Drambuie's new home

By DITA DE BONI

Two more key spirit brands have found new homes in the wake of Allied Liquor's April 1 demise.

Glengarry Hancocks has nabbed distribution rights for Drambuie liqueur and Glenmorangie malt whisky from Allied. The two liquors have a combined retail value of about $1.9 million.

Drambuie is sold in more than 200 countries. New Zealand - with a strong Scottish heritage - is the third-largest consumer of the product per capita.

Hancocks, the distribution and brand marketing arm of Glengarry Hancocks, has also secured the rights to distribute German herbal bitter product Jagermeister.

Hancocks is now running a close third behind NZ Wines & Spirits and Maxxium in terms of market share of the liquor distribution industry.

Joe Jakicevich, managing director of the Glengarry Hancocks Group, said a clear picture of how the players were working the market would only become evident after a year of trading.

"It's still a changing scene and the players are jockeying for position. After 12 months we can better determine how the brands are performing in the market."

Heading Glengarry Hancocks' portfolio are brands from Kentucky-based Brown-Forman Corporation, including Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort, as well as Bacardi rum, Martini and De Bortoli Wines.

The Brown-Forman portfolio, worth an estimated $30 million in retail sales, was won off NZ Wines & Spirits last November.