MATA HARI CASE STUDY
Serendipity Strikes in Vienna
We had been asked by a major distributor in the U.S. to find them an "authentic" absinthe. We happened to be in Vienna Austria in Feb. 2008 visiting our client OVAL vodka and during our sightseeing tour we serendipitously stumbled upon the Alt Wiener Schnapsmuseum. It’s a museum dedicated to the history of Schnaps-making in Austria (where they only use one “p” in schnaps). The tour was conducted by Gerry Fischer who is the fifth continuous generation of Fischer family master distillers in a company begun in 1875 by his grandpa Friedrich Fischer. So weren’t we surprised when at the end of the tour he has us taste a whole lineup of Absinthes made from family recipes dating back to 1881!
We brought samples back to share with our distributor, and they chose Mata Hari because of its authentic heritage, and taste profile…”Bohemian” style which means the typical overwhelming licorice taste of absinthe is toned down, making it an ideal product for mixing in cocktails.
Working closely with MHW Ltd. we had put the project on the fast track for liquid and label registration while Gerry worked on his end to get the manufacturing scheduled. Simultaneously, Dave Stringfellow of Beacon Beverage Imports was pitching the brand to distributors. Fast forward to June 30 (that’s just 21 weeks from the day we first met Gerry!) and the first container of Mata Hari clears customs in the U.S. and is on its way via Western Carriers to distributors in 20+ markets.
