Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
UP Up Front with Rob Cooper by Meridith May / photos by Rob Brown ���This sale was not our original intent,��� says Rob Cooper, founder and CEO of Cooper Spirits, whose St-German Elder���ower Liqueur has had little, if any, competition in its category since its inception less than a decade ago. ���Strategically we knew our strength was, and is, in brand development and savoir faire,��� he tells THE TASTING PANEL. ���Our expertise is creating relevant brands, made with integrity. But I always knew there was more I wanted to explore and innovate���more than just St-Germain. The constraints in a small business precluded me. Now, when this offer came to us, we felt it was the right time to say yes. We did our job [well], and now we can offer the greatest value to the spirits industry by creating.��� Realizing there is a void between tiny start-ups and major suppliers gave Cooper the momentum and motivation to make headway with projects that he truly believes in. ���The big companies have trouble creating genuinely new brands; instead they seem to be on a continuous loop of reinforcing line extensions.��� The addition of St-Germain to Bacardi���s portfolio increases the brand���s awareness factor and also adds a cool, craft factor. Cooper���s small 35-person company won���t be diminished by the sale of St-Germain. If anything, the sale will stimulate growth for Cooper Spirits (although some of his team may begin working on the Bacardi side) as he develops new brands. ���We have a unique niche and infrastructure to innovate, create and mobilize ideas, while at the same time, Bacardi has made a clear, decisive commitment to uphold the integrity of St-Germain. We will continue to manage the brand on behalf of Bacardi���they are looking to us to guide them.��� Cooper points out that there are pivotal components in producing this labor-intensive spirit and in maintaining its artisanal tenets: St-Germain is hand-harvested from elder���owers grown in France at a short four- to six-week blossoming period in the spring. It is a true earth-to-bottle spirit. Cooper Spirits has a history in supplying the cocktail/ bar trade. ���L�����quipe St-Germain��� was developed to support community-building and foster the exchange of ideas 6 / the tasting panel / march 2013 The Amer Amour is a cocktail created at Hollywood���s Pour Vous, a lounge that has the feel of Paris in the late 19th century.