Exclusive Interview with Mr. Karthik Sudhir, Founder and CEO of Phenomenal Spirits

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    Exclusive Interview with Mr. Karthik Sudhir,            Founder and CEO of Phenomenal Spirits

Q: Please state your full name, title, company name and company location.

My name is Karthik Sudhir, Founder and CEO of Phenomenal Spirits, Inc. based out of Laguna Beach, California, USA.

Q: Why did you want to get in the alcohol beverage business and what made you decide to start with rum over other spirits?

It’s a tough and easy question both. It’s tough because we spend a lifetime trying to figure out what is that we are passionate about and what is our actual identity as such. It all becomes easy when you know exactly what you are passionate about and what is that gets you excited every time you wake up in the morning. I’m really blessed and fortunate enough to know that spirits is something I’m really passionate about. This industry is a lifestyle industry and I’m 100% in my zone. Also, this provides the platform to tell my story through our consumers while they are drinking and experiencing phenomenal spirits. I can’t think of a better way to share my story through people’s joy and moments. That is why I choose the spirits industry.

Also growing up in India, Kingfisher Beer was the most iconic beer brand and their catchy marketing tagline was “king of good times”. I have some of the fondest memories celebrating and drinking beers with my friends and family. The brand is so popular that it is still a household name. When I started my own spirits company, I took inspiration from this iconic brand. Phenomenal Spirits is all about Phenomenal Spirits for Phenomenal People for Phenomenal Moments. 

Why rum? Great question! Besides the fact that I absolutely love rum, rum is very much under rated. Let me explain….

Timing is everything in life and in business. I sincerely believe the time for premiumization for Rum is coming. We are probably about 2–3 years away before we start riding the amazing rum wave in North America and world-wide. Look, Vodka had its moments in 2000’s and thanks to Sidney Frank’s efforts and his genius Grey Goose brand for premiumizing the white spirit. The current decade of 2010’s is all about Tequila and Bourbon. These two spirits categories are experiencing high single digit and, in some cases, double digit growth. Tequila premiumization efforts were driven by Don Julio, Patron’s Paul DeJoria, Herradura and many others followed. Similarly, in the Bourbon industry, Jim Beam, Brown-Foreman, Heaven Hill and many other legendary companies have done a stellar job on driving the bourbon category into premiumization zone.

Premiumization does not happen by chance, it’s a deliberate effort. We are already seeing prominent spirits companies investing heavily into the Rum Category. Constellation Brands recently acquired stakes in The Real McCoy rum. Bacardi released Ocho and Gran Reserva Diez expressions which are an 8-year and 10-year aged rum targeting for the premium market. Bacardi also went on to acquire Bank’s Island blend rum. Edrington is betting big on Brugal 1888 and their marketing theme “A rum made to sip”. Besides these, Stoli Vodka’s parent company SPI Group acquired Bayou Rum and Domain Select bought Atlantico Rum Company. The heavy weights of the spirits industry are aggressively trying to fill the gap they have in their Super Premium Rum portfolio. Again, these are all proofs of deliberate efforts and I believe this trend will continue for the next foreseeable future.

All these factors, combined with my love for rum was the main reason why I started with Rum as the first super premium product for Phenomenal Spirits. 

Ron Izalco is perfectly poised to be one of the most Super Premium and Ultra-Premium rum’s in the market place. We cannot be more excited for the days ahead of us and we are diligently working on developing our brand.

Q: I’m sure you faced many challenges and had to do a lot of research and learning about the industry prior to launching your rum. What are some of the biggest challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even know where to begin. So, I started by researching on distillation courses and spirits degrees. Through my research, I found Moonshine University in Louisville, Kentucky. This institute is specifically geared for people like me who are trying to cross over into the spirits industry. So, I went ahead and attended the “Spirits Distillation Certification” course. That opened many avenues and then I went back again to take the “Route to Market for Spirits” certification. The following year I went to American Distilling Institute to learn “spirits blending, aging techniques, barrel selection and nose fault detection program” led by the incredibly talented Master Blender, Nancy Fraley. Same year I continued my education by touring several craft and big distilleries and probably read about 8 different distilling and blending books. All this knowledge building and curiosity opened opportunities to meet spirits industry professionals though alumni network. Once I started developing sincere relationships with them, I put together the vision and business plan for Phenomenal Spirits and the rest is history. It took me a full 24 months, but again, I’m not here for a quick buck. We are here to develop some of the best brown spirits people have ever tasted and experienced. 

