Phillips Distilling is Concquering the Shelves With History, Innovation and Undeniable Flavor 

    As the fifth generation of the Phillips family, Dean Phillips is leading Phillips Distilling Co. to new places while retaining the same family feel and the quality family product line.    
        The company, which is based in Minneapolis, began producing liquor at the repeal of Prohibition and gave the world its first taste of peppermint schnapps in 1935 and the first flavored vodkas in the 1950s. It continues today to be an innovator of all things spirit-ual. With a young team, a fresh approach to everything from marketing to the juice inside the bottle and willingness to try almost anything, Phillips is a company to watch.

History By the Glass
        Bringing the name into the spotlight, Phillips Distilling is credited with giving America its first luxury vodka line in Belvedere in the early 1990s, followed closely by the Chopin label.
        “Before 1993,” Dean Phillips says, “there was no luxury vodka. There was nothing even above $20 a bottle. When we introduced Belvedere in 1996 and Chopin three years later, we set up a separate luxury company to market and import that was called Millennium. We sold it to Moët Hennessy last year.”
    In addition to the massive success of these two vodka titles, Phillips continues to produce their signature, self-titled label of flavored vodkas, and in typical fashion for the tiny company, they were pioneers in this category, as well.
    “People tend to think that flavored vodkas are a new phenomenon,” Phillips says. “But that simply isn’t true.”
        Actually, Phillips Distilling has been marketing cherry, lemon, lime, grape and peppermint flavored vodkas for more than 50 years. On top of those, they also produce a line of 100-proof liqueurs and a brand new line of flavored whiskies touting a cherry and a vanilla option.
        Their philosophy on all of this history and innovation? “Our goal,” says Phillips, “is not to be national but (be) international.”

Sipping In Present Company
        Selling a million and a half cases overall each year, Phillips Distilling has taken America by the throat, with the signature UV brand pulling numbers around 300,000 cases a year. This may not sound too excessive at first, but considering that the company only employs some 120 people in its plants and an additional 20 in sales, the numbers are  impressive.
        “We like being a David among the Goliaths, though,” Phillips says. “It allows us flexibility and fun. Almost every single day, someone calls me with an idea, and we really pride ourselves on being a family that shares information quickly. If you look at every single successful brand of the last 20 years, they have almost all come from a small company — brands such as Skyy, Grey Goose, Hpnotiq.
        “We are proud of our organic growth record,” he says. “We  are not a company that tends to acquire brands. We would much rather develop our own, and because we are small, we have the ability to innovate and move much faster.  We can take a brand from the concept to the shelf in a couple of months.”

Whiskey Horizons
        Everything about Phillips Union centers around a fresh taste, fresh packaging and a fresh approach to the age-old constant of liquor. All of the company’s packaging and marketing is done by the local Olson advertising firm, and Phillips says they have a like-minded focus on bringing the brand forward, bottle first.  “Phillips is in a category dominated by brands named after old dead men,” he says. “Think about it — Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Old Forrester, Gentleman Jack. So we came up with a brand (Phillips Union whiskey) where not only was the ingredient in the bottle fresh, but the packaging is a modern looking presentation. Whiskey doesn’t have to be heritage-based.”
        Making its way into the scene bar by bar, this latest line of flavored whiskey is now in 30 states, with heavy interest in Texas and Illinois areas.
        “When you are not a Diageo or a Brown-Forman, it takes a lot to get into the distribution channels,” Phillips says. However, looking at the company’s average 25-percent growth increase annually, it is safe to say that they are more than holding their own.
        “Constant growth and innovation,” Phillips says, “if there is one thing we hang our hat on, it is innovation.”

Plans and Predictions
        For the future, Phillips sees more of the same in the way of evething
new. Continuing to push the envelope and bar scope of Phillips Union whiskey and continuing to provide products such as UV vodka — adding that perfect pink tint to every Cosmo — the company has bigger plans for 2007.
        “I am excited about a whiskey we will be bringing in from overseas,” Phillips says. “I think flavored spirits in all categories will continue to rise, with whiskey definitely on the upswing again. Consumers are starting to shop spirits like they have shopped for wine and beer in the past. I think what we are going to see is smaller brands and people experimenting.”
        Who can say for sure what the market holds in the coming years? But if his predictions are accurate, good things lay in store for the small company that could.
    And good things lay in store for the consumer as well.                  NCB