, especially among newer brands, so the restaurant oers regularly changing whiskey fights or $16 to $18 and has partnered with distilleriesto choose single barrels or exclusive house usage. Te menualways includes at least one classic whiskey cocktail, priced rom$8 to $10, as well as house creations priced rom $9 to $11 suchas Hoodwinked, made with Eagle Rare, Aperol, St-Germainand Regan’s Orange Bitters. As hoped, the whiskey-basedcocktails are a growing share o the bar business.
pOpUlAr QUAFFs BAck eAsT
Washington, D.C. has long been a whiskey stronghold where connoisseurship runs high, says Derek Brown, drink consultant and head bartender at the speakeasy-style bar, TeGibson. “Bourbon remains the whiskey choice o consumers.Rye has denitely made inroads, but Bourbon is the spirit I getthe most calls or.” At the Gibson, he uses Old Weller Antique Bourbon in anumber o cocktails, which Brown calls “a great mixer thatpacks an appropriate wallop.” Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek are the most popular call brands, with Wild urkey and FourRoses also doing well.Sambonn Lek, head bartender at the roughly 580-roomRenaissance Mayfower Hotel’s own & Country Lounge inD.C., reports that brands such as Gentleman Jack and SingleBarrel Jack Daniel’s, Woodord Reserve, Booker’s, Baker’s
Leading Brands of American Straight Whiskey
(thousands of 9-liter cases)
Brand Supplier2007
2008
% Chg
Jack Daniel's Brown-Forman Beverages4,6794,7251.0% Jim BeamBeam Global Spirits & Wine3,2643,129-4.1%Evan WilliamsHeaven Hill Distilleries1,0301,1208.7%Maker's MarkBeam Global Spirits & Wine7207706.9%Early TimesBrown-Forman Beverages687649-5.5%Wild TurkeyPernod Ricard USA5886368.2% Ten HighConstellation Spirits/Barton487486-0.2%Old CrowBeam Global Spirits & Wine3853983.4%Ancient Age/AAASazerac3653804.1%Heaven Hill BourbonHeaven Hill Distilleries2702907.4%Kentucky GentlemanConstellation Spirits/Barton19421711.9%Gentleman JackBrown-Forman Beverages17320820.2% Jim Beam Small BatchBeam Global Spirits & Wine1701816.5%Ezra BrooksLuxco1621758.0%Kentucky TavernConstellation Spirits/Barton1631661.8%George DickelDiageo135125-7.4%Old CharterSazerac130125-3.8%Old Grand-DadBeam Global Spirits & Wine124121-2.4%Woodford Reserve SBLBrown-Forman Beverages951027.4%Old ForesterBrown-Forman Beverages104100-3.8%
Source: The Beverage Information Group
Whiskey-based drinks such as the Hoodwinked cocktailabove are a growing share of the bar business at Proof on Main in Louisville, Ky.
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