Info for this newsletter has been culled from a number of sources. Wherever applicable we will include an acknowledgement / link to the source material.

CUTTY SARK Scots Whisky was created on 20th March 1923 when the partners of wine & spirit merchants Berry Bros. discussed the launch of a new whisky. The partners had invited James McBey, a well known Scottish artist to a luncheon that day to discuss the launch. It was he who suggested the name.

Cutty sark is 18th-century Scots for "short shirt". Strangely enough it's a nickname of a fictional character invented by Robert Burns, the poet. From there, Cutty Sark was borrowed for a number of products, most famously a tea clipper and from the clipper to the Scotch Whisky we know and love.

The long wait is over. Mr. Vijay Rekhi will head the combined UB Spirits business (McDowell's, Shaw Wallace, Herbertson, Triumph, etc.). He will report to the Chairman, Vijay Mallya. Alok Gupta will head marketing for the combined enterprise.
 

3 firms, India Glycol, Flex group and the Shishir Bajaj group have been given licenses for setting up molasses based distilleries in Uttar Pradesh. This would tentatively represent an annual installed capacity of 1,125 litres and an investment of Rs. 650 crores. The units have licenses to make country liquor as well as IMFL. In another interesting piece of news, Jubilant Organosys has given a proposal to the UP government for setting up a potato based distillery. Could we have India's first potato vodka! Watch this space, we'll keep you informed.
 

After a long teaser campaign, Seagram India finally launched Fuel, their new mid-market segment vodka. Priced at Rs. 270/- in Gurgaon (where we picked up a bottle), it bridges the gap between the regular segment vodkas such as Romanov and White Mischief and premium vodkas such as Smirnoff. The bottle is futuristically shaped like a rocket about to take off. The glass and printing quality however leave something to be desired. Interesting to see if Fuel cannibalises sales of Fling!
 

During 2003-04 Kerala surpassed Punjab in the consumption of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and grabbed the top spot in India. Kerala also tops in the consumption of rum which include almost 60 per cent of the total sale and brandy (16-17 per cent) comes second followed by whisky with 8-9 per cent. During 2004-05 total IMFL consumption in Kerala was to the tune of 13 million cases which was 10 million cases in 2003-04. Kerala is also having one of the highest per capita liquor consumption in India with 4 full bottle (750 ml each) annually.
 

This is a headline which reappears every 6-9 months and is invariably proved wrong! Lets see what happens this time. News reports suggest that the Delhi government may allow one outlet in each 5 star hotel to stay open 24 hours for the service of liquor. There is also a proposal on the anvil to reduce the LDA (legal drinking age) from 25.
 

Radico Khaitan Ltd has entered into an agreement with Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd (Brihan) for acquiring its 'Indian Made Foreign Liquor' (IMFL) brands. Under the agreement Radico would acquire 'Brihans Napoleon Brandy', 'Brihans Premium Whisky', 'Brihans Grape Brandy', 'Tropicana White Rum', 'Calcutta Dry Gin', 'Lord Nelson Rum' among other IMFL brands.
 

The Ravi Jaipuria group has picked up minority stake in Ramesh Vangal-promoted liquor start up company Mason & Summers Alcobev Ltd. Rumours are that Ravi Jaipuria may also team up with InBev, the world’s largest brewer by volume.
 

Flemingo, is all set to stock Indian spirits, beer and wine at its stores across Africa, Middle-East and South-East Asian markets, besides India.
 

Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (APB) has acquired a 60% equity stake in United Brewery Lanka Limited (UBL). APB's major brands in the Asia Pacific region are Heineken and Tiger, and one assumes that these will join Carlsberg as locally bottled brews in Sri Lanka. Some islands have all the luck!
 

Diageo is introducing a new global advertising campaign for Baileys. “Serve Chilled” is the name. One of the ads in the series is “Magic”, introduces a new way to serve Baileys – Baileys blended with ice. Diageo Great Britan has even tied up with Moulinex to produce Baileys branded blenders!
 

Finlandia Vodka is to launch a new flavoured vodka in the US. The new vodka blends together raspberries, black raspberries, boysenberries, strawberries and wild mountain berries.

Progressive Beverages has launched the first Asian vodka in the US market. HAN Asian Vodka is made with spring water and four times distilled barley vodka.

It's raining vodka!. William Grant & Sons has announced that it has completed the construction of a distillery in Iceland where its new Reyka vodka brand is being produced.

Beer mat which refills itself! - A beer mat that calls for a refill when the pint is almost empty has been invented by scientists in Germany. Beneath the cardboard surface is a small, flat baseplate which conceals pressure and acceleration sensors that react to the weight of the glass and the position and movement of the coasters.The microsensors then pass on this information via radio link to the bar, where the signal is picked up and decoded by a waiting computer.

The 3rd International Wine exhibition For Asia - that is taking place in Singapore Expo from 10 - 12 November 2005. Wine For Asia is Asia's only international exhibition platform dedicated to reaching out to the Asian wine markets. Running alongside the exhibition will be a series of special features such as the DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS 2005, WINE STYLE ASIA AWARD 2005, WINE TASTING OF TOP BORDEAUX WINES, etc. Log on to http://www.wineforasia.com/ for more.

R L Rajah, has moved onto a larger role in the Diageo organisation and will now be GM Gulf based in Dubai, Sudip Kumar becomes National Sales Director, Diageo India. Varsha, from Shaw Wallace joins Diageo India in the Smirnoff Brand management team. The McDowell's union also leads to Kavita Palekar, the Alcazar (and it's variant A20) brand manager, moving to Moet Hennessy, Fatima from Red Bull joins the Sula Marketing team.

Tulleeho announces the launch of the Tulleeho Business Directory, a first of its kind online business directory for the alcoholic beverage industry and related sectors. To sign up for your free profile log on to the Tulleeho Business Directory

 

Tulleeho is a marketing and technology services provider for the alcoholic beverage and related sectors. To know more about what we do read our  About Us

Tull-ee-ho! : A combination of the old hunting cry Tally Ho! and the colloquial Hindi word "tullee" (used both as verb and noun, and signifying a state of inebriation).

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