USA Mutuals VICEX - Invest Your Knowledge Conference

Eric Lansky, CEO of USA Mutuals has announced the upcoming “Invest Your Knowledge” conference for shareholders and interested investors of the Vice Fund (MUTF:VICEX) on December 9, 2009. The NASDAQ traded USA Mutuals’ Vice Fund views the global alcoholic beverage sector as an important focus and on e in which our portfolio managers have special insights and knowledge. Some of the holdings in the fund as of September 30, 2009 include: Diageo (DEO), SABMiller (SAB LN), Carlsberg (CARLB DC), Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI BB), Pernod-Ricard (RI FP) and FEMSA (FMX). This call should be attended by anyone whom is seriously involved in the Alcohol Beverage Industry, as the insight gained can prove invaluable in the coming year.

Lansky hand selected Liquor Group Wholesale (LIQR) CEO C. J. Eiras to speak at the conference about the current workings of the alcohol beverage industry. “I am honored to be chosen to speak; Mr. Lansky has many options available for other speakers, I will do my best to provide meaningful insight...” says Eiras. Also participating on the call is Dr. Marcin Kacperczyk, Professor of Finance at New York University, co-author of the award-winning “The Price of Sin: The Effects of Social Norms on Markets”. Mr. Charles Norton, advisor for USA Mutuals will also speak about the Vice Fund and will be available to answer questions as well.

VICEX uses the Invest Your Knowledge call series to feature industry experts like Eiras & Kacperczyk who provide the opportunity of speaking directly to individuals and professional investors so they might gain real-world insights from people in the know. The USA Mutuals Invest Your Knowledge philosophy encourages individuals with specific industry knowledge to apply such knowledge to their investments. For those involved in the adult beverage marketplace, the Vice Fund may be of interest as one of the few funds which specifically includes alcohol as one of its primary investments.

Liquor Group* an organization that has both a private component and a small publicly traded component, continues to gain recognition as one of the fastest growing alcohol distribution companies in the USA, recently spreading its breadth of territory to 32 states. The rise of Liquor Group from a home garage in 2002 to its current state of operations spanning almost the entire country gives testament to what can be accomplished in this industry with the right ideas. The company recently acquired privately held alcohol distribution/brokerages in Illinois and Iowa, and intends to continue acquisitions capturing/controlling distribution/brokerage licenses in as many states as are available.

To register for the call contact USA Mutuals at 1-866-264-8783 or email: Info@USAMutuals.com

For more information about Liquor Group, visit www.LiquorGroup.com, and click here for a downloadable PDF of the entire paper “The Price of Sin: The Effects of Social Norms on the Markets”

* USA Mutuals is not an investor in Liquor Group Wholesale (LIQR)

Liquor Group files $1M+ Breach of Contract Claim Against Drinks Americas

Jacksonville, FL - Documents obtained in Duval County, FL show Liquor Group Wholesale (OTCBB:LIQR) filed claims for Breach of Contract among other counts against Drinks Americas (OTCBB:DKAM).

According to the Securities & Exchange Commission (www.SEC.gov) report, in April 2008 Liquor Group contracted and commenced representation of Drinks Americas products in the State of Michigan, an agreement which was swiftly amended to include Florida and subsequently Sixteen (16) additional states (all NABCA.org listed Control States except Mississippi) for a total of 18 US States. The contracts were for exclusive representation of brands marketed by Drinks Americas including: Trump Vodka® & Trump Flavored Vodkas®, Willie Nelson’s Old Whisky River Bourbon®, Damiana Liqueur®, Bo Dietl’s Casa BoMargo Wines®, Cohete Rum® & Aguilla Tequila®, and other Drinks Products as they become available. These agreements utilize Liquor Group’s patent pending bailment method for the sale of alcohol products to the state level. Once delivered at the state level, the privately owned Liquor Group companies or affiliated companies take over the operations representing the goods to bar/restaurant/liquor store customers.

