La Martiniquaise-Bardinet has secured UK distribution rights for French absinthe label La Fée.
The three-year deal will see its subsidiary LMB UK exclusively sell the La Fée range including variants such as Parisienne Supérieure and NV Absinthe from 2 November.
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The focus will be online, specialist retail and premium on-trade venues, the spirits major told Just Drinks.
La Fée will sit within the “premium” and “super-premium” absinthe segments, with individual expressions priced as per their “traditional production methods, botanical complexity and authenticity”.
Prior to this agreement, La Fée was distributed by Amber Beverage UK, which entered administration last week.
LMB said the new distribution arrangement was supported by La Fée’s inclusion as a central part of its “Craft from France” portfolio, which also includes Gautier Cognac, St. Raphaël, and Saint James Rhum.
“This provides an exciting opportunity to position La Fée alongside other respected French spirits brands and develop the absinthe category together,” it said.
The company described La Fée as a “pioneer” of the French absinthe industry.
The brand led the category’s 1998 re-emergence by becoming the first absinthe distilled in France since the 1915 national prohibition.
La Fée is privately held by founders George and Jane Rowley, who control more than 90% of equity alongside minority shareholders Gavin Pretor-Pinney and Marie-Claude Delahaye.
It is traditionally distilled by Cherry Rocher in France’s Rhône-Alpes region and bottled in Paris.
LMB UK called La Fée a “strong strategic fit” alongside a drinks portfolio that includes Glen Moray whisky, Bardinet brandy, and the Lamb’s Rum lineup, which parent company La Martiniquaise-Bardinet agreed to acquire from Corby Spirit and Wine in August.
In September, the company started full-channel UK distribution for the complete Lamb’s portfolio.
Meanwhile, in July last year, LMB picked a majority stake in the UK-based gin maker Warner’s Distillery, securing distribution of Warner’s drinks in the UK from Sazerac.
