COCKTAILS EXPECTED TO STIMULATE MIXERS

RICHARD TURCSIK

NEW YORK -- This is the dawning of the age of the cocktail, and as a result mixer sales will climb appreciably, said an executive at one leading mixer manufacturer.

"One of the things that is increasing the sale of bitters is the return of the cocktail. There has been a return to the classic cocktail, the classic Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Martini," said Tyler B. Phillips, president of Angostura International.

Headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies, and maintaining U.S. offices in Cranford, N.J., Angostura is the leading producer of aromatic bitters, which it invented 170 years ago.

In addition to its famous bitters, Angostura manufactures lime juice, grenadine syrup, Bloody Mary seasoning; Royal Oak, Old Oak, Rum Punch, Fernandes "19" and Fernandes "Vat 19" rums; Mollotoff vodka; Mokatika coffee liqueur, and Worcestershire, Teriyaki and soy sauces.

Angostura has developed a multipronged approach to stimulate sales of mixers, which includes engaging other spirits marketers with mutual promotions.

For example, Angostura, which is partly owned by Bacardi, is teaming up with Seagram's gin for a promotion that will have two-serving bottles of Angostura bitters attached to Seagram's bottles. The package will be tested in a Midwestern corridor stretching from Minneapolis to Texas.

Angostura is also promoting its bitters and other mixers for cooking.