Trick is in The Wood

Most of you will know of or would of noticed that whisky, bourbon, brandy and some rums and tequilas are dark in color, whilst gin, vodka and some rums and tequilas are clear in color. Well there is a good reason for this, which is related to whether the product is matured/aged in casks or not after it is distilled, though there is an exception that being Mendis coconut brandy.

All distilled spirits when they come off the still are clear in color, if the liquid is bottled straight off the still it will be diluted with purified water down to its desired proof (alcohol volume) and then bottled. Should the liquid be set aside to be matured, it will be pumped into the distillery's warehouses for aging in casks, this will produce a smoother and more refined product over a non aged one, but the liquid will discolor from contact with the wood. To obtain a more pleasing color to the eye of the final product, distillers add caramel coloring (burnt sugar) to the liquid prior to bottling.

Up to now, oak is the preferred wood used in the making of casks to mature distilled spirits, to be more specific European and American oak or in the case of Cognac, Limousin oak. Different types of oak will impart varying degrees of flavor and body to the final product, with European oak producing a full and rich flavor and American oak delivering a moderate and finer flavor. Products that are matured in oak will use either European or American oak depending on the final characteristics the distillery’s Master Blender is after, a combination of both casks may be used at different stages of the products aging process to create the desired body and flavor in the liquid.

It is through the aging process of the liquid being stored in casks and coming into contact with the oak that results in the liquid becoming discolored. However, Mendis does not use oak for the construction of its hand made casks to mature Mendis Coconut Brandy in, instead Halmilla wood is sourced for its Master Cooper to build its casks. The main reason why oak is solely used up to now it that it was the best wood to allow the liquid to breath and also had tight enough rings in the wood to hold the liquid in and at the same time impart pleasant flavors in the liquid (not wanting to get into technical’s here).

Mendis Halmilla wood casks have the porosity to enable the liquid to breath and mellow the product exceptionally well and at the same time offer the density of wood to contain the liquid, a fine balance of the natural wood. In addition, the wood does not discolor Mendis Coconut Brandy, this enables us to mature our brandy and maintain it’s natural color off the still- clear, a true industry first in producing a brandy this way. This aspect in the production of Mendis Coconut Brandy is just one of several that make it so unique- so as you can see, or read in this case, the trick is in the wood.

Alcohol Scam

The other day a regular reader of my blog mentioned how much I compare Mendis Coconut Brandy to vodka, so much so that vodka drinkers may want to try Mendis as an alternative now, though maybe not brandy drinkers. I would have to agree with their first point, not that I do this intentionally, rather there just is little news or movement in the brandy market to discuss about. Further more, out of all the brandy products around Mendis is the only product that has cross-category branding ability originated from it being a clear mixable brandy unlike all other brandies in the market (this fact alone will make it stand out in the brandy segment on store shelves), so I don't see need to push this fact as it will be visually evident on the store shelf. Sure there has been the odd hip hop song on a couple of Cognac brands, though these brands really have not been innovative in adapting new concepts to drive the market, it would be fair to say that a great majority of product development and innovation is coming from within the vodka category, i.e. premium and flavored vodkas. However, the main reason why I compare Mendis to vodka is because the whole truth is not out in the market about vodka.

The ironical thing about vodka is that a supposedly ultra-premium bottle of vodka sells for more than a same size bottle of brandy/Cognac, when in fact far greater care has gone into the production of brandy/Cognac than vodka. This comes from the fact that brandy/Cognac is matured under the watchful eye of a highly skilled Master Blender for several years of the products life, as the liquid breathes through the cask to produce a superior spirit that has mellowed from this process. Vodka is simply bottled straight off the still with no aging process to mellow the liquid, what this leads to is a low cost product for beverage companies to produce and mark up at ridiculous profit margins to them under the guise of ultra-premium branding.

In the production of brandy/Cognac a fair amount of our premium costing comes from the warehousing of the liquid in casks to produce a superior smooth product, the premium placement pricing element of brandy is a justifiable fixed cost in our production model. Whereas with vodka nothing has really changed from a cheap to a premium vodka, simple the way by which they market it- "ultra-premium vodka" as opposed to just straight "vodka" or distilled x amount of times.

The cheap production of vodka has enabled a flurry of small novice vodka companies to spring up all over the world, these companies are generally started by groups of investors wanting to catch onto the vodka boom and the categories short production life and high profit margins. Very few of these vodka companies even come near to the heritage of Mendis (60 years) or other Brandy/Cognac distillers. Simply put, the brandy/Cognac market is marked by heritage and prestige, whereas the vodka craze is generally run by short term investors after a quick exit strategy to make a nice return on their investment.

Most small vodka brands are running at a loss and do not project to break even for a long time, the main thing that drives a lot of these companies is the Grey Goose story, the hope of being bought out by a large beverage company before they go bottom up. Looking at the numbers for recent acquisitions (Turi, Grey Goose, 42 Below etc) in the vodka market, sales volume of between 70,000-100,000 9-liter cases in the US market will snag a vodka producer on a buy-out offer any where from $100 Million USD to $200 Million USD, even if the company is not profitable.

The main reason why I compare Mendis to Vodka is I feel the vodka market is based off hype and consumers need to be made aware of where true luxury and refinement of product lies within the distilled spirits market. It is clearly evident that Mendis is a unique and luxury brandy over all other brandies in the market, though massive marketing budgets in the vodka market segment have lead consumers to believe that they are getting a superior product, which is not true from a production stand point.

