Rémy Martin Intros ‘The Remy Sidecar Magic Hour’ Campaign

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

In celebration of National Cognac Day (June 4th) and on the heels of the 100th anniversary of the quintessential Sidecar cocktail, Rémy Martin is unveiling its newest multi-faceted creative campaign, “The Rémy Sidecar Magic Hour,” that sweet spot just as the sun is setting, the energy elevates, and all the right elements are aligned to create that magical feeling you can’t escape, all with “the perfect summer cocktai”l in hand – The Rémy Sidecar.

“As a brand that values excellence, tradition, and innovation, we’re excited to honor the Sidecar, a timeless cognac cocktail, giving it a new life through our campaign and leading cognac culture this summer,” says Tina Reejsinghani, Vice President, Rémy Martin Americas.  “Evoking the adventurous and rich nature of the Sidecar, this campaign highlights Rémy Martin’s vision of exception, and our ambition to bring this spirit of excellence to cocktail lovers across the nation this summer.”

The Rémy Sidecar Magic Hour campaign will bring together a host of talented partners and creatives alike to toast to the magic hour with their individual passions and The Rémy Sidecar cocktail. Throughout the campaign, their passions will be highlighted with the inclusion of curated The Rémy Sidecar Magic Hour inspired menus as well as Magic Hour themed musical playlists.

To perfectly mark the summer solstice and official start of summer, Rémy Martin will be hosting The Rémy Sidecar Magic Hour event in New York City, amplified with local events throughout the summer in Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Houston.

In addition to the creative spot, the campaign also includes a Sidecar Summer Soiree Sweepstakes supported by iHeartMedia, in which 25 lucky winners will have the opportunity to ride in style this summer with their very own electric Rémy Martin Sidecar.

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The Kraken Debuts Canned Cocktails with a Sweepstakes

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

the Kraken Rum, the world’s top-selling dark rum brand, released three new canned cocktails: Kraken & Cola, Kraken & Ginger Beer and Kraken Rum Punch. With the U.S. RtD market expected to continue to expand at a compound annual growth rate of more than 13% until 2030, “we’re eager and thrilled to introduce a new and convenient way for consumers to enjoy their favorite rum cocktails in three carefully curated flavors,” said Lander Otegui, SVP-Marketing at Proximo Spirits. “As one of the only dark rum-based RTD offerings on the shelves, our Kraken Rum cocktails offer an unexpected way to add a little extra fun to your summer plans whether you’re sipping at home or on an adventure at sea.”

Named for the sea beast of myth and legend, Kraken is celebrating its newly released ready-to-drink cocktails by giving rum drinkers a chance to win a squid spotting expedition around the island of Roatan in Isa Guadalupe. To enter the Krak Open Summer Sweepstakes and a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to spot a real-life kraken, visit KrakOpenSummer.com.

Kraken Rum ready-made cocktails are 5% ABV and sold in 4-pack cans as well as a variety of single-serve tray packs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin at $12.99 MSRP.

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Empire Merchants Picks City Hive’s B2B Platform for Distributors

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

 City Hive Inc., an omni-channel digital commerce and data platform used by more than 3,000 retailers in moe than 1,000 cities in 40 states launched a proprietary business-to-business online platform that “unlocks speed, efficiency, and transparency (and) can be utilized by any distributor in the industry. Empire Merchants and Empire Merchants North, wine and spirits distributors in New York State, are among the first to use the B2B platform with the launch of empire360.com.

Founded in 2016, City Hive has driven the digital revolution in the alcoholic beverage industry. Integrating deeply with their retail partners, City Hive encourages customer ownership for their clients by arming them with powerful tools and actionable data insights so they can build equity in their business. City Hive grew 12X during the pandemic and following their explosive growth with retailers in driving B2C eCommerce has now made a strategic move by expanding into B2B.

