Before being able to grow a brand, you have to intimately know a brand. Simply and unenthusiastically reciting its label description will not have the dollar-driving effect of being able to delve into a spirit’s lesser-known (or unknown) attributes. Instead, scope out a range of new, interesting and otherwise revenue-ready spirits for your best shot at success.
    The following 12 brands have been making their presence known — and their profitability felt — in the U.S. market today. So, get to know them. You’ll be glad you did, and your guests will thank that due diligence with a few tips of their own.

Bong Vodka
    Designer and artist Jimi Beach and his business partner, Paul Taeger, have been busy introducing a daringly packaged product for launch in the market: Bong Spirit brand’s Bong Vodka. The spirit made its U.S. debut at a hot launch party at Miami’s swank VIP club Mansion shortly before the arrival of 2006. Bong Vodka combines a sense of community and a cutting-edge package design with a 150-year-old vodka featuring a silky smooth finish.
    Bong Vodka fuses the traditional craftsmanship of its heritage (produced by five generations of master distillers in Holland) together with Jimi Beach’s own 21st century design concepts. Beach chose the daring and conversational bottle design based on the symbolism of the bong as a communal object, and the subcultural role it has represented for decades as an icon for the underground art and entertainment community.
    Bong Vodka currently is being distributed in the state of Florida by Southern Wine and Spirits and has undergone wider release in select states starting January 2006. A series of promotional events is scheduled for Florida and New York in the upcoming months, and it will showcase musicians, DJs and artists ready to break into the scene.

Smirnoff Lime
    Smirnoff Vodka has taken everyone’s favorite garnish and brought it to the center of attention with the release of Smirnoff Lime, a smooth, aromatic new addition to the No. 1-selling line of flavored vodka.
    Mark Breene, vice president, Smirnoff, said, “Smirnoff Lime is a natural extension to our flavor line, as lime has long been a staple flavor in the creation of cocktails.” This latest flavored vodka is highly mixable and extremely versatile. It pairs well with a simple mixer such as cola or tonic water, yet it also is a delicious complement to more complex cocktails such as the Smirnoff Lime-Island Iced Tea or the Smirnoff Tall Lime Cosmo (recipes available online).

Roth Vodka
    Beam Wine Estates, the super-premium wine company known for its portfolio of fine California wines including Clos du Bois, Geyser Peak and Buena Vista Carneros, as well as Cockburn’s port, recently made its introduction of Roth Vodka, a luxury California vodka made from premium wine grapes.
    Distilled five times from 100 percent California wine grapes, Roth Vodka is targeted at sommeliers, mixologists and discriminating consumers who appreciate the unrivaled mixability and smoothness that a grape-based vodka offers. Roth currently is in distribution in California, where its flawless purity and mixability has been earning it a place in some of the market’s most exclusive luxury restaurants, hotels and resorts.
    Also, to show its support for the U.S. sommelier community, $1 from every case of Roth Vodka sold will benefit the Education Foundation of the Guild of Master Sommeliers.  “Roth was created by wine lovers to be the wine lover’s vodka,” said Stephen Brauer, chief marketing officer of Beam Wine Estates. Thus, supporting the educational efforts of the Master Sommelier organization is a natural way to give back to the industry.”
    Roth Vodka will launch in selected markets nationwide. Markets initially slated to receive allocations of Roth Vodka include New York, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts.

Khukri Rum
    Rum today is a rapidly growing spirits category, and the creativity behind the brands propelling it continues to impress. One of the newest and most unique rums to domestically launch is Khukri. Celebrated by the elite Gurkha troops and at Sir Edmund Hillary’s original conquest of Everest, Nepal’s Coronation Khukri Rum has been renowned as an award-winning and symbolic spirit that captures both the eyes and the palate. Now, Liquid Treasure Imports introduces this spirit to aficionados in the United States.
    Khukri is presented in a visually stunning 375-milliliter, hand-crafted, dagger-shaped bottle that illustrates history and cutting-edge taste. The rum has a subtle and complex nature and is distinguished by its lingering aroma of oak and caramel with smooth and balanced flavors of brown spice, dried fruit and butterscotch. Distilled in column stills, which upgrade raw spirits to neutral spirits, it derives its taste from oak vats in which the rum is matured for at least eight months.
    Khukri Rum also is available in a standard bottle labeled Khukri Rum. Distribution of Khukri Rum in the United States is just beginning, and it already is available in select markets with distribution scheduled to extend to other markets in the next few months.
    Douglas Loughran, president of Liquid Treasure Imports, says, “Water is the core ingredient of any liquor and Khukri is distilled using fresh water from Mt. Everest. This ensures the distinct taste that sets Khukri Rum apart and positions it as the epitome of Nepalese rum.”
    Khukri is the oldest rum in Nepal and has been distilled since 1959. Produced by Nepal Distilleries Pvt. Ltd. in Kathmandu, the rum is named after the dagger-like weapon called khukri or khukuri, which was used in Nepal by the elite Gurkha armed-forces.

