Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) is set to debut its first full-strength spirit, Five Trail Whiskey, on September 1. The blended American whiskey will be the first product launched under the new banner Coors Whiskey Co.

Five Trail will be produced in partnership with Kentucky’s Bardstown Bourbon Co. and has been described by Molson Coors as “a blend of Colorado single-malt whiskey and three bourbons, cut to proof with Rocky Mountain water.” The end result is an ultra-premium whiskey, weighing in at 95-proof.

Five Trail will initially be available at alcohol retail locations in four select markets including Colorado, Georgia, Nevada and New York. The whiskey will be packaged and sold exclusively in 750ml bottles. The suggested retail price will be $59.99 per bottle.

Commitment to Premiumization

“This is not just about acquiring a brand or working with a distiller on a blend,” stated Kimberli Fox, Molson Coors’ wine and spirits marketing manager. “This is a true collaboration that marries Colorado provenance with innovative distilling techniques of pioneering Kentucky-based distillers.”

The Molson Coors Beverage Company is committed to premiumization. In recent quarters the alcohol beverage powerhouse has discontinued several of its ‘economy’ beer brands as well as other underperforming products to focus instead on its flourishing portfolio of Beyond Beer products.

Brands such as Vizzy Hard Seltzer and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, the latter of which Molson Coors distributes as part of an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company, experienced impressive growth during the company’s second quarter. In fact, TAP’s hard seltzer brands performed so well in Q2, the company managed double its share of the bubbly category within the US market.

Canned Cocktails

In addition to its hard seltzer portfolio, Molson Coors has experienced recent success with its premium ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings such as Proof Point, a new line of canned cocktails crafted with real spirits, as well as Superbird Paloma, a canned grapefruit and tequila cocktail the company distributes for the Casa Komos Beverage Group.

Molson Coors has also included products without alcohol in its premiumization strategy. Beverages such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s energy drink, ZOA, have led the way in the non-alcoholic category.

“So, the headline is simple,” Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley insisted during the company’s Q2 earnings summary call. “Premiumization is here to stay at Molson Coors.” Come September, TAP will venture even further into premiumization with Five Trail.

“While whiskey drinkers are a very loyal group, discovery is a key theme. They love to explore, expand their collections and try new things,” Fox explained. “That makes this a very interesting place for us to play as a beverage company. Within whiskey, there’s so much rich territory to explore and you don’t have to stay within the confines of a singular consumer expectation.”

As big beer brewers continue to explore the wide world beyond beer, Molson Coors is not the first to branch off into spirits. In 2019 Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) acquired Cutwater Spirits, its first spirits company in the United States.

Cutwater produces canned cocktails featuring real whiskey, vodka, rum, gin and tequila as well as its own line of bottled spirits including all of the aforementioned varieties as well as a mezcal and an herbal liqueur.

It appears Five Trail will be much more than a novelty product. The company intends to foster the future growth of its full-strength spirits offerings.

Fox stated the whiskey “isn’t planned as a one-off proposition.”

Shirani Jayasuriya
Latest posts by Shirani Jayasuriya (see all)