Premium
vodka to be introduced in New Orleans
April 16, 2006
A French vodka described
as the purest product of the distillers' art will be introduced to the
American market at the Napoleon House in New Orleans. Perfect 1864 Vodka
- packaged with a fleur de lis symbol - is made in France. Each bottle
costs just under $30, said spokesman Tim McNally.A portion of the sales
will be donated to the Crescent City Restaurant Rebirth Project, a nonprofit
helping the hospitality community.The packaging alone made New Orleans
the natural gateway for our product introduction into the United States,
said Paul Connors, managing director of Legacy Imports of Lake Park, Fla.,
the U.S. importer and marketing company for Perfect 1864. More importantly,
we wanted to show our support and unity with this great city in its time
of need and rebuilding.Since its introduction in Europe less than a year
ago, Perfect 1864 is now available in 12 countries and in Asia.Company
executives decided to introduce the vodka to New Orleans in July 2005.Then
came Hurricane Katrina and the decision was sealed, said Connors. We committed
to this market and promised ourselves and officials in New Orleans to
be a part of the exciting and uplifting process of rebuilding a great
city.
Perfect
1864, Yet Another High-End Vodka
Posted Jun 16, 2005, 8:59 AM ET by Deidre Woollard
CNN reports on yet another
luxury version of that most versatile of spirits, vodka. Small French
distiller Peureux and Florida-based Legacy Imports are creating a French-made
vodka called “Perfect 1864” for the French and U.S. markets.
The vodka is made from French wheat and water from the Vosges mountains.
The fleur-de-lis-covered bottles will hit France in September and the
U.S. in October. The brand will sell for $40 to $45 a bottle. The article
quotes Alain-Serge Delaitte, a spokesman for Legacy in France as saying
that the price “will make ‘Perfect’ the most expensive
vodka on the market.” We have to disagree with that one. Stoli
Elit sells and that’s just one example in a very crowded market.
Who knows how this one will do but we’ll test it out once it pops
up in the local market.
French
Perfect vodka aims to seduce U.S. drinkers
Wed Jun 15, 2005 06:01 PM ET
By Caroline Brothers
PARIS, June
16 (Reuters) - A Franco-American venture is set to launch the world's
most expensive vodka later this year to gain from the phenomenal growth
of the spirit, but it faces stiff competition from the likes of Smirnoff,
Grey Goose and Absolut.
Small French distiller
Peureux (DIDO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Florida-based Legacy
Imports are teaming up to create a French-made vodka called "Perfect
1864" for France and the United States from a nation better known
for its wines, champagnes and cognacs.
The two firms aim to surf
the wave of vodka's rapid growth -- U.S. sales of the spirit leapt 6
to 8 percent in 2004 compared with flattening growth rates for whiskies
-- and are backing the launch with a $5 million budget for marketing
and promotion.
Peureux Chairman Bernard
Baud says the vodka is made from the best French wheat and purest water
from the Vosges mountains. The bottles emblazoned with France's fleur-de-lys
will be launched in France from September and in the U.S. from October.
The brand will sell for
$40 to $45 a bottle, which Alain-Serge Delaitte, a spokesman for Legacy
in France, said "will make 'Perfect' the most expensive vodka on
the market".
The United States is the
world's fastest-growing vodka market, which is already dominated by
Diageo's (DGE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Smirnoff, Bacardi's Grey
Goose and Sweden's Absolut owned by Vin & Sprit. The new top-priced
brand may have a tough time.
Vodka, typically distilled
from potatoes, turnips, or grain in Russia, Poland and other countries
in Central and Eastern Europe, accounts for a quarter of all spirits
consumed around the world, with 3 billion litres sold each year.
Demand is such that Pernod
Ricard's (PERP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) bid for Britain's Allied
Domecq (ALLD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was partly motivated by a
wish to gain distribution for Russia's Stolichnaya vodka.
Peureux's Baud aims to
sell 1 million bottles of Perfect in the first year and five times that
in three to five years.
The
following published articles are in Available in PDF format.