Finlandia Vodka Named Fastest Growing Global Spirit Brand

Growth led by Central and Eastern Europe; explosion of Finlandia's
flavor portfolio
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(Business Wire)--
Finlandia Vodka was named the fastest growing global spirit brand
by "the Spirit Business", a London-based trade publication, in its
March issue.

Finlandia received this recognition because of its more than 19
percent growth in 2007. This growth was led by strong performances in
Central and Eastern Europe, as well as, the success of Finlandia's
flavored vodkas, which now account for 20 percent of the brand's total
volume.

The most impressive growth for the Finlandia Vodka brand has come
from Poland. In Poland, Finlandia surpassed more than 800,000 nine
litre cases on an annual basis.

"Our tremendous growth in Poland is fuelled by the Polish
consumer's appreciation for the quality of the naturally pure
ingredients found in Finlandia Vodka," said Maureen Brekka, the
managing director for Finlandia Vodka. "We are experiencing growth all
over Central and Eastern Europe to include Russia."

In Russia, Finlandia Vodka surpassed the largest vodka importer by
selling more than 169,000 nine-litre cases in February, making
Finlandia the #1 imported premium vodka in Russia. (*Russian
government import statistics)

"Being the top-selling imported vodka in Russia is an incredible
accomplishment for the brand," she said. "I think this speaks volumes
for the Finlandia brand as Russians are well known for their
distinguishing vodka palate."

But, one of the largest contributing factors to Finlandia's growth
is the success of its flavored vodkas.

"We have seen the largest growth globally in our flavor
portfolio," said Peter Tevebaugh, vice president and director business
strategy & analysis. "We have experienced more than 30 percent growth
in our flavors over the last fiscal year and that type of growth has
been consistent for the last several years."

Finlandia Vodka was one of the first premium vodkas to introduce
flavors from nature in 1994 with the launch of Cranberry Fusion. Since
then, Finlandia has introduced more fresh tasting flavors to the
portfolio:

-- Finlandia Lime Fusion (1999)

-- Finlandia Mango Fusion (2004)

-- Finlandia Redberry (2004) limited distribution in Eastern
Europe

-- Finlandia Wild Berries Fusion (2005) United States only

-- Finlandia Grapefruit Fusion (2006 in Poland and June 2007 in
the United States)

One of the brand's most successful flavors, all-natural Finlandia
Grapefruit Fusion, has taken the vodka world by storm. Since its
introduction, Finlandia Grapefruit Fusion won a Double Gold medal in
the 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a five-star rating,
the highest recommendation, from Paul Pacult's Spirits Journal, and
scored a 96-100: Highest Recommendation by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

"I think we do so well with our flavor offerings because they
smell and taste like they came straight from the tree and into the
bottle," Brekka said. "We attribute that to the naturally pure
ingredients of the Finlandia Vodka with which they are fused.

"Other vodkas are jumping on the natural flavor bandwagon, and I
can't blame them. But, we believe our flavors taste the best because
we start with such a pristine vodka, which makes it easier to blend
nature's freshest and finest fruit flavors. Because with flavors, you
should not be overwhelmed by the spirit but instead be able to taste
the essence of the fruit flavor in the bottle. We believe that is our
competitive advantage."

Finlandia Vodka, which is already the 6th largest premium vodka
globally, closing quickly on Skyy and Stolichnaya, will reach another
milestone this fall when it is expected to break the three-million
case mark.

"We are proud of Finlandia's consistent growth in the vodka
category since its purchase by Brown-Forman Corporation," said Mark
Bacon, the brand director for the Americas. "It has always been a
premium quality product, and we are happy to deliver it to discerning
vodka drinkers around the globe."

Keep your judgement pure. Drink responsibly.

(C)2008 Finlandia Vodka Worldwide Ltd., Helsinki, Finland.
Finlandia Vodka 40% Alc./Vol.

Brown-Forman Corporation
David Page, 502-774-7701

Copyright Business Wire 2008