New team members, new distribution, E-tail buying options, recent and upcoming travels, awards, new products and cocktails.

Plus an extra-special update on our incoming Blanche Armagnac, the label of which features a painting created by Daniel Cooney which was being officially delivered and presented to the Hontambère House.

After 15 years in one place (our home / office), Heavenly Spirits has moved a whole mile and a half around the corner, to a fresh, new, larger space. The commute is awesome, and we're loving it. Before we even got settled in, we had a visit from one of our suppliers, Nicolas from Cognac Monnet. A week later, we welcomed Laurent, from Spiritique.

This year Heavenly Spirits celebrated our fifteenth anniversary of importing the finest French spirits available! We'd like to thank our growing family of producers/suppliers, as well as all our distributor partners, dedicated staff, and industry friends, whose passions and commitments to quality make our work meaningful, rewarding, and fun. Cheers!

This June, Heavenly Spirits celebrates our fifteen-year anniversary of importing the finest French spirits available! We'd like to thank our family of producer/suppliers, as well as all our distributor partners, whose passions and commitments to quality make our work meaningful and rewarding. Cheers!

Here we are in mid-November with the Holiday season now upon us. Brown spirits are trending again and as always, Heavenly Spirits offers some of the most noteworthy examples in the category.

In this edition of Info Splash we share highlights from some of our recent visits with our French suppliers, and our American distributors around the country, New Press, New Products & Awards, and a few Holiday Serving Suggestions to make your spirits bright. Cheers!

We're back traveling all around the country to visit our distributors and attend trade shows. Read about our recent travels, new and incoming products, and plethora of product awards!

We're also excited to welcome Steffen Spinks to our Heavenly team as our Midwest Territory Sales Manager. Steffen will be working to help us assist our distributors in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

With the newest covid variant showing signs of receding, we hope to start booking long overdue trips to visit our distributor friends across the country. On the bright side, we kept ourselves busy having our best year ever in 2021.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Info Splash, which highlights a recent trip to visit suppliers in France, recent press, and some new cocktail recipes.

As another challenging year comes to an end, we are very thankful for all the good folks we've had the pleasure to work with, and we wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy 2022!

In this edition, end of season awards, cocktails for the holidays, and our Pre-Holiday Warehouse Tasting wrap-up.

Cheers from: Dan, Christine & the entire Heavenly Spirits team!

With the pandemic on its way out, and a much more positive vibe in the air, we expect people will be more joyful than ever to celebrate the holidays this year.

Despite all the logistic challenges we are facing, our Heavenly Spirits team has been working harder than ever to make sure your choice of exceptional French spirits will be bright … and mostly available when you need them. In this edition of Info Splash, we share news and highlights about our products, producers, and distributors, along with some photos of recent events we were able to attend. Read the whole issue here, including an introduction to our newest team member, Brandon!

In August, Heavenly Spirits is scheduled to participate at the BCB in Brooklyn, our first trade show in over sixteen months. As much as we vaccinated folks are all enjoying some normal, in-person socializing again, we hope everyone continues to be careful until this nasty pandemic finally goes away. Like many in our industry, we found ways to adapt to confinement in order to keep our company moving forward.

Happy Spring everyone. We hope you all are well. It's been just over a year since this nasty pandemic reshaped our worlds. During our confinement, we never stopped working. In fact, we took the time to refocus our attention on getting the word out about all the products in our Heavenly portfolio. Plus, we added a few new products we think you'll love as much as we do. In this edition you'll find a pretty good summary of what we've been up to. Including our feature in the most recent issue of Chilled Magazine, delving into the evolution of Heavenly Spirits!

Considering how this year has gone so far, world pandemic, volatile economies, an election from hell, it is unlikely our transition into 2021 will be smooth or easy. This doesn't mean we can't all find ways to cope comfortably while we are stuck at home this winter.

In this edition of Info Splash, we share a few ways to help make your spirits bright with our updated interactive catalog 2021, our Heavenly Gift Guide, and Christine explains the practical charms of the "aperitif." Plus, we share another informative Spirit Time video, shot this past summer while visiting with the Rault family of Cognac Du Peyrat.

We hope everyone is hanging in there, doing well, and finding ways to cope with all the frustrations and inconveniences of this pandemic. One piece of advice we often hear is to "stay busy." While staying busy is nothing new for us, it is surprising how busy we have actually become, as our business continues to grow.