“We are thrilled to provide our state of the art technology infrastructure to be utilized by every player within the industry – retailers, suppliers and now distributors. We are enabling true connectivity between the tiers and are powering the future of the industry”, said Roi Kliper, CEO of City Hive. “Countless retailers have availed of City Hive’s cutting edge technology to transform their businesses with scalable solutions and customer ownership. We’re excited to bring this infrastructure and philosophy to B2B”.

City Hive can integrate to any ERP/CRM program and distributors using the platform can interact and transact directly with their customers 24/7/365 in their own branded storefront, outside of a marketplace. The platform bridges the divide between on and offline sales by positioning sales reps at the heart of this omni-channel operation and equipping them with data insights, digital assets, sell sheets and powerful CRM tools. For On- and Off-Premise customers, the platform facilitates off-hour ordering, product research, past order history access, and payments. City Hive is on track to launch their Distributor product in more than 30 states by the end of the year.

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21st Amendment Brewery Teams with Hops Grower for New Brew

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Joel Whitaker
In a play on “Star Wars,” 21st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, and lauded family-owned hop farm CLS Farms teamed up for a limited-edition Imperial IPA brewed with innovative hops grown in the premier hop region of Yakima Valley in Washington State. Close Encounters of a Hop Kind (8.5% ABV) “transports beer drinkers far beyond typical Double IPAs with CLS Farms’ extraterrestrial proprietary hop varieties: El Dorado, Zappa®, and the brand new, never before used X-14. Handcrafted out of a love for experimental hops, Close Encounters of a Hop Kind is a deceptively easy-drinking DIPA,” the companies said.
21st Amendment is an open-door brewery that welcomes collaborations with industry professionals they admire. In turn, CLS Farms offers 21st Amendment exclusive access to world-renowned hops so 21st Amendment Co-Founder and Brewmaster Shaun O’Sullivan can be inventive with how he approaches the hottest beer styles.
“Discovering new and experimental hops is a driving energy behind the excitement for craft beer. Our friends Eric and Shelley Desmarais at CLS Farms along with their family and crew are at the tip of the spear with hop innovation and exploring new varietals. That innovation brings our collaboration to a higher level. Close Encounters with its light haze and deep straw color has flavor and aroma bursts of tropical, stone fruit, lime, melon, and purple, that’s right purple. All those flavors wrapped and tucked into a double IPA in a 16 ounce can, well, we can all definitely dig that,” says O’Sullivan.
The new Close Encounters of a Hop Kind will be available this summer in 16 oz. can 4-packs and on draft in all 34 states where 21st Amendment distributes.
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Troegs Intros Perpetual Haze

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

Tröegs Independent Brewing introduces Perpetual Haze, which combines the clean, crisp bitterness of a West Coast IPA and the softness of a hazy. Front and center are Citra and Cashmere hops to unlock juicy notes of orange, passionfruit, and nectarine. It’s available on draft and in 16-oz. cans everywhere Tröegs is sold.

In another development at Tröegs, the company announced that a portion of sales of its Trail Day Dry-Hopped Pilsner will be donated to the Nature Conservancy to help protect the 15,000 acres of the ecologically important 185-mile Kittaninny Ridge forested mountains that runs through Pennsylvania.

“We grew up in the shadow of the Kittatinny Ridge and it passes within 10 miles of the brewery,” says Tröegs founding brother Chris Trogner, “so we know this land well. And few things are more important to brewing beer than clean water. We’re proud to be working with The Nature Conservancy to help protect a place that does so much for Pennsylvania and beyond.”

Trail Day is available in 16-oz. cans throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey where Tröegs beer is sold.

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2 Scholarships Available to Attend TEXSOM Conference

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Joel Whitaker

SommFoundation and its sponsor, Santa Margherita USA, are offering scholarships for two professionals to attend the annual TEXSOM event in Irving, Texas, Aug. 28-30. Registration, airfare and hotel will be covered. Meals and ground transport are not included.  Deadline to apply in June 13.  Full details and to apply: https://www.sommfoundation.com/enrichment-trip/texsom-2022/

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