White Plains, NY – July 16, 2009 –  W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd., (Deutsch), a leading importer and marketer of award-winning wines from around the world, including [yellow tail], Georges Duboeuf, and Geyser Peak, announced today the creation of the companies spirits division to be overseen by Senior Vice President of Spirits, Jean-Francois Bonneté. Deutsch will launch the division by partnering with Cognac Ferrand to exclusively represent their “Rising Star*, affordable luxury” brand, Landy Cognac (championed by Hip Hop artists Snoop Dog and E40) throughout the U.S. market.

 “Entering into the spirits industry is a landmark moment for W.J. Deutsch & Sons,” says Deutsch Chairman, Bill Deutsch. “We are industry leaders in consumer brand development and marketing, with an unprecedented record for gaining high-visibility distribution and building premium brands throughout both the on and off premise – key factors in creating a successful spirits business. Our strength also lies in selecting suppliers with whom we develop long- term relationships, and who we work hand-in-hand with to create and promote innovative, premium quality products for today’s consumer. Accordingly, we chose to work with Cognac Ferrand, the father of the “craft spirits” movement, to market Landy Cognac – their award winning, top 5** Cognac brand, selling for $20 – 24 per bottle.”

Deutsch will immediately begin marketing Landy Cognac throughout the U.S. Over the past six years, the brand took the U.S. market by storm, proving popular with urban communities and the 21 to 34 year old market segments. Promoted as the social, approachable, “affordable luxury” blended Cognac, with the pedigree of the artisanal Cognac Ferrand producers behind the brand, Landy Cognac was named a “Rising Star” brand by both Beverage Media and Cheers in 2007.  Most recently Landy received a coveted double gold medal for its V.S.O.P. at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Alexandre Gabriel, President of Cognac Ferrand, explains, “Cognac Ferrand is a boutique producer who specializes in hand-selling our artisanal spirits. In order to take Landy Cognac to the next level and continue to facilitate its rapid growth and widespread popularity, we realized the need to partner with a company that excels at building category leaders and has a strong distribution network throughout the country.  Deutsch was the obvious choice!”

Jean-Francois Bonneté, former President – CEO of Mystique Brands LLC and the prior Director of North America for Cognac Ferrand, is the newly appointed Senior Vice President of Spirits, heading up Deutsch’s new spirits division and reporting directly to Deutsch President, Jim Mello,. Bonneté brings more than twelve years of experience in the U.S. spirits industry. “Bill Deutsch and his son Peter have created one of the most respected and successful wine importing and marketing companies in the U.S., says Bonneté. “I am extremely excited to join this dynamic industry leader and I look forward to working with the entire Deutsch team to build a similar success story on the spirits side of the portfolio.”