Market Watch, November 2019

NOVEMBER 2019 MARKETWATCHMAG COM MARKET WATCH 63PHOTO BY JEREMEY DUECKway to do that in the U S is to sell products at lower price points Its hard to move real volume at higher prices The higher priced labels sell better in Canada David Farran president and co founder of Eau Claire Distillery in Alberta promoted a limited release of 5000 bottles of his Eau Claire single malt last year at C 98 74 a 750 ml which sold out in one day at the distillery He sold his Ploughmans rye earlier this year in Canada at C 70 53 and it likewise Craft Distillings RiseCanadian whisky clearly needs fresh inspira tion and it may come from the many new craft brands entering the market For years the Canadian government maintained strict rules that prohibited small scale distilling and made exports difficult But in a bid to shore up farm ers grain sales lawmakers have now relaxed the old rules hoping that new distillers will source their grains locally The rise in distillery development has come at a rapid pace Barry Bernstein co owner and head distiller of Still Waters Distillery outside Toronto was among the first craft distillers to open in the province of Ontario a decade ago Four years after his start there was still just a handful of craft distilleries in the province Today there are 50 craft distilleries in Ontario alone he says It seems like every two weeks another distillery gets announced But not much craft product is flowing south yet While Still Waters whiskies were available in a dozen states a few years ago Bernstein changed importers and is now working with a small importer in the Dallas area focusing on Texas The company makes the widely lauded Stalk Barrel single malt retailing at 50 a 750 ml but its Stalk Barrel Blue Blend 25 captures most of the U S sales To make money in this business we have to move more volume Bernstein says The TOP TEN CANADIAN WHISKY BRANDS IN THE U S thousands of 9 liter case depletions Percent AACGR1 Change2 Rank Brand3 Importer 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 13 18 17 18 1 Crown Royal Diageo North America 4205 4197 4102 4076 4157 4177 01 05 2 Black Velvet4 Heaven Hill Brands 1905 1905 1850 1820 1775 1730 19 25 3 Canadian Club Beam Suntory 1196 1189 1228 1231 1218 1169 05 40 4 Canadian Mist Brown Forman 1539 1489 1355 1222 1174 1081 68 79 Beverages Worldwide 5 Windsor Supreme Beam Suntory 930 902 885 843 820 754 41 80 6 Seagrams V O 5 Sazerac Co 867 786 753 759 731 716 38 20 7 Canadian Rich Sazerac Co 680 685 685 695 702 695 04 10 Rare 8 Canadian LTD Sazerac Co 600 570 530 500 475 456 53 40 9 Lord Calvert Luxco Inc 410 400 390 370 340 315 52 75 10 Pendleton Proximo Spirits 166 191 224 251 278 310 133 115 Total Top Ten6 12498 12314 12002 11767 11669 11403 18 23 Other Brands 1917 1850 1796 1751 1681 1591 37 54 Total Canadian Whisky 14415 14164 13798 13518 13350 12994 21 27 1 Average annual compound growth rate2 Based on unrounded data3 Excludes flavors4 Acquired from Constellation Brands in 20195 Acquired from Diageo in 20196 Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding Source IMPACT DATABANK 2019While the overall category struggles Crown Royal director of whisky engagement Stephen Wilson pictured continues to see success with flavored expressions such as Regal Apple