So, I put in my time to really understand the industry before getting into spirits.

To be more precise on the difficulties: (1) Spirits Licensing (2) Capital needed to operationalize and sustain the first 3–5 years (3) Understanding Three Tier Distribution Model (4) Route to Market (5) most importantly, what kind of product are you going to launch? Spirits is a crowded space and it’s easy to get lost with so many great brands out there. These are some of the difficult tasks I had to learn all by myself. My last 15 years of software industry and having served in several management, sales and go-to-market roles have prepared me well for this day. I came to America in 2005 with less than $400 dollars in my pocket. If I can build my life and career all by myself, I’m sure with some luck and hard work, I can build a phenomenal spirits company too.

Q: What was your inspiration for the name “Izalco”, what is its meaning or story?

When my master blender and I started developing the rum formulation, I had to blind taste and build the formulation from ground-up. In plain English, blending rum and creating Ron Izalco was like building a house. First, you need a strong foundation, so that the house will sustain for a long time. So, we needed a rum which had strong characteristics of wood, oaky with barrel strength. Second, the house needed a structure, like the beams and railings to give the structural strength. So, we needed a rum which had that multi-dimensional structure which would blend well with the foundation. Third, you need the roofing. So, we needed a rum which would complement the base and structure with high congeners and to evenly balance to take out all the harsh/rough edges. And then finally, you need interiors and upholsteries which makes it look elegant and completes the house. So, we needed a rum which would bring out that long finish and with it some fruity notes to enhance the experience which we were striving for. After over a year of formulation and about 29 different iterations, to our surprise, I had blind chosen all rums from Central America, especially the high-congener aguardientes.

We were inspired with the whole process that we wanted to dedicate this beautiful master piece to Central America, its volcanic black soil and the sugarcane from the region. We decided to name this rum after Central America’s most famous volcano “Izalco”. Izalco has a beautiful true story. To read more about this amazing volcano, please visit this link: http://www.izalcorum.com/volcan- izalco  

Q: Ron Izalco is unlike most rums from Central America: the congener level is higher than average, the oak notes are deep and intense, the ABV is also higher than normal, yet it is exceptionally well-balanced. Why did you choose this profile and how did you achieve it?

After tasting almost every single dark rum aged between 7 to 15 years that I could possibly get my hands on, I had made a long list of items of what I needed and I didn’t need in Ron Izalco. Then I went to Brand Development 101 – The 3 P’s – Product, Packaging and Personality. Product needs to speak for itself, packaging needs to be luxe, stunning and elegant and finally, the face behind the product needs to have a personality. When we created Ron Izalco, we wanted to ensure every item which goes into developing the product is super premium.

The bottle is premium stock from France. The Cork is from Portugal, made from Mahogany wood cap with real S1 grade natural wood and even has “Ron Izalco” laser engraved on it. The labels are beautifully embossed with linen material and even the bottom front label rolling to the side is intentional to create curiosity. The gift box has the story, origin, taste notes, picture of the bottle and most importantly thin/slim to ensure it does not take too much retail/liquor store shelf space. So, as you can see, every detail has been well thought out with very high quality, targeting for super premium consumers and lifestyle market. We wanted to make sure we take care of the 3 P’s. Based on our market research and my personal observations from my travel to different markets and spirits festivals, curious rum drinkers and enthusiasts are very much aware of the premium rums and their taste profile. They are much curious and eager to move on to the next level or try something less sweet, full bodied, complex fruity notes, but evenly balanced with a long finish. This is what Ron Izalco-10 years has to offer to all our consumers. Also this is not Solera aged but straight 10 years in Ex-Bourbon barrel with 43% ABV, unlike many other regular 40% ABV. It is beautifully-balanced but there is an explosion of congeners right as it hits the middle of your tongue. We specifically developed the 10-year expression for sipping and for high-end craft cocktails.

Q: What has been the response of consumers when they try the rum?

I have only one word “PHENOMENAL”. As a blender and creator, I’m humbled by the love and encouragement I have received from our consumers. There is no bigger joy when you see people’s reaction and when they take the first sip of Ron Izalco, their eyebrows goes up and after 6-8 seconds there is a smile on their face looking straight into my eyes. These are the moments which makes me believe all the hard work and risk is well worth it and we have truly created an exceptionally high-quality rum.

