Popularity of Flavored Whiskeys

[cowdery]

Most of us here rightfully disdain Red Stag, Jack Daniel's Honey and the rest, but make no mistake, they are very popular. The other day in my local supermarket, they had a Jack Daniel's end cap display and half of it was Old No. 7, the other half was Jack Daniel's Honey.

Although sometimes companies can get more shelf facings than they deserve, for the most part facings are a good indicator of popularity. If your store has five facings of Jim Beam White Label and three facings of Red Stag, you can be pretty confident that they are selling three bottles of Red Stag for every five bottles they're selling of Jim Beam White. And since you can't have less than one facing and be in the store, that store is selling at least three-times as much Red Stag as they are anything with a single facing.

Jim Beam's marketing muscle can gain sampling and initial placement, but this product has now been on the market for a couple of years. It's getting plenty of repurchase.

A former poster here had a good use for Red Stag. She mixed it with Knob Creek.

[stiffchainey]

Red Stag and the rest, I guess, is here (Germany) more popular than the "real" whiskey. You get it in every Bar, mostly girls drink it.

[cowdery]

I assume Germany is the same as the U.S., in that we like it when girls drink.

[stiffchainey]

Yeah, sure we do like Girls who drink. But the Red Stag and Honey stuff is advertised as the real deal of whiskey, even in cinema. In a country where JD and JB and sometimes Maker's is available, this is really not cool. I won't complain, though, I order my stuff from the internet.

[MauiSon]

Well, end caps are often bought and facing often vary with stock in the stores I frequent. Five facings of discounted Pink Revenge only indicates a lack of sales, not popularity.

[JB64]

I had a bourbon and cherry coke a while back and thought it tasted pretty good. I thought maybe a cherry flavored bourbon and coke may taste good also. I picked up a bottle of Evan Williams cherry and after I got it home I noticed that it wasn't even 80 proof and was called a liqueur. I didn't care much for the taste, I did go ahead and finished off the bottle though. I have been meaning to pick up a bottle of Red Stag when I find it on sale because at 80 proof I feel it may be a superior product compared to Evan Williams cherry. Now that it is being labled as girls whiskey, out of fear of being seen buying it at the store I will have my wife pick it up for me.

[stiffchainey]

Haha, my gf bought a bottle of Red Stag, I found it awful, really, nothing against it, though, she likes it. Never had the EV cherry, it is simply not available. Southern Comfort is very popular here, too.

[Alden]

Girls and kids like sweet drinks.

Give them a dry martini made with Bombay Blue and garnished with garlic stuffed queen olives, watch them spit it out.

[petrel800]

You know we'll all curse Red Stag until the wife makes the ultimate error and brings how George T Stagg by mistake. Then we'll all happily run out and buy a bottle of Red Stag for the wife. :slappin:

[Flyfish]

I have a bottle of Red Stag and an Evan Williams honey. Neither one is for drinking. They are for pouring over pound cake.

[ebo]

Red Stag might just be the most awful stuff I ever tried. But, hey.... if other people like it, I have no problem with it. Different strokes and all that. :cool:

[Dolph Lundgren]

A couple months ago, I was playing a drinking game at a bar with a bunch of friends. The second place loser had to pick a shot and pay for it. The first place loser had to take the shot. The whole idea was make it as painful as possible for the first place loser. Red Stag was picked more than anything else, and they even had that nasty "Qream with a Q" drink. That says something about the Stag...

[cowdery]

Well, end caps are often bought and facing often vary with stock in the stores I frequent. Five facings of discounted Pink Revenge only indicates a lack of sales, not popularity.

You're talking about exceptions, which I conceded, and although consideration may be provided for a special display location, it's not sufficient compensation if the displayed product doesn't sell through. The rule holds, shelf and floor space are good indicators of sales unless, of course, the store is poorly run. Any store that bases facings on inventory is, by definition, poorly run. Both should be based on sales.

[cowdery]

A couple months ago, I was playing a drinking game at a bar with a bunch of friends. The second place loser had to pick a shot and pay for it. The first place loser had to take the shot. The whole idea was make it as painful as possible for the first place loser. Red Stag was picked more than anything else, and they even had that nasty "Qream with a Q" drink. That says something about the Stag...

