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revanche cognac
Q&A with Blue Caterpillar CEO Michael Gebrael: Drawing liquid to the lips with Revanche Cognac
In June 2022, boutique spirits distribution company Blue Caterpillar LLC (BC) announced its new partnership with The Water Group LLC (TWG). As a result of the agreement, BC has added the award-winning Revanche Cognac brand to its existing portfolio to distribute in global travel retail.
Described as a hand-crafted, quality blend of select vintages, Revanche offers a proprietary blend of VS, VSOP and XO, which is a super-premium product at a VS price. Featuring aromas of coffee, cacao, pepper and hints of candied prunes, Revanche launched in the United States and Europe at the end of 2019 and has been working to extend its distribution from the east coast into western markets. With the support of its partner, the brand is now looking to establish a presence in the travel retail channel.
Whiskeysmith Chocolate
New Booze November 2022
November 28, 2022
Below are bottle shots of mostly new- and a few just new to me- spirits products that have come onto the market in the last month. There were a lot this month as many brands release stuff just before the holidays.
These are from my Instagram account and you can get more information about each of them there.
New Booze November 2022
November 28, 2022
Below are bottle shots of mostly new- and a few just new to me- spirits products that have come onto the market in the last month. There were a lot this month as many brands release stuff just before the holidays.
These are from my Instagram account and you can get more information about each of them there.
BevNET Announces Nominees for ‘Best of 2022’ Awards
Each year, BevNET’s “Best Of” Awards are presented to honor the most influential and impactful companies, brands, people, products, ideas and trends from across the beverage industry landscape. While the market has made important strides to move forward from the pandemic, this year new challenges — none larger than the painful combination of historic inflation and a dubious economic forecast, coming against the backdrop of war in Ukraine — have confronted entrepreneurs and forced them to adapt to survive. Toughness and ingenuity are constant requirements for surviving the beverage game in the best of years, but thriving in 2022 also means balancing the hits with optimism, energy, inspiration and resilience, all of which were on display among this year’s award winners.
The 216 nominees for BevNET’s “Best of 2022” Awards, presented by Zuckerman Honickman, represent the beverage industry’s diversity and depth of talent both in front of and behind the scenes, whether it’s disrupting an established category with new innovations, capturing consumers’ imaginations through bold marketing, leading the push for improved ingredient sourcing and ethical business practices, or simply making a beverage that we can’t stop drinking.
BevNET is proud to announce the nominees for its “Best Of 2022” Awards, as follows (with the exception of Person of the Year). Winners will be announced at BevNET Live Winter 2022 on December 5, 2022 at 12:10 p.m. PST.
Spirits company Blue Caterpillar expands GTR portfolio with Revanche Cognac partnership
By Lois Pasternak
Blue Caterpillar, LLC, the boutique spirits distribution company founded by well-known travel retail executives Michael Gebrael and Christoph Henkel in 2021, announces a new partnership with The Water Group, LLC (TWG) for the distribution of Revanche Cognac in Global Travel Retail.
The highly-awarded Revanche is a hand-crafted, quality blend of select vintages, in a proprietary blend of VS, VSOP and XO, made with the finest grapes from Cognac, France. Revanche – meaning “revenge” in French – was ideated by partners Gigi Olah and Kim Birkedal Hartmann following the successful launch of their first Cognac brand, Conjure.
“Blue Caterpillar is proud to be a part of the Revanche Cognac journey to continue its remarkable growth trajectory in the Global Travel Retail channel. The brand has managed to deliver on every single aspect of the experience, incredible blend to indulge on taste, from a branding perspective, second to none and has a team that is nimble and relentless in driving success,” said Michael Gebrael, BC’s Co-Founder & CEO. “BC & TWG are very passionate for sustainable growth and the contribution we can make to this industry through meaningful innovation.”
“Revanche Cognac is thrilled to partner with Blue Caterpillar LLC as our Global Retail Channel Partner as their business and standards are aligned with our distribution strategy to expand the brand’s footprint,” said Gigi Olah, CEO and Partner at TWG.
Blue Caterpillar x The Water Group announce new partnership
By Laura Shirk
Blue Caterpillar has announced a new partnership with The Water Group. In the agreement, Blue Caterpillar will add the award-winning Revanche Cognac brand to its existing portfolio and distribute it across global travel retail.
