Product Launch
Blavod Extreme Spirits PLC
26 September 2005
Blavod Extreme Spirits' Joint Venture Diamante Spirits
Announces first New Product Launch
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - September 26, 2005 - Blavod Extreme Spirits' (LSE:BES) joint
venture Diamante Spirits, LLC, announces today that it will produce and market a
new tequila, El Diamante del Cielo (Diamond in the Sky). The new product will
have a retail value between $45 to $60 depending on vintage and will be
commercially available through Blavod's distribution network in the United
States in early 2006.
This is the first new product to be produced by Diamante Spirits, LLC, the joint
venture company formed in August 2005. Diamante Spirits is a 50:50 joint venture
with Suntory, with Blavod responsible for day to day management of the company.
El Diamante del Cielo will enhance BES's position in the international boutique
spirits market, where it already produces and markets Blavod Black Vodka and the
Players Extreme range of vodkas and rums. BES also has a growing wine
portfolio, and now distributes a varied list of niche Italian wines in the
United States and the UK.
The JV will produce three varieties of the tequila - El Diamante del Cielo
Blanco, Reposado and Anejo. The handcrafted tequilas are made with 100% blue
Waeber Agave grown exclusively in the optimal conditions found in the Jalisco
region of Mexico. In keeping with the heritage of tequila making, the Agave is
harvested by hand by Jimadors, a tradition passed from father to son in Mexico
for centuries. One hundred years in the making, the tequila is bottled on an
estate deep in the heart of Mexico.
Jeff Hopmayer, CEO of Blavod Extreme Spirits, said: 'We are very excited to
bring our first new brand from the JV to the market. We anticipate that, with
our partner, we will make El Diamante del Cielo a highly competitive
international brand within a short timeframe.'
Media Contacts:
United Kingdom Tim Robertson 020 7930 0777
Catherine Maitland
Notes to editors:
Blavod Extreme Spirits, plc (LSE:BES), is an international spirits company based
in London with U.S. offices in Franklin, Tennessee. Formed by the 2003 merger
of Blavod Black Vodka plc and Extreme Beverage Company, Blavod Extreme Spirits
produces and sells its black-colored vodka, aptly called Blavod, throughout the
world. BES also produces and sells the award-winning, intensely flavored line
of Players Extreme vodkas and rums. In the United States, BES is the exclusive
distributor of an elite wine portfolio of fine Italian wines. For more
information on the company, please visit www.blavodextreme.com.
El Diamante del Cielo Blanco goes straight from the distillation process to the
bottle making it the purest, a most fruit forward tequila in the trio. In the
triple-distilling process, the 'head and tail' of the tequila is thrown out,
reserving only the heart of the batch for bottling.
By Mexican regulation, Reposado tequilas are aged in large oak barrels for a
minimum of 60 days and a maximum of one year. To get more tequila to market,
most companies bottle Reposado on the 60th day. El Diamante del Cielo Reposado
is bottled on the 364th day of aging, the last day possible, to give it a
smoother and fuller-bodied taste than most Reposado tequilas. Although this
aging process is more expensive, El Diamante del Cielo Reposado reaps the
rewards with a full-bodied vanilla and caramel taste that is supremely sippable
and perfect for mixing that special tequila drink.
Anejo tequilas are sealed by the government for a minimum of one year. El
Diamante del Cielo Anejo extends the aging process up to four years to make a
smooth, buttery, oaky tasting tequila. El Diamante del Cielo Anejo, dripping
with flavorful spices and subtle scents of tropical fruits, is the ultimate
sipping tequila. Rated at 96, El Diamante del Cielo Anejo is one the highest
rated tequilas ever created.
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The company news service from the London Stock Exchange