Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/21004
Maurice Kanbar is no stranger to the dynamics of the highly-competitive vodka mar- ket. He made his mark with Skyy vodka in 1993 and eventually sold the brand to Campari in 2005. An inventor by trade, he went back to the drawing board looking for ways improve upon the processes that went into developing Skyy. When his non-compete clause expired in 2008, Kanbar wasted little time in bringing a second-generation brand to market. “I’m always looking for ways to improve things,” says the inventor, who has scores of patents to his name and the painterly hand of an artist. “After divesting Skyy, I continued to experiment with distillation and with the molecular changes that take place in spirits during aging. The result is an even smoother, cleaner product we felt justifi ed in naming Blue Angel.” Blue Angel debuted on the U.S. market in early 2009 and can now be found in 25 states, with sales divided evenly between on- and off- premise accounts. The fl edgling brand boasts an ultra-smooth texture and routinely beats out other ultra-premium pours in blind tastings. Daniel Baird, Bar Manager at Market Bar in San Francisco’s buzzing Ferry Plaza Market Hall, is featuring Blue Angel in his happy hour cocktails. “Blue Angel’s signature cocktail, the Blue BAM [Blue Angel Martini], is our most popular happy hour Martini,” he says, “along with Cosmopolitans and Lemon Drops built with the brand.” The Blue Angel Martini lives up to its name: three ounces of Blue Angel vodka and a dash of Blue Angel curaçao is shaken and served up with a lemon or orange twist. Baird’s 25- to 35- year-old clientele has plenty of company in their appreciation for Blue Angel; it’s also a popular pour at San Francisco destinations like Perry’s, Hotel Monaco and the Mandarin Oriental’s chic MO Bar. How Do You BAM? It’s a question that begs an answer. “Our wine list defi nitely has a strength in California and we are moving our cocktails in that direction too,” says MO Bar’s Nicole Kosta, Food and Beverage Director at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco. “Our guests mostly come to California for the food and beverage experience, and it’s really fun to offer them local products at the bar.” With a built-in acronym like BAM, Kanbar doesn’t have to stretch far for marketing ideas. The company recently partnered with THE TASTING PANEL magazine to hold a Youtube.com-based video cocktail competition to promote the Blue Angel Martini (aka BAM) to the trade in San Francisco. First prize for the most-viewed video featuring the BAM cocktail included an Argo scooter, $1,000 cash and a profi le of the winning bartender in the January issue of THE TASTING PANEL. Ultra-premium vodka like Blue Angel is a perennial favorite and, as such, it continues to be a marketing bonanza for brands that defi ne quality with celebrity endorsements, socially-conscious messages and romance in all its guises. With a lyrical name like Blue Angel, Kanbar makes a strong bid for the purity of his product, made from select American grain, crafted in small runs and fi nished using a proprietary fi ltration process. “Why export dollars to Europe when you can buy an American product and keep jobs in the U.S.,” Kanbar states. Blue Angel’s packaging includes an American fl ag logo that conveys the spirit of the brand: “We don’t have to look out- side the U.S. for ultra-premium vodka. Buying an imported vodka exports jobs and dollars to a foreign country. Buying American vodka keeps them in America.” december 2010 / the tasting panel / 7 PHOTO: TOM ZASADZINSKI