History 
The roots of Grand Marnier go back to the founding of a distillery by Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle in 1827 for the production of eaux-de-vie in the town of Neauphle-le-Château. Jean-Baptiste was followed in the business by his son, Eugène, and in 1870 Eugène brought stocks of cognac back to the distillery. In 1880, his son-in-law, Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, used these stocks to invent an engaging liqueur that featured the seductive aroma of oranges, which were seen as exotic by Parisian society of the day.
This liqueur, originally known as Curaçao Marnier, was re baptized “Grand Marnier” by the hotelier César Ritz. An immediate sensation, Grand Marnier was drunk with relish by fashionable Parisian society. The chef at the Ritz, August Escoffier, also used it in dishes such as Crêpes Suzette, named for the mistress of Edward VII of England. Grand Marnier also enjoyed by Franz-Joseph of Austria and on the Titanic.
From its earliest years, Grand Marnier has also been very involved with cocktails and bartenders. In the 1930s it was integral to the “Red Lion” (Grand Marnier, gin, orange and lemon juice), while today it is essential to a top shelf Margherita. In between, Grand Marnier has been found essential in literally hundreds of cocktails, such as the Cosmopolitan and the B52.
The popularity of Grand Marnier is due in part to the fact that the liqueur is “The Original”; not an imitation. It is authentic and genuine, not dependent on other people’s ideas. Often imitated, Grand Marnier is never equaled.
 The Cordon Rouge is the great classic of the house. It begins with cognac gathered from a network of 500 growers throughout the best portions of the champagne region. Grand Marnier purchases the newly distilled spirit (eaux-de-vie) directly from these growers, and is, in fact, the fifth largest purchaser of eaux-de-vie in cognac, after Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Martell, and Courvoisier.
These eaux-de-vie are distilled in different ways – some to emphasize the delicate, light and floral side of cognac, while others are calculated to produce a result that is round, rich and fruity. In addition, the eaux-de-vie are also aged in different ways: some in Limousin oak for a tannic, structured style, and others in Tronçais casks for a delicate, aromatic result. This attention to detail produces a spirit that is complex and deeply aromatic.
To this incomparable base spirit is added the essence of the citrus bigaradia, a type of orange grown only in the Caribbean. These oranges are hand picked at just the right moment to ensure that the peels contain a maximum of fragrance. If the oranges are too ripe, the aroma will be passed from the skin to the pulp, so the fruit is picked just after the peel changes color. The fruit is then cut into quarters, and the pulp is separated from the peel before the peels are sun dried to preserve their aroma.
At the distillery at Neuphle-le-Château, the peels are macerated in neutral alcohol, which is then re-distilled in a slow steam distillation to isolate the purest fragrant essence. It is this essence that is married with selected cognacs and aged an additional six to eight months before bottling.
 The Cuvée Centenaire was created for the centennial of the distillery. It uses cognacs only from Petite and Grande Champagne, aged up to 25 years. Less sweet than Cordon Rouge, this spirits emphasizes the cognac to a greater extent. After the infusion of the orange essence, Centenaire is aged an additional two years in cask after blending.
The Cuvée du Cent Cinquantenaire was created in 1977 for the 150th anniversary of the distillery. This sublime spirit uses cognacs only from Grande Champagne aged up to 45 years, and is even less sweet that the Cuvée Centenaire. Here the emphasis is firmly on the sublime cognac, which is aged longer than most X.O. cognacs currently on the market. Once it has been blended with the orange macerate, the Cent Cinquantenaire receives an additional three years in cask before bottling.
Grand Marnier Key Selling Points
Grand Marnier is universally recognized as the finest orange liqueur in the world.
Very original in conception, Grand Marnier has been drunk, used, and loved by consumers, chefs and bartenders throughout the world for over a hundred years.
Grand Marnier uses the finest quality aged cognacs as a base
Other orange liqueurs use neutral spirit as base. The Grand Marnier difference gives much more complexity.
Grand Marnier uses a natural maceration of Citrus Bigaradia exclusively
Many producers use artificial orange flavoring, and even those who use real orange use a variety of oranges that do not deliver the same concentration of aroma
Grand Marnier uses hand selected sun-dried peels from the family plantation
Grand Marnier is able to control the production of the orange essence to ensure maximum consistency of flavor.
