Bacardi Global Travel Retail has launched St-Germain, a French liqueur made from hand-picked elderflower blossoms, in US travel retail with International Shoppes at JFK International Airport Terminal 8.
This launch location was chosen to reflect the popularity of St-Germain in the New York domestic market and its popularity with bartenders in the city’s cocktail scene, according to Bacardi.
During the month of December, a St-Germain branded bar was set up in the International Shoppes store, featuring luxury Parisian art deco-style bar cues and imagery. Prominently positioned floor-standing merchandising display units give visual support to the bar activity, which was driven by the call to action “˜Vive L’Aperitif’.
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The St-Germain bar featured luxury Parisian art deco-style bar cues and imagery |
Passengers were invited to taste a range of St-Germain cocktail aperitifs, such as the new St-Germain Cocktail – St-Germain, sparkling wine, sparkling/soda water and a lemon twist. Additional serve options included St-Germain, Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic and St-Germain, Grey Goose vodka and tonic.
The launch also covers the cruise channel with all major cruise lines featuring St-Germain cocktails. Celebrity and Norwegian Cruise Lines are also running additional consumer engagement on the new product in their specialist cocktail lounges.
Bacardi Global Travel Retail Regional Director Americas Geoff Biggs explained the category-driving strategy behind the launch of St-Germain in the US travel market: “Liqueurs have great potential to play a more dynamic role in travel retail and Bacardi believes the strongest incremental opportunity is in “˜new news’ high-quality brands such as St-Germain with its unique heritage appeal to cocktail lovers, who love its flavour and versatility.
“We’re delighted with the look and feel of this experience with International Shoppes. We plan to bring more unique excitement of this kind to airport stores in the US as part of our strategy to drive growth in all segments of the liquor category and, specifically, to create disruption with shoppers at the second stage of luxury – those people looking for new and unique brands as a way of differentiating themselves from the norm. We’ll now be rolling the experience out to Boston Logan and Philadelphia International and to other cruise lines later in 2015.”
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Passengers were invited to taste a range of St-Germain cocktail aperitifs |
Made using hand-harvested flowers, St-Germain has a taste profile comprising elderflower, tropical fruits, grapefruit and pear, with a hint of citrus. It is described as having a fresh, versatile and refined character which makes for the perfect aperitif and pairs well with every base spirit.
Its fluted glass bottle makes a striking visual impact on-shelf, said Bacardi, with its “art deco and gothic” look representing a mix of influences and styles in Paris over the decades. Each bottle is stamped with a number identifying its vintage, its elderflower harvest and underscoring the hand-crafted nature of the product.
St-Germain is a four-time Grand Gold Medal Winner, Monde Selection, and also winner of the Chairman’s Award in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2010.