Martell Cognac
    Martell Cognac introduces a smooth, rich and refined Cognac that is perfect for today’s style conscious consumer in search of that unique savoir-faire. Martell Noblige is so distinct, it has created a whole new reference point in the Cognac category — “Qualite Superieur” — with its dark copper hue, pear and lemon nose and smooth, floral taste. The result comes from combining a greater share of eau-de-vies from the famed Borderies growing area and aging the superior blend in new “noble” fine-grained oak barrels.
    “When it comes to spirits, discerning consumers are always looking to ‘find’ the next new product and brand that helps them define their personality and style,” says Abegail Domond, marketing director for Martell, Pernod Ricard USA. “We are confident that Cognac consumers will embrace Noblige for its distinctive style and sensuous appeal as well as its superior quality.”
    Martell Noblige recently debuted in on-premise establishments throughout the country, and it is supported by an exclusive marketing platform that celebrates urban style through proactive media outreach, strategic partnerships with influential tastemakers and stylish POS materials to catch the consumer’s eye. In addition, a customized Martell Noblige Salute to Style national launch campaign will consist of exclusive events in Pernod Ricard USA’s observed top five Cognac markets (Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C.), that include local radio personalities, giveaways and special Web site drivers. The program will culminate in an on-premise VIP event where a “Martell Noblige Sharp Dressed Man” will be crowned. The five finalists (one from each market) will receive unique premium gifts customized to fit this exquisite marque.
    “Martell is the oldest of the four major Cognac Houses and is world renowned for creating the broadest range of superior Cognacs,” Domond says. “Noblige is an extraordinary Cognac and a perfect fit for the Martell family.”

Yazi Ginger Flavored Vodka
    Sushi lovers, prepare. Yazi Ginger Flavored Vodka, a super-premium product created and distributed by Hood River Distillers, is arriving in select bars across the nation — particularly with the women’s market in mind.
    Natural ginger flavoring gives Yazi its sensual and slightly spicy taste, along with orange, lemon, cayenne, red pepper extracts and glacier-fed Mt. Hood spring water. Long the subject of folklore, ginger is said to have mystical powers that bring harmony to life and love.
    The new packaging captures the essence of romance with a perfume bottle shape, and its rich red side accents and a shiny red neck wrap add an exotic touch, while a spiraling dragon etched on the imported French glass adds an intriguing element to the overall design.
    In addition to the glamour of the creative packaging, professional and amateur bartenders will want to try three recipes (available online) that call for the gingery snap of Yazi.
    “Yazi should be popular on restaurant cocktail menus too, because its flavor is complementary to Asian foods, one of the most extensive and ongoing culinary trends in the United States,” says Ken Kossler, HRD’s vice president of sales.

Pinky Vodka
    Also especially appealing to female patrons will be Liquidity Brands’ Pinky Vodka. Hand-blended by champion wine tasters — and using 12 botanicals led by violets, rose petals and wild strawberries — this sexy, floral spirit has a uniquely colorful and highly versatile “pink taste” that’s equally at home on the rocks or as the base for inventive signature cocktails.
    Pinky also is packed with esters, the delicate top-note flavors that give fresh fruit its vibrant taste. These esters make vodka drinks, such as Cosmos, much more dynamic.
    “Pink was created by a very talented group of wine tasters who set out to create something unique and wonderful,” says James Robertson, president of Liquidity, owners of the Pinky brand. “They didn’t have any grapes to play with in Sweden, so they applied the art of wine making to the science of spirits to make vodka better.”

Milagro Flavored Tequila
    As the flavored spirit surge continues, the categories and brands contributing to its growth do, too. While flavored vodka and rum have been a given, tequila now is throwing its sombrero into the arena. One of the entries to hit bar shelves is importer William Grant & Sons Inc.’s Milagro Tequila, which is produced and bottled in tequila’s traditional home of Jalisco, Mexico.
    Mialgro introduces to operators not one, but two, new flavors: Limon and Mandarina. These brands also mark Milagro’s first foray into flavored tequila, which was just deemed legal by a Mexican government resolution on March 7 of this year.
    Milagro Limon and Mandarina both are very versatile spirits well-suited for consumption neat, on the rocks or mixed in cocktails. Both flavors also enhance one of America’s most popular cocktails, the Margarita, and they stand out in drinks such as the Hermos Sunset, a refreshing combination of Milagro Limon, pomegranate juice and lemon, or the Milagro Limonada, a crisp blend of Milagro Limon, muddled mint and fresh-squeezed lime juice.
    As with their traditional line, Limon and Mandarina both are made with 100 percent, estate-grown blue agave — the only difference is the addition of 100 percent natural fruit flavors. Both bottles are 80 proof, as well.

