Lewiston distillery to take on top-selling Allen's
The New Orleans-based Sazerac Co. plans to take on Maine’s top-selling liquor, Allen’s Coffee Brandy, by making its Mr. Boston Coffee Brandy in Lewiston.
The Portland Press Herald reported Sazerac has hired back about half of the workers at the former Beam Inc. bottling plant to start production in April under the name Boston Brands of Maine. Before Beam, White Rock Distilleries operated out of the Lewiston facility.
Mr. Boston is Sazerac's flagship product. Other products the company makes, like Fleischmann’s Vodka and Canadian LTD, will be shipped from other Sazerac facilities for sale in the state, in bottles with “Maine Made” stickers.
Allen’s, which is made by the Massachusetts-based M.S. Walker, costs around $8 more than Mr. Boston for a 1.75-liter bottle in 2011, according to the latest figures from the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations.
The newspaper reported Sazerac is also considering building a micro-distillery in its Lewiston plant to develop “some new and uniquely Maine spirits.”
The company has so far brought back just 60 of the 120 workers laid off from Beam’s sale of the plant, but it said it plans to hire more people as production increases.
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