Notorious Beam Team

Great coverage of an event from Basil Hayden, one of Beam's special bourbons. From Intoxicologist. All images are from Beam Global.

"Tailored specifically for celebrated designer Cynthia Rowley to debut with the 2009 Collection during NYC Fashion Week, the Basil Hayden Wish received a comment of “Perfect” for the show by the designer herself. The Basil Hayden Wish embodies Rowley’s assertive, yet whimsical spirit while pulling inspiration from the rich red hues and wishbone features from the 2009 Fall Collection. Cynthia Rowley Fashion Show Bar Featuring Basil Hayden Wish - Beam Global Spirits & Wine Photo Credit

Fashion week draws a sexy crowd of elite trendsetters, stylists and models who desire to wrap themselves in luxury and fanciful delight. And why not? Beverage staples during a typical Fashion Week consist of champagne and vodka. The Basil Hayden Wish brought a refreshing twist to the predictable cocktail scene and started a new fashion trend of its own by becoming the new luxury cocktail of choice for the fashionable “It” crowd.

Blushed with a hint of passion and bitten with the tang of lust this cocktail is sure to fill you with a desire for fashion and flavor."

Personally I'm really interested by the insight that people are bored of champagne and vodka cocktails and want something with more depth. The kind of depth that you get from high quality brown spirits. There's a lot in this.

From their Press Release:

"BACARDI® today announced the launch of new global packaging for its flavored rum brands to showcase the premium quality of its rums. The re-designed bottles and outer shippers have a bolder, more modern look to further capture the attention of adult consumers.

The redesigned bottle is more slender in shape and utilizes colorful, new label designs to more prominently display the dynamic taste of each BACARDI Flavored Rum, including: BACARDI® LIMÓN™; BACARDI® O™; BACARDI® PEACH RED; BACARDI® RAZZ™; BACARDI® BIG APPLE™; BACARDI® GRAND MELON™; and BACARDI®COCONUT™. The innovative bottle design is the perfect mix of style and sophistication.

“The new global packaging of the BACARDI Flavored Rum family of brands showcases the bold, vibrant and distinct qualities of these outstanding flavors,” said Gordon Chisholm, brand director, BACARDI Flavored Rums. “It further strengthens the Bacardi leadership position within the flavored rum category, as well as our role as a premium spirits producer. We are very excited about the evolution of the brand and its continued growth.”

For more info visit The Intoxicologist Is In

From GreenerGrassDesign

Absolutely love the clever glass design. Nice. Another great find from Liqurious.

I love the teardrop design on the label. Very cool indeed.

Spotted on Liqurious initally, but this article is from Lovely Package who have a fantastic site that showcases the best packaging from around the world. The design was done by nine99 design.

Also check out return of the living red:




And Strait Jacket:

Such a good idea. Can't believe these were used to promote a bar. It would work so well for a spirits brand.





From The Arab Aquarius:

"Saatchi & Saatchi, Prague did this awesome ad campaign for Bugsy’s Bar in Czech Republic. The ads were photographed by Bohousek Pospisilu with creative director Jakub Hanzlicek. Living Cocktails indeed!"

Via Liqurious.

This is doing the rounds of all the design blogs. I love the idea and am looking forward to getting my hands on one.

Cool glassware will never cease to interest me.

From Fred.

As ever, Luxist is on top of all the premium drinks launches and trends:

"Belvedere is introducing a new super-premium vodka made with nine special ingredients created to "embody the spirit of the night." Belvedere IX (right), which comes in glam-punk style black and pink graffiti-tagged bottle, will initially be available only in select nightclubs.

IX's nine key ingredients are ginseng, guarana, acai, ginger, sweet almond, jasmine, eucalyptus, cinnamon, and black cherry, "blended seamlessly to create a warm and enlivening note on the nose." The ingredients are individually distilled in micro-batches before being expertly blended with 100 proof Belvedere Vodka and artesian water.

IX is described as "bold and intricate with uplifting sweet spice followed by invigorating ginger warmth," and "smooth yet intense, with menthol complexity tempered by sweet almond and jasmine undercurrents," finishing with "a characteristic Belvedere flourish of vanilla and white pepper."

The bottle's distinctive design is the result of a collaboration with artist and fashion designer Andre Saraiva. It's inspired by Saraiva's iconic graffiti seen on the streets of Paris since the late 1980s. Described by Sam Keller, director of Art Basel Miami Beach, as a "social alchemist," Saraiva also co-owns Paris' Le Baron nightclub."

Also, have a look at Spirit Me Away's review here.