“Blue Caterpillar is proud to be a part of the Revanche Cognac journey to continue its remarkable growth trajectory in the global travel retail channel. The brand has managed to deliver on every single aspect of the experience, incredible blend to indulge on taste, from a branding perspective, second to none and has a team that is nimble and relentless in driving success. Blue Caterpillar and The Water Group are very passionate for sustainable growth and the contribution we can make to this industry through meaningful innovation,” says Michael Gebrael, BC’s Co-Founder & CEO.
Dedicated to unlocking value for its brands partners and retail customers, Blue Caterpillar continues to focus on its scalable technology solutions, transparency, category management approach, and extensive associate training to enable brands with the opportunity to really tell their stories to the end consumer at the point of sale.
“Revanche Cognac is thrilled to partner with Blue Caterpillar LLC as our Global Retail Channel Partner as their business and standards are aligned with our distribution strategy to expand the brand’s footprint,” adds Gigi Olah, CEO & Partner at The Water Group.
GSN Review:
Revanche Cognac
Revanche is a proprietary blend of three different Cognac expressions which is unique in the category. Revanche launched in the US and Europe in late 2019 and has been working to extend its distribution from the East Coast into the western markets.
“We are thrilled to expand into additional East Coast markets and widen our reach into several Midwest and West Coast markets,” said Gigi Olah, CEO and Partner of Revanche Cognac. “We continue to grow our brand within the US and are excited to see how our product performs in these new areas.”
The United States is the leading export market for Cognac, the sector continues to grow with an increase of +11.1% or 115 million bottles of cognac shipped in 2021, according to The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC).
Revanche will be available in all 35 markets by the end of this summer.
Market Watch
Next Step
Jumping on the innovation trend, Revanche was launched by the founders of Conjure Cognac in 2019.
Gigi Olah anticipates more luxury offerings from Revanche, including a possible XO label, or Gold or Platinum Cognacs, although no specific plans have been announced. In general, Cognac has seen little of the innovation that has marked other spirits categories, in part due to strict production rules in the region. But some in the industry think smaller brands are well-positioned for expansion. K&L’s Othenin-Girard notes that with the pandemic, consumers are more engaged than ever. “I see a continued interest in craft Cognac, especially where additives are eschewed or at least used in a transparent positive way,” he says. “Customers are becoming more savvy and are looking for authenticity and quality over image and luxury.”
A Cognac Almost As Old As Harlem, Is Having A Moment, Here’s A Toast To Revanche
Revanche Cognac, a versatile and smooth, proprietary VSXO blend cognac from fifth generation-producer Kim Birkedal Hartmann and partner Gigi Olah.
The innovative blend continues to expand to new markets across the US and regions in Europe – most recently, Michigan, Illinois, and North Carolina. Revanche is the second cognac from the Hartmann family, following their first brand, Conjure.
With aromas of coffee, cacao, pepper, and candied prunes, it’s smooth on its own but also mixes very well with cocktails – from a margarita to the French 75 and Sidecar, both originally featured cognac as the base spirit.
Revanche, in addition to other brands, has seen a spike in cognac sales since the onset of the pandemic.
News Briefs
for May 6, 2022
Revanche Cognac is expanding into 14 new markets, building its total distribution to 35 U.S. markets and select areas in Europe. The new markets include Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming. Revanche launched in the U.S. and Europe in late 2019 and has been working to extend its distribution from the East Coast into western markets. A blend of 80% VS, 15% VSOP, and 5% XO Cognacs, Revanche retails at $45-$50 a 750-ml. and around $24 a 375-ml., depending on the market.
Nashville Scene
I have to admit that I’ve grown tired of the hunt for ultra-scarce whiskeys and the bragging photos filling my social media from people who spend their spare time scouring secondary markets and driving country roads looking for little liquor stores in hopes of landing a white whale. Sure, I like bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, either straight or as part of a homemade cocktail, but it’s not the end of the spirits universe.
Cognac Expert
The name “Revanche”, translating from French to English as “revenge” is the latest line of Cognacs from Norway’s very own Cognac genius, Kim Birkedal Hartmann. Revanche also has another more unique definition according to Kim: means “To start over again with something you’ve done before, but this time to win it.” Ten years after he brought out the Conjure Cognac line, he is back with Revanche Cognac – the first being a hand-curated quality blend of three-year-old VS, VSOP, and XO, with no additives or color. The first 40,000 were bottled on 12 July 2019. And there is still bigger news yet to come. In an exclusive interview, Kim told Cognac Expert that Revanche will have an important partner and co-owner that is yet to be revealed to the public.
Accolades