Grand Marnier undergoes additional cask maturation after blending
Other orange liqueurs and triple secs are not aged at all, and thus do not achieve the same level of roundness and harmony of the final blend.
History
Launched two years ago in the US, NAVAN is a Natural Vanilla Liqueur from the house of Grand Marnier, and is the first new brand launched by Grand Marnier since its creation in 1880.
NAVAN Stands for NAtural VANilla and is the world’s first luxury vanilla liqueur, and the only one with 100% Natural Vanilla from Madagascar– a new taste sensation!
The Navan launch has been very successful - Last year, over 130,000 new consumers enjoyed NAVAN through the national sampling program. The initial target for this product was the urban market, and it is through this channel that NAVAN was first diffused into the market. One key learning however, from a market test of 1,200 premium cocktail consumers, is that the target is and should be broader than Multicultural Consumers: NAVAN also appeals to General Market consumers.
NAVAN expanded into Canada in 2005 and to Latin America in 2006. It is currently being tested in premium lounges in Paris and London.
Market positioning
The target consumer is now defined demographically as a general market consumer, including multicultural consumers, in the 25-39 year old age range, living in cities and college educated. Psychographically, this consumer likes to go out three or four times weekly, holds an interesting job, and loves to splurge on the good life, particularly cocktails in upscale lounges.
To these consumers, NAVAN Natural Vanilla Liqueur offers an upscale vanilla experience, which rounds out the taste of classic cocktails such as the Natural Vanilla Martini, the Natural Vanilla Margarita or the Natural Vanilla Mojito. This Liqueur positioning is in line with what NAVAN delivers, in a category that the target consumer understands, and is relevant for a cocktail message.
As such, NAVAN will compete against other vanilla spirits - the leaders of this category (Stoli Vanil, Absolut Vanilia and Tuaca) share a 600K cs market with an average price point of $25.00 – but also against other flavor enhancements like triple sec.
As summary, NAVAN: Natural Vanilla Liqueur From the House of Grand Marnier”, uses natural vanilla from Madagascar, which is the best in the world - the most premium spice (after saffron), with a full and intense aroma, leveraging Grand Marnier’s craftsmanship and authenticity in making premium liqueurs.
Production
Natural vanilla comes from a unique variety of white orchid whose flower blossoms once a year. Each orchid flower is hand pollinated –a long and meticulous process, the bean takes two years to develop. After 9 months of maturation, the vanilla beans are hand picked and sun-dried for up to 4 months during which the flavors increase in aromatic complexity.
Following the drying, the beans are then aged in wooden cases for up to 12 months to develop the full intensity of the spectrum aroma (similar process to wine aging). The beans are hand sorted by quality: into - Natural vanilla beans, used for Navan, cuts, and seeds, and the selected beans are then wrapped with rafia and shipped to France in small bags.
From this stage, NAVAN follows the same alchemy as Grand Marnier, with the same process as that used for the world famous’s orange flavor: long maceration of the vanilla beans. The Natural Vanilla essence is then delicately combined to Cognacs aged up to 10 years, the blend is matured in large oak vats for up to 6 months to insure perfect smoothness.
Navan Key Selling Points
NAVAN is produced using 100% natural vanilla beans from Madagascar.
Other vanilla spirits use vanillin flavoring. The use of whole beans means that NAVAN is naturally smooth. Natural Vanilla is better and smoother than other Vanilla used in Premium Vanilla spirits - it brings roundness and balance to any cocktail and can also be enjoyed on its own.
These Vanilla beans receive a long maceration to extract the aroma and flavor.
A long maceration time means a naturally long finish. This is very different than using vanilla flavoring.
NAVAN undergoes maturation in oak casks
The maturation period give NAVAN unparalleled complexity. This complexity allows you to elevate any vanilla based cocktail by replacing Premium Vanilla Ingredient by NAVAN Natural Vanilla.
NAVAN is very profitable
NAVAN is as profitable as Grand Marnier, the most profitable spirit brand per case for trade and distributors (Source: Impact).
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Wine Regions of the World
