NH Liquor Commission Honors Employees and Business Partners

From Montagne Communications: The New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC) paid tribute to its 2016 Wine, Spirit & Employee Award winners Thursday, March 30, at the Puritan Backroom in Manchester, honoring national brands, local wineries and distilleries, and NHLC employees. Award winners were honored for their community support, innovative product marketing, exceptional sales and tireless work ethic. NHLC recognized the top distillery, winery, wine, spirit and business partner, along with the top New Hampshire winery and distillery. NHLC also recognized several NH Liquor & Wine Outlet employees for their diligence, dedication, teamwork and overall excellence in representing values of NHLC.

“Our annual Wine, Spirit and Employee Award ceremony is the perfect opportunity to recognize the employees and business partners, both locally and nationally, who make tremendous contributions to our overall success,” said NHLC Chairman Joseph Mollica. “These remarkable brands, products and individuals all play a vital role in exceeding our sales goals, which in Fiscal Year 2016 reached a record-breaking $678.4 million in gross sales.”

NHLC recognized the following brands, products, individuals and NH Liquor & Wine Outlets:

• Spirit of the Year – Tito’s Vodka
• Distillery of the Year – Crown Royal
• Wine of the Year – Josh Cellars Cabernet
• Winery of the Year – Apothic Wines
• Business Partners of the Year – Richard Racicot and James Cordio, NH Department of Information Technology
• New Hampshire Distillery of the Year – Sea Hagg Distillery
• New Hampshire Winery of the Year – Zorvino Vineyards
• Customer First Award – Lee Bequette, Store 34 (Salem)
• Raise Your Glass Award – NHLC Maintenance Team
• Top Shelf Merchandising Award – Store 64 (New London)
• Tight Ship Award – Store 50 (Nashua)
• Award for Leadership – James Haggis, Store 66 (Hooksett)
• Excellence in Teamwork Award – Store 57 (Ossipee) with special mention of Matt Kresco
• Above and Beyond Award – Lauren Munroe, Store 23 (Conway)

Spirit of the Year

Tito’s Vodka has been available in New Hampshire since 2005, and has never strayed from its original product—a simple, quality vodka—which at a competitive price puts Tito’s in high demand. In addition to experiencing a 58-percent jump in retail sales, Tito’s participated as a major sponsor for the annual Distiller’s Showcase of Premium Spirits and partnered on a number of other marketing initiatives, including a sweepstakes program for customers to win a NH Liquor & Wine Outlet gift card with the purchase of Tito’s products. Tito’s also participated as the choice vodka in the ‘Build a Mule’ promotion, which took place over the summer and included Tito’s, ginger beer and a set of copper mugs at a discounted price, along with a free Tito’s tote bag for participating customers.

Distillery of the Year
Longstanding brands sometimes face difficulty sustaining mainstream interest, but this has not been the case for Crown Royal. The brand continues to find success with its signature selections, in addition to its newer flavors. Three of the 13 Crown Royal offerings available at NH Liquor & Wine Outlets sit within the top 200 performing spirits in terms of retail gross profits produced. In addition to its status as a top-shelf brand, Crown Royal remains dedicated to working with NHLC on a local initiative called Operation Care for Troops. The organization collects Crown Royal bags, which are donated to military troops that use the bags to store night-vision goggles. Crown Royal has also made a financial contribution each year since the program’s launch.

Wine of the Year
Joseph Carr is a world-class sommelier with decades of experience in the wine industry. Following 10 years as an international industry executive, Carr set out on his own in 2005 to form his family-owned wine company. Carr is named after his father, who was known by his friends as “Josh,” thus the inspiration behind Carr’s Josh Cellars. Josh wines have steadily risen in the ranks throughout NH Liquor & Wine Outlets, and Josh Cabernet experienced a surge in popularity in 2016 with a 29-percent increase in sales, which amounted to a $90,000 increase in profits.

Winery of the Year
The Apothic brand, as a whole, has had a tremendous year in terms of sales in New Hampshire—with a total combined sales increase of 48 percent across all wines. More than one million bottles of Apothic Red were sold in NH Liquor & Wine Outlets in 2016, and Apothic Crush experienced a 447-percent increase in sales, while Apothic Dark experienced a 174-percent increase. Overall, Apothic is expected to continue its streak of popularity, and the new Apothic Rose will be introduced to the New Hampshire market this spring.