The Balvenie NewWood
    By no means a new brand, The Balvenie does have a brand-new style. Also imported by William Grant & Sons, The Balvenie introduces its NewWood 17 Year Old.
    David Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master, has crafted a new single malt to add to the range of The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whiskies. This new addition is a single batch matured in 79 oak casks and transferred to NewWood for four months. The casks are coopered from American White Oak, which has been toasted and then charred, but they never previously held any liquid.
    NewWood rarely is used in Scotland since the flavor it gives to the whisky often can be overpowering. However, Stewart regularly sampled this specially selected Balvenie to ensure just the right amount of character was imparted by the NewWood casks, enhancing and developing the single malt while preserving the distinctive honeyed characteristics of The Balvenie.
    The Balvenie NewWood 17 Year Old is a limited edition bottling, but it is available on a national level.

Jaguar Vodka
    Beyond its bold design and select distillation process, St. Claire Shores, Mich.-based Prestige Imports’ latest launch, Jaguar Vodka, has one more impressive attribute: world preservation.
    Jaguar aids in the preservation of the world’s rainforests by setting aside proceeds to donate to appropriate preservation funds. By helping to preserve the rainforest, the namesake is protected.
    Prestige Imports carried out an exhaustive evaluation process to select the most appropriate raw materials to produce its fine spirit. Although grain- and potato-distilled alcohol is available to producers worldwide, Jaguar Vodka is made using only pure sugar cane — even though neutral alcohol produced from sugar cane costs more than twice as much as alcohol produced from grain.
    Intensive searching eventually led the brand’s makers to the island of Barbados for coral- and limestone rock-filtered purity. Next, the company concentrated on taking all of these factors through repeated vacuum distillation and triple filtration under reduced temperatures until all impurities are removed and the alcohol meets stringent specifications.
    To date, sales resulting from these processes of brand creation have saved more than 2,500,000 square feet of jaguar habitat; 2,500,000 square feet were preserved before the first bottle of Jaguar Vodka was even sold.

Jose Cuervo  Flavors
    Jose Cuervo International, the global marketing division for Jose Cuervo, heralds the arrival of Cuervo flavored tequilas, a selection of premium tequilas with hints of orange, lime and tropical fruit flavors.
    Available in three unique flavors –– Citrico, Oranjo and Tropina –– Cuervo Flavored Tequilas are  proprietary blends of premium silver-styled tequilas combined with natural fruit flavors. Cuervo Citrico is made with natural flavors of lime and citrus fruits; Cuervo Oranjo contains natural flavors of orange and other citrus fruits; and Cuervo Tropina is a blend of pineapple and other tropical flavors.
    “Consumers can experience the boldness and energy of Jose Cuervo in a whole new way with Cuervo Flavored Tequilas, whether enjoyed in shots, sipped on the rocks or mixed in a cocktail,” says Neil Gallo, senior director, North America.
    The launch is being supported by a fully integrated marketing effort that includes promotions and special events, merchandising and sampling (where legal), as well as a dynamic new print and out-of-home advertising campaign. Launch advertising will use striking visuals to depict Cuervo’s own mischievous twist on the unique combination of tequila and fruit flavor, consistent with the clever tone that has been the hallmark of Cuervo’s “Vive Cuervo” campaign for the last five years.

Stolichnaya Blueberi
    Pernod Ricard USA and Stolichnaya announce the arrival of Stoli Blueberi, the newest flavor to join the best-selling family of imported vodka flavors in the United States. Just in time for vodka’s peak summer selling season, Stoli Blueberi is a refreshing, uniquely flavored vodka that is turning heads.
    “The flavors category is driven by innovation,” says Susan Kilgore, Stolichnaya brand director.
Stoli is supporting the launch of Stoli Blueberi with a full array of programming including a Create a Stoli Blue Cocktail Contest aimed at getting bartenders on board and building a collection of recipes.
    Stoli Blueberi is best served ice cold.  When chilled to the freezing point, Stoli Blue is brought to its ideal consistency and flavor, revealing the genuine quality of its Russian heritage and a superb blueberry taste. 
    Stoli Blue can be enjoyed in a variety of cocktails including Stoli Blue Up, which combines 1 part Stoli Blueberi with vermouth. Simply rinse the glass with vermouth, add Stoli Blue and serve straight up with a blueberry garnish.