In this edition, we release our latest home-made training video, Armagnac Part 2 - Armagnac Delord which we shot this past summer during our challenging visit to France.

In this edition of Info Splash, we'll try to make up for not publishing in the spring. Like most everyone in our industry, things have changed dramatically with news of the Covid-19 pandemic. By mid-March, we had to cut short our five-state Distributor tour, but not before completing a long planned and very engaging tasting seminar with the Blutfton Whisky Club, located near Hilton Head, South Carolina.

What was the name of the wine-based cocktail Ebenezer Scrooge offered to Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol?

You'll have to read our holiday issue to find out!

As another year comes to a close, we'd like to offer our thanks to everyone we have had the pleasure of working with in 2019. We wish you all a happy and healthy 2020! Remember to always drink in moderation.

With Summer fading behind us, we here at Heavenly Spirits are turning our attention toward cool weather drinks, especially brandies and other warming spirits aged in wood. In addition to all the delicious "brown spirits" designed to drink neat, we have also been paying attention to some of the amazing cocktails being fashioned with our spirits throughout the country. In this edition of Info Splash we share upcoming tastings, new products, a few Summer recap stories, travel highlights, and other news.

With most of the cold Winter air behind us, we here at Heavenly Spirits are turning our attention toward warm weather drinks and other fun distractions. In addition to chilled wine, cider and summer cocktails, there is nothing that says you can't throw an ice cube into an old fashioned glass and pour yourself an ounce or two of your favorite French brandy to manage the season's heat.

In this edition of Info Splash we share upcoming tastings, recent awards, new products, a one-on-one interview with Claque Pepin Calvados producer, Benoit Louvet, travel highlights and other news

As another year comes to a close, Christine and I want to take this time to wish everyone a happy holiday season. Whether your year was full of celebratory cheers or difficult challenges, we hope you are able to take some time to relax, reflect, and be with your loved ones during the coming days, preferably over a good meal and/or a great spirit. Feeling very fortunate to work with so many positive and engaging people in an industry that we truly love, we look forward to putting this old year behind us and to setting our sights on 2019, with potentially new products, opening new markets and making new friends. Peace on earth and good will to you.

On June 4th, we marked the 10th anniversary of Heavenly Spirits, LLC. When we started in 2008, our goal was to build an import and distribution company that introduced American adult consumers to what we believe are the absolute best spirits France has to offer. We had the pleasure of getting to know some of these multi-generational, family-owned producers when we lived in the Cognac region of France between 1994 and 1999. They truly represent the authentic tradition of European craft distilling.

We've had a busy year so far. One of our Cognacs broke a Guinness World Record, our spirits swept 2 categories in the Ultimate Beverage Challenge, along with a plethora of other awards, we've traveled, brought in a new very special vintage, got featured in a Titanic-themed cocktail (left), and one of our producers even broke ground on a new warehouse. Curious yet?

With the Winter Holidays almost upon us, we thought it might be a good time to catch up with recent events and share some new rave product reviews, as well as a few holiday cocktail recipes. Many thanks to all who have supported our efforts throughout the year in bringing you the best artisanal French spirits available. And thank you to our producers for not only continuing to carry on those family traditions of quality and craft, but to many of you for hosting the Heavenly Spirits team this past summer during our spirit tour. Christine and I can honestly say that it was one of the most enjoyable and educational experiences in our company's history.

During this past June of 2017, Christine, four members of our sales team, and I had the pleasure of visiting with twelve exceptional, family-run spirit businesses to get an in-depth look at how they do what they do. We started the tour in Normandy, visiting with Calvados Roger Groult and Calvados Claque-Pepin respectively. Nine days later we finished our tour in the Gascony region with visits to Armagnac Artez, Dartigalongue and Delord. In-between, we visited with the makers of ArmoriK Single Malt, Jahiot liqueurs, and Domaine Magnaut, as well as Cognacs houses Normandin-Mercier, Jean Fillioux, and Du Peyrat. Plus, there were several other surprising stops along the way. Also, new states, new products, news reviews, where to stay in Gascony, and how we became official Musketeers!

