BEING an established name in the liquor industry can be a double-edged sword. Despite enjoying instant brand recognition, it's a constant challenge to maintain the interest of drinkers all over the world. Yet if the product is changed in any way, there is the risk that consumers will reject it completely.

Hennessy, for one, has decided not to mess with its most famous product, X.O cognac. But to give it an air of currency, it created its first limited-edition version last year. The cognac is exactly the same but in an exquisitely detailed bottle, and sells for two and a half times more at $598. To justify the price tag, just 40,000 units were produced globally.

Have cognac drinkers been sold on this old-brandy-in-new-bottle concept?

'The allocation for Singapore is only slightly over 100 units and so far about 20 per cent of them have been sold already,' says brand manager Jean-Michel Cochet. 'Consumers are mainly collectors in town and cognac lovers.'

Mr Cochet points to the investment potential of limited-edition brandy. 'We don't have any urgency to sell all the allocated quantity, and besides, the price is expected to go up after a certain time due to its rarity.' In fact, he adds, 'the duty-free market has shown great response after its priority launch in Singapore and other key cognac markets last year. Allocation for duty free has already been sold out, so now the demand goes back to respective local markets.'

The limited-edition strategy has been so successful for Hennessy that the brand is already planning to launch two more exclusive editions - one being another spin on Hennessy X.O and the other an 'extreme rare limited edition', according to Mr Cochet.

Bombay Sapphire has also decided to go with the limited-edition packaging strategy, putting its standard gin in a Baccarat crystal decanter and dubbing it Revelation. It's gone super high-end, creating an exclusive series of five bottles at an astronomical price tag of US$200,000 each. Changi Airport's Terminal 3 received one of them, courtesy of DFS Changi.

The key justification for the Revelation's price is that part of the sale proceeds will benefit the Smile Train, which is a charity that sponsors cleft-lip surgery for poor children in Third World countries.

Highland Park single malt scotch whisky, however, is departing from the approach of Hennessy and Bombay Sapphire. There will be no super-fancy bottles from this Highland scotch whisky maker. Highland Park was officially launched in Singapore last year, and has taken off well enough here and elsewhere that a brand new vintage will be launched this year - the 40-year-old, which is the oldest Highland Park ever produced.

There's no pricing for it yet, but bearing in mind that the 30-year-old retails for $1,350, you can expect the 40-year-old to be a fair bit dearer than that.

Of course, older isn't necessarily better. This oldest Highland Park takes a markedly different approach from the rest of the range, and goes for decidedly more smoke, which may not endear it to those who love the distillery for its fine balance of sweetness and smokiness. But if you love Islay-style malts, you'll like this.

And remember that the delightful 12-year-old retails for an affordable $118, with the superbly balanced 18-year-old going for $320. Highland Park and The Macallan share many similarities because of their use of sherry oak casks, and the 30-year-olds of both Highland Park and The Macallan's Fine Oak range have the same nose of ripe oranges, so if one appeals to you, you'll probably find something to love in the other too.

This article was first published in The Business Times on May 2, 2008.