Business Partner of the Year
Typically this category is awarded to a broker or distributor, but due to a transformed relationship between NHLC and NH Department of Information Technology (DoIT) over the past year, Richard Racicot and James Cordio of DoIT have been named business partners of the year for their outstanding commitment and service during 2016. The entire department as a whole, and especially these two individuals were instrumental during the opening of seven new or relocated stores, ensuring continued business operations during transition periods that often had to be executed after business hours and in less than 24 hours. In addition to new projects, DoIT ensures smooth operations in all areas of NHLC’s technology and continues to present innovative opportunities to streamline efficiency.

New Hampshire Award Winners
From a 150-vine winery to now 2,000 vines on site, Zorvino Vineyards has become a destination for tastings, tours, an extensive gift shop and special social and culinary events. Citing its 60-percent increase in sales at NH Liquor & Wine Outlets in 2016, NHLC recognized Zorvino Vineyards in Sandown as the New Hampshire Winery of the Year.

Just a few years ago, New Hampshire only had one distillery. Today, there a nine in full production with more on the horizon. NHLC works with local wine and spirit partners to provide strategic support and guidance, and Sea Hagg Distillery, this year’s New Hampshire Distillery of the year, made a significant effort in 2016 to relaunch its business. With the introduction of Ice Pik vodka and Rocky Peak Cinnamon whiskey at select NH Liquor & Wine Outlets in 2016, Sea Hagg sales climbed to $243,000 for the year, an increase of 651 percent from the previous year.

NHLC Employee Award Winners
NHLC honored long-time dedicated associates, knowledgeable managers and rising stars from across the state in its second year selecting employee awards.

“Our success is due in large part to our dedicated employees who come in day after day with an unwavering commitment to our customers,” Chairman Mollica said. “We recognize these individuals because of their willingness and enthusiasm to provide a memorable shopping experience and share a genuine passion for their work with our Outlet guests. We are tremendously appreciative to these employees, and all those around the state, for their commitment to the Liquor Commission and the State of New Hampshire.”

Photos and Captions

(Image 1) The New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC) recently paid tribute to its 2016 Wine, Spirit & Employee Award winners, honoring national brands, local wineries and distilleries, and NHLC employees. NHLC honored Sea Hagg Distillery as New Hampshire Distillery of the Year. Pictured here, from left to right, NHLC Deputy Commissioner Michael Milligan; NHLC Chairman Joseph Mollica; Ron Vars of Sea Hagg Distillery; Heather Vars of Sea Hagg Distillery; Nicole Brassard Jordan, NHLC director of marketing, merchandising and warehousing; and Mark Roy, NHLC spirits marketing specialist. Photo by Gil Talbot.

(Image 2) NHLC honored Zorvino Vineyards as the New Hampshire Winery of the Year. Pictured here, from left to right, NHLC Deputy Commissioner Michael Milligan; NHLC Chairman Joseph Mollica; Dave Sexton, winemaker, Zorvino Vineyards; Cindy Bradshaw, administrative assistant, Zorvino Vineyards; Cheryl Zanello, owner, Zorvino Vineyards; Amy Zanello, general manager, Zorvino Vineyards; Jim Zanello, owner, Zorvino Vineyards; Tom Zack, wine director, Zorvino Vineyards; Rich Rock, assistant winemaker, Zorvino Vineyards; Nancy Walton, tasting room manager, Zorvino Vineyards; and Lisa Gosselin, NHLC wine marketing specialist. Photo by Gil Talbot.

(Image 3) NHLC honored the New Hampshire Department of Information Technology as its Business Partner of the Year. Pictured here, from left to right, NHLC Deputy Commissioner Michael Milligan; NHLC Chairman Joseph Mollica; Theresa Pare-Curtis, director of web services, New Hampshire Department of Information Technology; Michael O’Neil, director of agency software, New Hampshire Department of Information Technology; Jim Cordio, technical support specialist, New Hampshire Department of Information Technology; Denis Goulet, commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Information Technology; and Nicole Brassard Jordan, NHLC director of marketing, merchandising and warehousing. Photo by Gil Talbot.