Artistry, Passion, and Time: these are what every Heavenly Spirits supplier put into the exceptional spirits they produce. In our new ad campaign, we illustrate this dedication in both word and image. While we have always tried to convey the authentic quality of the small-to-medium-sized family-owned producers that we represent, the difference in this new effort is in the way we show it...

The fine artisanally-made products from the Heavenly Spirits portfolio once again collected their fair share of awards at the prestigious Ultimate Spirits Challenge this year. Of the seven products we submitted, all scored above 90 points, three were named as finalists and two took home the top prize in their category, winning the Chairman's Trophy.

Leading the way with a near perfect score of 97 was Armagnac Dartigalongue 25 Year Old Grande Eau-de-Vie. Right behind that, with 96 points and another category-topping Chairman's Trophy was Calvados Roger Groult XO. This thirty year old aged Calvados from the Pays d'Auge is a personal favorite of ours, so it is great to see the recognition so well placed.

When I walked into the office this morning, I saw Christine jumping in her seat and pumping her fist, that's when I knew the numbers were in. Every February, the BNIA, Armagnac's official governing body puts out the numbers for the previous year's sales of Armagnac worldwide, and once again Heavenly Spirits was leading the way for importing Armagnac to the USA.

Read more about our travels, new products, Calvados and Armagnac sales in the U.S., cocktail recipes, Braveheart, and even a birth announcement!

It is hard to believe how quickly these last few months flew by and that 2017 is just around the corner. We at Heavenly Spirits would like to thank all our friends, including our suppliers, distributors, retailers and customers for the continued support which has helped us add significant growth to the company again this year.

In this Holiday edition of Info Splash we recap our first ever full portfolio tasting, as well as recent travels to NH, IL, & NY, along with shared cocktail recipes, new press, and gift ideas for the holidays and beyond.

We had quite a busy summer here at Heavenly Spirits. Now we're looking ahead to the Fall and Winter seasons with eager anticipation. We have a lot of travel plans in the next few months, as we'll be out visiting with more of our distributor teams throughout the U.S.

Heavenly Spirits is pleased to announce a first in the whisky market: a French whisky double matured in refill ex-bourbon casks and ex-Armagnac barrels. This is the first whisky in the world that we know of to have an Armagnac cask maturation. The cask used (No. 8151) came from the oldest Bas Armagnac producing house, Armagnac Dartigalongue, who happens to be another proud member of the Heavenly Spirits portfolio team.

When asked to represent the U.S. market’s most beloved Armagnac house, Armagnac Delord, during "The Greatest Brandy Category Is…” seminar at Tales of the Cocktail 2016 in New Orleans, I obviously accepted! To be involved in such a seminar, presented by some of the USA’s most recognized personalities in the beverage industry was, at the very least, an exciting prospect. And of course, a visit to New Orleans couldn't be refused, as it would be my first...

In this issue you'll find: summer travels in France and Iceland, a Cognac vs. Armagnac Master Class in D.C., new distributor and team news, a New Orleans-themed cocktail recipe, and producer updates.

We don't usually send out our Info Splash newsletter so soon after the last one, but we have a bit of good news to share and it couldn't wait. Today we talk about: New French Whisky, New Awards for our Products, Artez Arvani Vanilla Armagnac Liqueur and Recent Travels. Wishing you all a very spirited Summer!

This month we bring you a cocktail from one of our favorite local bartenders, Rory Caviness, at La Voile on Newbury Street in Boston. Here are his thoughts on the creative process behind this delicious libation:

"Pear and Apple Brandies are common in Normandy and this drink has a strong underlying pear taste. To me, it's in the style of a Daiquiri with some other vegetal elements. So I thought why not a Normandy Daiquiri!"

As much as we love talking about the exceptional French spirits that we represent, we love it even more when other people are talking about them. In this Spring Edition we share all the recent press regarding some of our exceptional spirit brands, as well as the awards and recognitions these fine products have earned so far this year.

As most of you know, we take our product sourcing very seriously. In the case of Rhum, we have been actively seeking to discover the best quality Agricole Rhum available to add to our portfolio for U.S. representation. With that goal in mind we traveled to the French island of Martinique for a week of research and development. We had an amazing time! It was the beginning of harvest season and we were able to visit five of the seven distilleries on the island as well as several historic museums. We spent four full hours at one of these amazing distilleries and it was the highlight of our week, as we learned a great deal about the Martinique Rhum industry and tasted many fine spirits.