On or about December 19, 2008, the report shows that Liquor Group notified Drinks Americas of numerous contract violations, including but not limited to overdue marketing funding and insufficient inventory to fill customer orders in excess of $300,000.00. Liquor Group documented that Drinks Americas representatives only responded to Liquor Group by saying that they would be able to bring the agreement into compliance soon.

The report goes on to show that multi-state inventory depletions and marketing fund positions were reconciled at the end of the first annum of the contract on April 1, 2009 showing a severe balance due by Drinks Americas to Liquor Group. Liquor Group also documented that Drinks Americas was given time to bring their accounts current and offered to revise the marketing agreements at this time, however no action was taken on their part to rectify Drinks Americas contract deficiencies.

At the time of this document filing, more than $800,000.00 of orders generated by Liquor Group remained unfilled by Drinks Americas, a major contract violation and contributor to the claim proceedings. The Control States of WV, IA, WY & OH have now terminated the listings of Drinks products.

When asked for a comment on the report, C.J. Eiras, President of Liquor Group Wholesale would only reluctantly state that he “Wished that Drinks Americas had the wherewithal and resources to fill these back-orders and to work this all out without it coming to this.” No one at Drinks Americas was available for comment at the time of this report.

Brandy Christine Reporting for BevNews1.com

Brandy Christine is an independent reporter specializing in the alcohol beverage industry, reporting here for the Beverage News Network BevNews1.com