Our biggest industry recognition and acknowledgement came when we won a Gold Medal in 2018 San Francisco world spirits competition for 8 years and above aged super premium category. That followed by Tasting Panel Magazine, one of the highly influential wine and spirits publication rated Ron Izalco 98 points out of 100 in their October 2018 edition. These industry accomplishments earned an invitation as a panelist and present Ron Izalco at the deconstructing spirits session at 2018 Annual Sommeliers conference, SommCon. 

With success comes responsibilities and all these recognitions from our consumers and industry has only given me more motivation to work even harder. We want to ensure we are able to deliver Ron Izalco to as many key rum markets as possible.

Q: Where is Ron Izalco currently distributed? Where will you be distributing next?

As of Dec 1st, 2018, we officially launched in France. We were thrilled to know that on the day one of release, we sold 100 bottles. These are special moments and small milestones to cherish.

We just signed up distribution for UK and Denmark and will start as of Feb and March 2019 respectively. For UK, we will focus on the London Metro on all the high-end bars, restaurants and then we will start moving out rest of the UK.

We are targeting Q1 of 2019 for US and Q3 for Canada. And meanwhile actively in conversations with Germany.

Q: Is Ron Izalco available online as well?

Absolutely! Being digitally native is incredibly important in today’s day and age. We are going to take a chapter from the omni channel retail and distribution strategy. That way, we are not only selling through brick and mortar but also online. For every market we are going to launch, we want our consumers to not only have the shopping experience in actual retail store, but we also want them to have the opportunity to buy online anytime and get it shipped anywhere.

Q: Why did you choose to start distribution in Europe before the USA?

As I had previously mentioned, timing is everything. Western Europe, UK, Nordic Countries and even some of the fast-growing Eastern European countries are riding the super-premium rum wave. This is the perfect platform to create a fan following and offer something very different, the kind of experience that our consumers are looking for.

After exhibiting Ron Izalco at Paris Rhum Festival, UK Rum Festival and Bordeaux Rhum Festival in 2018, we have enough market validation that Ron Izalco’s 10-Year aged blend will be very well received by rum enthusiasts and rum lovers. We are predicting whisky, scotch and bourbon drinkers to cross over to rum and Ron Izalco has the potential to be that alternate they are seeking.

I believe USA is about a couple of years behind from Europe and hence I’m willing to wait till next year to release. But the timing is now in Europe and UK.

Q: Do you have plans to expand your rum portfolio? What about including other spirits?

Very good questions, Yes. We are currently working on Ron Izalco 15 year for Q4 2019 Release and Ron Izalco 21 year for Q4 2020 Release. That’s where we are going to stop and focus 100% on maintaining high quality, brand development and brand expansions.

We are currently working on an incredible Rye Whisky with cask finish. This is still in incubation phase. We don’t know the release dates as it’s not ready until it’s fully ready. We will not compromise quality over quantity.

Q: What is the best way for people to reach you?

Below is my contact information:

Karthik Sudhir

Phenomenal Spirits, Inc.

Blender, Founder & CEO

ksudhir@izalcorum.com

ksudhir@phenomenalspir its.com

www.izalcorum.com

www.phenomenalspir its.com

Ron Izalco is active in Social Media through Instagram and Facebook Handle “Ronizalco”. You can message / DM me directly.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

First, I want to thank “Got Rum?” magazine for giving me this opportunity to share our incredible journey and story with their readers, rum lovers and industry professionals. Second, I want to thank all our rum critiques and Ron Izalco fans for your love and support. Third and final, to all my vendors who helped me build Ron Izalco and guided me whenever I needed and kept the product development on track.

I have great conviction that the days ahead are very exciting and rum lovers are going to make Ron Izalco as one of the most sought-after rum brands in the Super Premium and Ultra-Premium Market place. Phenomenal Spirits, Phenomenal People, Phenomenal Moments!

Cheers, sincerely and with love.

Karthik Sudhir

Margaret: Karthik, thank you again for granting us this interview. I am very happy to know that your rum has been so well received, I wish you continuous success!

Cheers!

Margaret E. Ayala