French brandy producer St-Rémy is ending its Cask Finish Collection with a flourish by teaming up with Calvados producer Château du Breuil for the final expression. The Canadian launch is slated for early 2024. Meanwhile, another limited edition is arriving in stores through an exclusive collaboration with French artist Lucas Beaufort.
The ninth and last cask collection edition—Finished in Calvados Casks—consists of just 12,580 bottles and has a limited geographical rollout. According to Louise Quillard, global brand manager at St Rémy, the line has already launched in travel retail, and will also be distributed in Canada, Taiwan, Poland, and Mexico—plus France at the Chateau du Breuil boutique in Pays d’Auge, Normandy.
The dates and timings for these latter markets will vary, “some of them depending on the stocks of the previous editions of the Cask Finish Collection” said Quillard. She added: “For instance, it is already available at the Chateau du Breuil boutique, but will only be available in Canada next year.”
The Canadian launch will be crucial for what is said to be the world’s number one French brandy. The brand, part of the larger Rémy Cointreau group whose lead cognac brand is Louis XIII, says that being present in over 70 markets worldwide makes St-Rémy the market leader with a share of 18.2% (source: IWSR 2021 data).
Canada’s historic French connections make it the top market globally for Rémy, even bigger than the United States. Retail distribution is mainly through government enterprises such as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and BC Liquor which have hundreds of outlets in their respective provinces.
Canadian pricing will be in line with previous lines from the Cask Finish Collection said Quillard. For example, a previous Port Cask Finish 70cl bottle currently retails for 49.99 Canadian dollars ($37.69) in BC Liquor’s online store.
Not for the French
In France itself, there is little appetite for brandy—it is essentially an export product. Cécile Roudaut, master blender for St-Rémy told me: “About 92% of it is exported as Saint Rémy is not well known in France; consumers here don’t really buy brandy. They drink other spirits. In France, cognac and armanac are better known but more for the end of a meal, as a digestif.” This, perhaps, shows the value of marketing in some markets and not others.
For St-Rémy, Canada is followed bv the United States, with travel retail the third biggest market (pre-pandemic) where the brand has a strong position and ranks 39th in the IWSR Top 50 Travel Retail Spirits Brands 2022. Other major markets are Australia, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Britain, and also Nigeria—quite an eclectic mix.
“Travel retail remains a key market for us because it gives the brand global exposure, In the past, Mexico was also very big, but distribution changes and tax increases led consumers towards more local products, but it remains a target,” said Roudaut.
The calvados limited edition will only be offered in the selected markets noted above, and in duty-free stores only in Australia, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates. As the finale, Roudaut decided to partner with a French calvados house to have an all-French send-off.
“I expect it will be a success in Canada,” she said. “The apple element will appeal to palates there as apple-derived flavors are known to find favor in Canada, based on previous launches. For the United States, the preferences are a bit different. I know they like cinnamon and spices, but tastes vary by region.”
The calvados cask version relies more on the flavor coming from the cask itself with more time to fully develop. The series is ending now “because I want to do something else” Roudaut said candidly.
A new limited-edition collection in the making
So what comes next? No announcements have been made yet and while it’s all a bit hush-hush there will be another limited line, not least because St-Rémy sees at least part of its role as taking the lead in rejuvenating the brandy segment by appealing to a younger consumer. Canada’s own Bridgeland Distillery is doing the same but with non-traditional grape varieties.
St-Rémy’s Roudaut said: “With the pot-still distillation process you have several possibilities using varietals and mono-grapes. Blends of grapes from specific French regions to highlight different terroirs is one idea. That is possibly a clue—collections based on regional grape varieties and terroirs.
Meanwhile, the Lucas Beaufort limited edition XO bottle adds an extra element of excitement to the brandy category thanks to the artist’s colorful street art and urban styling. The artwork is said to be inspired by a tasting and masterclass with Roudaut, where Beaufort then translated St-Rémy XO’s key flavors of vanilla and wood, plus ripe fruits and honey into different hues for the design.
The St-Rémy x Lucas Beaufort line is already available in the U.K. with retailers like Sainsbury, Morrisons, and Amazon
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