This advertising content was produced in collaboration with our sponsors, Cointreau, Rémy Martin, Veuve Clicquot, and Highland Park.
From seasonal cocktails to high-end bubbly, the holidays are often defined by what’s in our glass. A sparkling wine served in a coup, for example, or a cranberry-scented cocktail, can immediately evoke end-of-year celebrations and holiday get-togethers.
To maximize the season, consumers are eager to select and serve the beverage brands that fuel these festive drinks and usher in holiday cheer, and a few key brands do it best. These are the products that have proven themselves to consumers over centuries to become icons in their categories—and must-stock items for buyers during the busy holiday season.
Take, for example, the 300-year-old Cognac producer Rémy Martin, who has continuously pushed boundaries to redefine its category, or the orange liqueur Cointreau, which has become a key element in hundreds of cocktails in its 175-year history. A top-notch product can create brands with true staying power, that ignite festive gatherings and fond memories, and become shelf staples year in and year out. Here are four such brands that consumers are seeking out this season and beyond.
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Cointreau
The festive season is fueled by holiday cocktails, and there are few cocktail ingredients as essential as Cointreau. With its complex blend of orange peel essences, it is long beloved by mixologists for enhancing and amplifying other flavors and creating an almost opalescent texture, to deliver a drink of freshness, depth, and poise. It’s little wonder it serves as a vital ingredient in over 500 cocktails, including The Original Margarita, the Sidecar, and the Cosmopolitan.
Through Cointreau’s long, over 175-year history, however, few cocktails have become as iconic as the Cosmopolitan. Toby Cecchini mixed the first ever Cosmo in 1988 at The Odeon, famously pairing vodka with Cointreau, lime juice, and cranberry juice. It swiftly became a fixture on fashionable circuits and has secured a place in pop culture ever since. With its seasonal cranberry base and unique aromatic kick from the orange liqueur, it is a fresh take on the festive cocktail. More original than mulled wine, it is the perfect option for the many chic parties of the season.
Rémy Martin
Premium Cognac producer Rémy Martin has a long history of excellence—300 years to be exact. Founded in 1724, the house has risen to global fame thanks to a passion for continuous innovation and improvement. Now firmly established as a holiday favorite, there is perhaps no better time to enjoy Rémy Martin. This year, the house is ushering in the holidays with a unique collection featuring constellations and astrological motifs. The glowing metallic gold, silver, and red limited-edition packaging illustrates the bright future ahead.
To accompany the limited-edition holiday collection, Rémy Martin has also unveiled four festive cocktails for the season. Each cocktail is inspired by one of the four elements and its corresponding constellation: the XO Flare, which features the zest of an orange, represents fire and Sagittarius; the Remedy, featuring a pop of honey and ginger, channels earth and Capricorn; La Palme 1738, marrying cinnamon and raspberry, stands for water and Scorpio; and the Flying Negroni, a riff on a classic, represents air and Libra.
Veuve Clicquot
It simply wouldn’t be the holiday season without the striking yellow label of Veuve Clicquot adorning shelves, and retailers and restaurants that opt to stock this oft-gifted bottle from the number one Champagne brand in the U.S. will certainly see strong sales. A whopping 34 percent of all Champagne sold in November and December is Veuve Clicquot, according to Nielsen IQ, and more than half of all Veuve Clicquot drinkers pop a bottle during the holidays.
It isn’t just the classic Brut Yellow Label that drives sales during the holiday season; it’s the season for special vintage Champagnes, too, and Veuve Clicquot is a leader in that regard, with vintage bottles such as the iconic La Grande Dame. After all, the brand’s namesake, Madame Clicquot herself, bottled the first vintage Champagne in 1810. And if consumers want to mix it up with some festive rosé Champagne, offer them the brand that started it all, making the first rosé Champagne through assemblage. When guests look to pop a bottle of bubbly this holiday season, they’re looking for this go-to Champagne: Veuve Clicquot.
Highland Park Whisky
There’s a reason why Scotch is a classic spirit to stock for the holiday season. With richness and smoky complexity, packaged in an eye-catching box, consumers naturally gravitate towards Scotch as a holiday gift because they know it will impress. This year, offer consumers something unique within the Scotch category: Highland Park single malt, crafted on the isle of Orkney with heathered peat.
Orkney, the northernmost Scotch-producing region, has strong winds, making the land more suitable to heather than to trees. This creates the “secret ingredient” of Highland Park whisky: heathered peat, which lends a subtle smoke that melds perfectly with the sweetness of sherry-seasoned casks in which the Scotch is aged. All of Highland Park’s expressions, from the 12 Year Old to the 21 Year Old and beyond, have been highly decorated in major spirits competitions, winning double gold, platinum, and best in class medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the New York International Spirits Competition, and more. This holiday season, set your Scotch selection apart with the distinctive flavor of Highland Park, and set your customers up for gifting success.
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