Substantial Distribution Companies Prepare To Merge Into Liquor Group

Jacksonville, FL - When you walk into the tall, cold grey granite and tinted glass clad corporate offices of Liquor Group you expect to be visiting an industry standard facility, much as you would find at major alcohol distribution company. I know, I have visited many of them in my years are as an alcohol beverage reporter. However, instead you are immediately surprised by the warm feeling engendered by the Liquor Group headquarters. Linda, a kind hearted New York-Jewish lady greets you with a smile and a joke then sends you back to meet the team. You then enter a large room with multiple groupings of living room sets, complete with TV’s tuned to cable news, and then you see a large old fashioned mahogany bar, not something you generally see in Corporate America. Further back as you get closer to the VP and President’s offices you must walk around a golf putting area and a billiards table, so I think to myself ‘this is my kind of office!’ So it was no surprise to me when the executives at Liquor Group Wholesale (OTCBB:LIQR) put out the word that they were looking to acquire distribution companies through stock purchase, that if this is how they are operating during this worldwide financial meltdown, I can imagine the tremendous response they received. “We are continuing to sift through the litany of proposals from state level distribution companies interested in merging into the Liquor Group network. We received some promising prospects, we have begun implementing several of them…” says Lowell Newman, VP of License States “…and we are still setting phone conferences from companies whom reached out to us as far back as last month.” Intrigued by this operation, I decided to ask some basic questions to Mr. Newman about the company and I was surprised with what I found: Q: Why would an established alcohol distributor want to become part of Liquor Group? The open areas at Liquor Group’s corporate offices are more like living rooms than meeting space, complete with a full bar, billiards, golf putting area and televisions. A: The Patent Pending Innovative Distribution Business Method utilized exclusively by Liquor Group which gained publicity when approved by the Tax & Trade Bureau in March of 2009 provides substantial operational and costs savings over traditional distribution, allowing us unlimited brand selection growth without carrying costs of traditional inventory, and quite frankly, other options for liquidity for the owners of mid sized distribution companies is thin at best. This is a radical difference from the normal operations of alcohol distribution companies, and we feel it is the difference that will allow Liquor Group to continue to excel in up or down markets. Q. What triggered the decision to merge vs. organic growth? A. Our organic growth has been astounding, in 2005 we only had 4 products, by 2006 we had 660, by 2007 we had 1250, and now we have more than 1700. Liquor Group is growing rapidly, and we are having fun while doing it, however, consolidation is all around the industry right now, as companies seek efficiencies of scale. Even 100 year old titans of the alcohol beverage industry such as Glaziers find themselves now merging with Southern Wine & Spirits, and other giants such as Republic gobbled up National Distributing, which is all just a part of the largest scale of consolidation ever seen in the business, spelling trouble for lesser distribution companies and brand portfolios trying to compete against them. However, we are interested in the acquisition of all types of distribution targets, large, mid and small. Q. Why are brands, import portfolios and distilleries flocking to Liquor Group? A. One basic principle in nature is part of the success of Liquor Group: SAFETY IN NUMBERS. Liquor Group represents so many brands in so many states that it provides safety for products that may not make the cut under their own horsepower. Our one price policy is also a strong selling point in the market, and research shows that overall the clients of Liquor Group approve of out pricing methodology and overall strategy. Our brand policy also dictates the taking of no favorites; we treat all brands fairly and provide each with the same opportunities to market. We represent small brand suppliers with only 1 SKU to large scale distilleries offering a hundred varieties of products. Last but not least, Liquor Group offers a viable and lasting alternative to the traditional distribution model that is not affected by the titans of the industry; therefore we can survive where others will eventually fail. Q. What does the publicly traded portion of Liquor Group provide to your company in this strategy? “Safety in numbers” is a key component to the ongoing success of Liquor Group. A. Liquor Group Wholesale (OTCBB:LIQR) is a vehicle created to take advantage of our plans for future growth of the overall Liquor Group operations. The company does not yet control even 10% of the overall Liquor Group privately held company asset base, however it is a key component in our unified strategy. We are the first and still the only publicly traded liquor distribution company with operations in the US, and we hope to follow the model set by Central European Distributing Company (NYSE:CEDC) in terms of shareholder value growth. Buy utilizing stock to acquire other distribution companies, we are in essence “buying them in” not “buying them out” which allows the owners of these companies to enjoy the upside potential of their stock shares in LIQR. Q. Who has answered your call to tender for acquisition? A. The Liquor industry though large in scale in dollars and economic impact, it is very small in numbers of top management personnel. When we put out the word that we were interested in purchasing distribution companies, it spread through the industry like wild fire. Several mid-market companies immediately came forward and some that are larger in their individual state than any individual Liquor Group state level operation have expressed interest and are at the discussion table. However, since we have not finalized any of the multiple initiatives that we have begun, it is too early for me to “let the cats out of the bag”. And so my day was complete, as I stepped back on the airplane heading home to New York City I thought to myself…if only I was an alcohol beverage executive instead of an alcohol beverage reporter…then I sat down in my coach seat and ordered a stiff one on the rocks to take off the edge for the flight home. Go figure. Brandy Christine is an independent reporter specializing in the alcohol beverage industry, reporting here for the Beverage News Network BevNews1.com

Liquor Group Wholesale Shopping To Purchase Distribution Companies

Orlando, Florida

By: Brandy Christine, Financial Reporter

Executives of Liquor Group Wholesale, Inc. (OTCBB:LIQR) were in attendance at the Annual Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association Conference (www.WSWA.org), the largest Liquor and Wine Distribution Conference in the US, however they were not just shopping the trade show floor for new alcohol beverage brands to represent. Liquor Group Wholesale Execs took the opportunity to initiate face to face talks with several state level distribution companies regarding the acquisition of their companies by Liquor Group through stock purchase.

“Our organic growth in this down market, including our triple digit increase in sales last quarter is truly amazing. We continue to be a profitable organization overall…” says C. J. Eiras, CEO “…however our organic growth strategy could be escalated through acquisitions, so we have begun the initial talks with strategic entities that can strengthen our distribution bandwidth.”

Liquor Group Wholesale is reviewing the potential of other distributors that have voiced an interest in being acquired and has begun soliciting the trade for acquisitions. As many in the industry profess, the liquor and wine industry has seen a rapid pace of consolidation over the past several years, and many small to mid sized state level distribution companies are suffering the effects of this consolidation push. The implementation of this new expansion strategy fulfills yet another commitment Liquor Group Wholesale made to its’ shareholders when the firm was taken public in 2008.