According to the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Identity of Distilled Spirits: Vodka must not have any discernible flavor or aroma (vodka is simply termed a neutral spirit). It is easy to boil out all the constituents (which vodka is) in ethyl alcohol to produce a clean clear distilled spirit, though it takes the experience of a Master Distiller to be able to produce a brandy with just the right constituents (which gives a distilled spirit its unique taste) in the final product to produce a balanced and refined product. There is no room for error when producing a refined brandy, cause the constituent (esters, higher alcohols, acid, furfural, aldehydes) are what imparts the unique aroma and taste in the final product.

With Vodka being a neutral spirit, the only difference in taste is the different water each brand uses to reduce in proof the final product (though many people will disagree with this statement). As a vodka drinker you are simply a fine connoisseur of filtered water, you are kidding yourself if you really think you are tasting a difference in the actual spirit. Sorry but this is the actual truth, all you are paying for in premium vodkas is a maybe better tasting filtered water at the end of the day. An excellent case in point is the recent blind taste testing done on several so called ultra-premium vodka brands by the award winning ABC news team, check it out here, this just goes to prove it's all in the mind and impact of marketing when it comes to vodka.

In my view Brandy/Cognac and whisky (in particular single malt whisky’s) are the only verifiable ultra-premium distilled spirit categories based on their age old trade secret distillation and maturation methods. Though this will not stop the large beverage companies pushing their highest profit margin products- vodka, to consumers making them think they are getting a premium product. This is why I compare Mendis to Vodka, Mendis is superior to Vodka yet has the mix-ability of it also, that other brandies do not. I don't see the need to compare Mendis to other brandies as Brandy drinkers will try Mendis based on it being a different premium product against products they already know on the store shelf. However, to make vodka consumers aware of what truly qualifies a product as premium it takes education and awareness of which we have to do. It’s not like vodka drinkers skim the brandy shelf- they enter the store wanting a vodka. Therefor we need to create brand awareness prior to them entering the store, to know what is the most premium clear mix-able product, that being Mendis Coconut Brandy.

One Million Dollars of Change

As you may, or may not of noticed, last week we pulled down the Mendis Million Dollar Bottle link on our home page, along with the actual promotion and offer page. As to what we are doing with this space and what is going on with the Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, all I can say is watch this space for more details over the coming week.

Rolling with Rolls Royce into 2008

A few months back I provided a list of the magazines from around the world that Mendis is going to be in, one of the biggest publications in this list for us is the Rolls Royce/Bentley Annual Desk Diary. What makes our inclusion in this magazine so special is that the Rolls Royce Annual Desk Diary’s content is selected by its readers, whom are generally purchasers of Rolls Royce or Bentley cars. Obviously it goes without saying that these car brands are the absolute epitome of luxury and we are extremely pleased that its readers selected Mendis as a product of extreme luxury to be associated with the Rolls Royce and Bentley brands.

The 2008 Rolls Royce Annual Desk Diary comes out in January, though the deadline for the artwork is this Friday, so we are putting the finishing touches on our art work for the magazine this week. The ad we are running will be indicative of the promotional angle we will be promoting Mendis along for 2008. Currently, we are in the process of stepping up our marketing exposure for the Million Dollar bottle, of which you will notice us doing some high profile public unveiling's of the world’s most expensive bottle of alcohol- Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, in the US and abroad. Stay tuned for more on this later this week.

Organic Growth

The other day someone in our office forwarded me an article on a particular alcohol company (which can remain anonymous) that produces a vodka, like we need another vodka to add to the 700+ brands already in the US! Anyway, the reason why I mention this company is due to the fact that they state their vodka is 100% organic and it got me wanting to write about Mendis organic attributes.

Although we market Mendis based on its exquisite refinement and uniqueness, hence the whole Million Dollar Bottle offer, Mendis is what has to be considered as one of the most organic alcohol products period. Some interesting facts that we don’t publicly push to the media about Mendis are its’ organic qualities.

I view if something is going to be called organic, it has to be produced without the addition of additives, preservatives or any other chemicals, from raw commodity to end product and the more pure to the raw commodity the better in my view. Mendis raw commodity is coconut essence, tapped from the coconut palm in the tropics. All Mendis coconut plantations grow wild without the aid of chemicals or pesticides. In addition to this there is no product waste, we are simply extracting the juice from the fruit and leaving it to grow.

In addition, by the time the coconut juice (used to produce Mendis) arrives at the distillery it has already naturally fermented in the wooden casks it is brought in. The juice naturally ferments because its main constituent in its freshest state is sucrose. Under normal conditions during the juice collection this sucrose will ferment without aid, due to yeasts that naturally accumulate in the juice. In the case of other distilled spirit’s the addition of sugars, yeast and water is required to enable fermentation to take place. The only thing that is put into the stills at Mendis distillery is the natural (or should we say organic) coconut juice- nothing else. Now you can't get anymore organic or natural than that.

Although we don’t market Mendis as organic, it is such. However, I don’t like to view Mendis as a company that produces organic products as we are much more than that. Mendis is a company that operates it’s business based on eco-system sustainability, I think it is more about a balance with nature that is important at the end of the day. So if you like to buy organic, then yes Mendis is organic, though you won’t hear us pushing that angle, that is just part of our business that we do cause we see it as our responsibility to consumers and the environment- it’s a requirement not a option in our view.