Clearly, they didn't have Malort.

[camduncan]

But, hey.... if other people like it, I have no problem with it. Different strokes and all that. :cool:

Couldn't agree more. Personally I haven't tried a Cherry or Honey product I didn't like as they all seem to suit my sweet tooth.... but I couldn't drink them every day. They're an occasional pour when I don't feel like a bourbon or rye and want something sweeter. I like that drinking them means I'm supporting my favourite brands, but when the desire to drink something sweeter hits, I could just as easily pour a glass of port, Baileys or some other sweet liquor.

[cowdery]

Truth be told, I've gone through a couple bottles of Red Stag since it came out. For what it is, it's well made, but if you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like it. That's okay.

[MauiSon]

Regarding post #13, I don't think so. Endcaps in every store I've visited have been reserved for new items (bought, one way or another) or clearance (items the store wants to move, not that actually sell better). Best-selling items rarely receive much push. As for facings, one or two on every item is the rule, any deviation is rare.

As for flavored whiskey - no interest whatsoever (and what's it gonna taste like after 20 years in the bunker?).

Edited April 8, 2013 by MauiSon

[j1mmyj4m]

I actually enjoy Jack Daniels Honey with crushed ice when I'm trying to satisfy a sweet craving. I only drink it once or twice a month with the rest of the time enjoying good bourbon neat.

[TheOakMonster]

I'll check our store's sales history tommorrow, Jim Beam v Red Stag and Jack v Jack Honey. Without looking though, i can safely say we sell a boat-load more of the standard products. We purchase Beam 1.75s 10 cases at time versus Stag one case at a time.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Chances are that brown foreman offered a good deal on both black and honey. Often times they will want case stacks or endcap facings of both honey and black in return for a good deal. The honey might be equal in facing because they have more stock of it.

In my store in the heart or bourbon country, black outsells honey 5 to 1 with Jd. The numbers are closer with wild turkey honey and 101.

Beam honey is just now hitting KY. Line priced with red stagg. Curious how that will work considering the honey tea was a resounding flop.

[CoMobourbon]

Chances are that brown foreman offered a good deal on both black and honey. Often times they will want case stacks or endcap facings of both honey and black in return for a good deal. The honey might be equal in facing because they have more stock of it.

In my store in the heart or bourbon country, black outsells honey 5 to 1 with Jd. The numbers are closer with wild turkey honey and 101.

That's really useful specific information. Certainly 5:1 is not 3:2. I would be interested to hear big scale numbers too.

But at the risk of nudging the conversation away from endcaps, I have to say that the original point in the OP still stands. Even if it is, say, 5:1, that's still a lot people buying and consuming Red Stag, right? Sometimes it feels like we treat it like a pathetic little aberration around here, but in the real world, it sells big. I can't say that I have tried nor that I intend to, but we're not everybody.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

That's really useful specific information. Certainly 5:1 is not 3:2. I would be interested to hear big scale numbers too.

But at the risk of nudging the conversation away from endcaps, I have to say that the original point in the OP still stands. Even if it is, say, 5:1, that's still a lot people buying and consuming Red Stag, right? Sometimes it feels like we treat it like a pathetic little aberration around here, but in the real world, it sells big. I can't say that I have tried nor that I intend to, but we're not everybody.

Those numbers were JD honey vs JD black. Take all three red stag flavors combined and beam 4yr outsells them 10:1. Keep in mind I am 15 miles from beam bourbon hq in clermont. If beam didn't treat us so well, all but cherry red stag would be disco'd. With beam

honey coming, honey tea might still get the axe.

[CoMobourbon]

Whoops. Good catch.

But still, clearly, the basic point still stands. Whether it's Stag or the major label honey whiskeys (it appears to be the latter) at 1:5 or even closer, these sugared/flavored whiskey liqueur things sell better than we probably think they do. We may treat JD Honey and WT Honey like sideshow freaks around here, but they are not really marginal when it comes to mainstream consumption. Lots of people are buying and drinking this stuff, and SB.com doesn't really even register in 'lots of people'.

Edited April 9, 2013 by CoMobourbon

[Kalessin]

Many of my favorite stores don't even HAVE endcaps...

[Dolph Lundgren]

Clearly, they didn't have Malort.