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

We are reliably informed that Fortune Brands allegedly initially agreed to Pernod Ricard's proposal for handing over all their brands in India to Pernod. Fortunately for Fortune and the rest of the liquor industry in India, they decided to enter the country themselves. SAB Miller India declined to comment on rumours that is was in talks with Mohan Meakin for acquisition of Golden Eagle beer.

They make cognac right? So the founding father Hennessy was French right? Wrong. Richard Hennessy the founder of Hennessy, was Irish. He lived in Cognac and loved the region so much that he established a trading firm there in 1765. His son James expanded the businss rapidly and gave it the name it has today - Jas Hennessy and Co.

Ask a friend a question - Hennessy was French - True or False - and win a bet.

On with the news..
 

Sula launches its Red Zinfandel in Goa. Diageo launches Ciroc, its super-premium vodka made from snap frost grapes (read Spirit watch in Alcobev 10 for more on Ciroc), Whyte and Mackay has launched their 12 year old Scotch whisky, UB has launced McDowell's Diet Mate - a diet whisky product (containing an ayurvedic ingredient). Focus Brands launches Glenrothes Single Malt whisky and signalled the relaunch of Campari in the Indian market with a Campari Red Passion night in Mumbai. SAB Miller will begin test marketing of Peroni beer.
 

UB has announced that it's planning to enter the liquor retail business. "We are getting into the retailing of beverage alcohol ourselves because we see that a significant part of the overall value chain is captured by the retailers," UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya, said.

Mallya also said that he would like to expand the groups presence in the Indian wine market which is showing high growth.

UB, is also looking at introducing “Kronenbourg Blanc”, a Scottish and New Castle brand of white beer in India. S&N is an investor in UB. Kronenbourg is a white and citrus flavoured beer and is a favourite among women in Europe.

UB is also slated to launch at the earliest a low cost variant of Black Dog - the product is expected to be priced at around Rs. 1000/- and will probably be 5 years old as opposed to Black Dog 12 which is 12 years old!
 

Pine Cask Fort William whisky, rum and gin have been launched in East India. Pine Cask claims to have sold over 65 million cases since they launched and they expect to close the year with 75-80 million cases. They plan to enter the western market in 2006-07 and also set up a distillery in Goa.
 

Pernod Ricard, has bought out the remaining 26% of its United Agencies joint production venture in India. The company is now expected to merge United Agencies with its Indian manufacturing arm, Seagram India.
 

The state government is launching the exotic liquor brands of the erstwhile royal houses of Rajasthan in the national and international markets. These would be produced by the state owned Ganganagar Sugar Mills. The brands would be named after the forts and castles of the area of its origin. A bottle of the royal drink of the Jodhpurs, for instance, could be named as Mehrangarh, after the famous fort and carry a small note on the place, making it a cocktail of history and heritage. The families would get a share of profit as royalties on the sale of their brands. The Royal Brands include Udaipur's Man Mohan, Jodhpuri Asha, Devgarhi Shahi Gulab, Mehansar Saunf and Devgarhi Angoor.
 

Cobra is reported to be in advanced talks about setting up a second brewery in India. One report received suggests that the brewery will be in Maharashtra while the other suggests Hyderabad.
 

200 and counting! - Only 200 bottles of the Johnnie Walker Blue Label 1805 Anniversary Pack have been produced as a tribute to John Walker the founder - valued at $ 27,000 per bottle. The blend is made from whiskies at least 45 years old and come predominantly from distilleries that no longer exist.
 

Wal-Mart Stores has partnered with Diageo to develop new products and merchandising to boost Wal-Mart's liquor sales. First up from the collaboration is a cream-based liqueur called Dulseda, created by Diageo at Wal-Mart's request, according to The Wall Street Journal. Dulseda is caramel flavored.
 

Pearl Vodka rolls out Persephone, the first premium pomegranate-flavored vodka. Pomegranate is the flavour du jour at the moment in the West.

French drinks company, Remy Cointreau, has decided to sell its Bols brand and focus on its core premium beverages. Combined with news that Marie Brizard is for sale yet again, this time with Belvedere the suitor, the global liqueur market appears to be on the boil!

Drinks Americas has licensed the Trump name for its new vodka.

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton took supplies of VAT 69 on his Imperial Trans-Antartic Expedition, stating that it would be used for medicinal and celebratory purposes.

Clarification - In our last newsletter we mentioned that Sudeep Kumar would be taking R L Rajah's place as COO Diageo India. Sudeep is moving up as National Sales Director of Diageo and not as COO.

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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