Mendis Is The Grey Goose Of Brandy

I have found that what might be the social trend in one country is not so in another, whom is the latest and greatest singer in the United Kingdom this week is more than likely not the freshest and hottest trend in music in the US at the same time. Whether trends are pushed on us by companies producing the things or by consumer followings, at the end of the day it is trends that define our society in the past, present and future. Alcohol is one such product that has been going through some extreme changes over the last two decades in light of consumers changing tastes, although this is slightly moderated by the large beverage companies advertising budgets, at the end of the day it is the end consumer that determines if the product is a hit or miss by their taste preferences, this in turn develops trends in the alcohol market that as a beverage company we need to be in tune with.

Whenever I head out with friends to a bar for a social gathering I usually get glances in my direction when it comes to ordering drinks. Now I am no mixologist by far, nor do I purport to be such either, though my time in the industry and travels around the world have enabled me to most definitely develop a good head for bringing different styles of mixing drinks learnt from different cultures with different trends. I think this in part attributed to us here at Mendis thinking outside the boring square to bring about a clear brandy that can be placed along side a brandy or vodka for drinking neat or mixing respectively.

I have written a few times about where I see the alcohol market heading next and although it may sound like I am pulling my own strings, I believe the next trend in alcohol is “natural” clear distilled spirits. The US alcohol market has moved from one where it was dominated by whisky/whiskey drinks some twenty odd years ago, to one now that is saturated in hundreds of vodka brands satisfying consumer tastes for clear more mixable spirits.

Now how I think will not alter the market for another year or two, though this is how I view Mendis fitting into the next trend, I say next cause this current trend in the alcohol market is done, the industry has consolidated a bit with some big acquisitions (i.e. Bacardi buying Grey Goose from the late Sidney Frank for a reported $2+ Billion USD), sure this vodka boom will still play itself out over the next year or so, though all in all it is done growth wise for small companies wanting to make it big, I feel consumers are ready for the next decade and Mendis is going to usher it in, slowly but surely - view it like a sneak peak into the future of alcohol.

So how do I see Mendis fitting into the next decade of consumer tastes for alcohol products? With the introduction of new flavored vodkas consumers are liking the added complexity that the flavoring introduces to their drinks. The one main draw back of all this new flavoring is that it is generally artificial, not to mention not natural to the core commodity vodka is distilled from. Most vodka is made from starches such as corn, wheat and potatoes, though there is no real rule of thumb what vodka can or has to be made from.

One of the great things about Mendis, is that if consumed neat or on the rocks, it offers the smoothness of a fine brandy, with very little indication of the expected coconut taste present, rather a brandy with a sweet velvety finish with notes of chocolate and vanilla on the pallet. However, mix Mendis and the fun begins, Mendis lends itself to experimenting with different mixers, much like vodka, though there is one distinctive difference, the coconut flavor is accentuated by the mixers, splashing out at the consumer immediately, there is little if any trace of the instinctive and expected taste of brandy that limit’s the mixing qualities of all other dark brandies.

I view consumers are after more natural products that fit within their current preferences of taste (clear spirits). Mendis is simply extending the offering of vodka, by taking where it has left off and adding greater complexity to clear spirits with "natural" distilled flavor (i.e. coconut brandy made from natural coconut juice with NOTHING added to it) and a more refined product that comes about from aging in special Halmilla casks. A person with a vision is what brings about innovation and development of new concepts for consumers to try. Visionaries put forward their ideas and concepts and leave the rest up to consumers. Just as Sidney Franks vision some 15 years ago for Grey Goose, shaped the vodka boom, so will my vision for the next generation of distilled spirit products (clear brandies made from fruit). One thing is for sure though, we here at Mendis will offer you something that you have never experienced before, what we and now other industry experts see as a product that has the potential to change the direction of the alcohol market, a view that I am sure you all will agree with once you sample this exquisite unique clear coconut brandy.