This is a bit of a weird one. But hey, why shouldn't Alfa Romeo have a range of Italian wines that are designed to look like the iconic Alfa Romeo grill?

Via Liqurious.

I spotted the glasses on Liqurious and thought they are just the ticket for the blog. Visit Vessel for more information.

I've got a lot of time for beautiful glasses that enhance the drinking experience.

Given our Le Nez de Courvoisier project, we are fascinated by anyone who does anything intereting in the world of aromas.

So when we saw this in the Guardian Guide on Saturday we got quite excited. Especially given that Bompas and Parr are part of The Courvoisier The Future 500...

From the Guadian Guide:

"Those looking for a whiff of alternative scents to the perfumed ones exchanged between lovers today can find plenty at a special screening of Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover. Viewers will receive scratch'n'sniff cards laced with delicate aromas linked to scenes involving rotting flesh and dusty books, as created by culinary deviants Bompas & Parr, who also infiltrate the food concession with aphrodisiacs and gold-coated weenies. It's all part of jotta.com's inauguaral craft fair, featuring a fashion workshop on Wednesday and illustration market next Sunday."

Unfortunately we've missed the boat this time. It would have been great to have been part of the event rather than Bulldog gin. Maybe we can collaborate on a similar event in the future.

From Luxist:

"Australian liquor producer ASM Liquor operates under the premise that spirits without chemicals will deliver less of a hangover. The company has a range that includes vodka, rum, gin and tequila with the quirky names, Vodka O, Kinky Nero dark rum, Kinky Lux white rum, Jinn Dry Gin and Tequila Blu. The latest is a whisky called Naked Scot. As Bill Dowd reports ASM Liquor has the whisky distilled on the Isle of Mull and aged three years. They claim that the whisky is free from residual herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides (it doesn't mention if the product is organic)."

You can see the range of other spirits they have launched below:



When you read the article on the Dowd's Spirits notebook you realise that this product has caused a stir. David Williamson, Scotch Whisky Association said in a comment:

"As you can imagine, we were surprised to read (this) article ... and the
inference in the headline. To be clear, as a result of the science of the whisky distillation process, there is absolutely no question of "residual herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides" being in a bottle of Scotch whisky. The inference made is inaccurate and misleading.

Can I ask that the point be clarified in a future article, please? That would be much appreciated.

Separately, there also appears to be some confusion as to whether the brand is a single malt or a blended Scotch whisky. This may be a result of the PR material being distributed by ASM Liquor, and it is a good example of why the new Scotch whisky regulations -- which should be implemented later this year -- are needed to avoid potential consumer confusion. The regulations will require that it is made clear on the bottle what category of Scotch whisky it is.

You should also be aware that initial enquiries at the only distillery on Mull raise the need for further investigation of the product."

Whatever the outcome, it's getting talked about. But a 3 year old Scotch sounds pretty iffy to me. And if Naked Scott is setting the benchmark in terms of quality, I doubt the rest of the range will be any good.

And as an aside. I couldn't hate the tartan cap on the bottle any more!

From the ever brilliant Luxist:

"Prevailing wisdom says that when times are tough people drink the cheap stuff. While that may be true for the most part, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States shows that sales for whiskey are up (4.3% by dollar value and 1.3% by volume in 2008) fueled by a love for whiskeys like Jack Daniels and bourbons like Maker's Mark. The last few years brought big numbers for top shelf vodka, tequila and rum but right now super premium whiskey is the hottest growth category for spirits. The classic appeal of bourbon and its use in traditional, simple cocktails may be part of the appeal. Sales of liquor in restaurants and bars are down over all as more people drink at home."

For the full LA Times article that this is from click here.

Ads for "Diet" Miller that play on the fact it only has 64 calories.



This ad ran during the Super Bowl



Smart executions. The print ad has a very feminine slant. When you've got a clear USP from an innovative product the ads are easy.

From Whole lot of BS

Glenmorangie have brought back the long lost soda siphon, but given it a bit of a modern twist. Or to use Jess's expression they've given it a "jhujh" (or however you spell this ridiculous expression).

From this site.

Another month, another amazing new trendy, super cool, uber designed bit of kit from Veuve, this time by Thomas Lemaire.

Can someone stop them doing this please. They are making the rest of us look bad. Or maybe we should think laterally and do something fresh and different.

Via Trends Now.

Not Cot have written a fantastic article about Gran Centenario's launch of their new hibiscus infused tequila called Rosangel. Rather than lift the post, you're much better off having a look at the post over on Not Cot. This particular post was written by Liqurious enthusiast Married with Dinner.

The whole event was executed perfectly and is a lesson to us all in how to execute a new product launch in the world of premium spirits.