It's that time of the year

[Uisge]

and no, I'm not referring to Halloween, World Series in MLB (as an aside, Go Giants!) or the run up to the quad-annual US Presidential Election.

What I AM referring to is the time of the year when all the drinks/distilled spirits manufacturers bring out their gift packaged products to entice you to buy their wares.

This past Friday when I popped into the nearest wine/spirits/other goodies mega-chain store (aka Beverages and More!, or Bevmo for short) I asked a sales associate when the seasonal gift boxes were coming out, and he pointed me to a stack near the entry and near the outer glass wall where there were some more items.

I have to admit to buying a package or two of something just to get that mug or rocks glass (got a pair of nifty mugs in a Kahlua set a little over a decade ago, more than a few JW glasses, Ballantines rocks glasses that came with a bottle of their 12 YO blend, and a pair of shooters courtesy of Cabo Wabo Reposado tequila), and I was very tempted by the Carolans gift box that had a lovely eggnog colored labeled mug that I saw that day.

I will say that regarding the purchases I have made weren't entirely for the mug/glass, as I do like JW Black Label, and as to the Cabo Wabo, Kahlua and Ballantines I was pretty sure I'd like their drinks (and I did), but there us something else that comes into play for me when I see a gift set that included something to drink the spirit from with a bottle of said spirit/drink, and that is the appeal of the sensual.

Like SueSea states in the beginning of her reviews, the look or presentation of a distilled spirit or drink based off a distilled spirit obviously is the thing that draws one's eye to it. Since it is not the case (here in the US of A, in particular) that one can get a sample or "try before buy" of a distilled spirit, it makes sense to do this to encourage those who have not had the experience tasting a bourbon, single malt or blended Scotch/whiskey, and if one is already familiar with the offering then the "extra" included with it is a nice bonus.

I would put forth that in addition to the visual and tasting aspect, there is the aspect of touch/handling that works with the other two senses that enhances the drinking experience as a whole, with the sense of hearing being the only thing not being stimulated, unless there is company to share with.

For example just last night I finished of the remnant in a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label which I had purchased 8 years ago using a Polish lead-crystal round rocks glass with the silhouette of the Striding Man and the slogan "Keep Walking" on the base of it.

The glass came from a gift set I bought 2 years ago of Black Label, and when I had one of them drop and shatter in my kitchen, I was distraught, and sought out a replacement, fortunately finding someone selling it on EBay.

The look of the glass was to my eye very appealing, it had a nice heft to it, felt nice when my lips touched it, and added to my enjoyment of those last two drams of Blue Label, just as they have added to the enjoyment of other whiskies I've had when using it.

So, a bit of a ramble, but I felt moved by the Muse to write, which might have been prompted by the "Writer's Tears" review....or not

[NCyankee]

I've gotten some nice glasses in gift sets. A couple years ago Lismore Scotch came with a Glencairn crystal glass - which were worth about half the value of the Scotch. I got two.

I also got a couple of these odd-looking spirits tasting glasses with a bottle of Appleton 12 yr rum last year - I go back and forth between them and the Glencairns.

http://www.arcbyblockhouse.com/ItemDeta ... _id=106429

Edit : I have absolutely no idea why I misspelled Glencairn twice. Geez.

[Uisge]

Yankee, you definitely scored when you got those Glencairn glasses with that bottle of Lismore!

The other glasses you linked to do look nifty, I've got to say.

Here's a pair of the glasses I referred to in my post....I might have to snag these off EBay so I have a set of 4!

[Capn Jimbo]

Nice posts...


An interesting thread. If you can wait until after the holiday season, some of the retailers will finally discount these seasonal packages. Case in point: Phil Prichard once put out a holiday sampler of his Prichard's Fine Rum, along with his Silver and a Cranberry Rum - all 375's - and closed out at $19. Nice.

It goes without saying that the bottle presentation really does have an effect, particularly on those spirits we choose to display. Still though there are drawbacks to this, when a marketing department chooses to remake an image to increase sales. Perfect example...


Mount Gay Extra Old

As a former marketing man, I have a great deal of respect for history and tradition. Think of the original Coca Cola bottles. While a spiffy new bottle may attract attention, it won't be for long and tosses away decades of good will and mass identity. This was particularly true for Mount Gay.

A trip to Peter's wonderful site will illustrate Mount Gay's irreplaceable history.

Keep in mind you're talking about THE oldest company and continuously produced rum, from 1703. Over those years MGXO was presented in a very classic, traditional bottle and label that was left pretty much alone. Any changes were subtle and relatively minor. When the new "super-premium" bottle came out - lovely on its own, but completely disrespectful of the past - I had an immediate reaction.

Price increases.

The XO went from $32 to $50 in short order. And guess what? It didn't work. MGXO drinkers are sophisticated and loyal. I am one of them and at one point even I decided I'd have to change my goto rum to Richard Seale's Ten. It was not long before MGXO's price crept back to a current $30 to $34. Was anything lost?

You bet. Over 300 years of tradition lost in a few months. Going back to their classic presentation - though really quite doable - raises the issue of embarassment and thus not likely. Instead, the new Mount Gay Black picks up on the MGXO new design to the detriment of both. The Black and the XO look so similar that the XO is devalued. Ugh.

Such is life...

[Uisge]

I guess there was one thing I didn't put into my initial post explicitly, but was implied with the paring of the preferred spirit of choice and the drinking of that from a mug/rocks glass/shot glass/whatever floats your boat, and that is a sense of intimacy that makes the experience even more sublime.

In my example the JW crystal rocks glass did add to the experience of drinking (and finishing off) the JW Blue Label, especially since there was a link to my mind of the reason for purchasing the Blue Label, from the inheritance I received after the passing of my mother to the weekend when I actually made the purchase, which was on Labor Day weekend as I was attending the largest "Highland Games and Gathering" in California (which I had been going to for the better part of a decade by that point).

So there was a slow trickle of memories conjoined with my sipping the Scotch, and the tactile sensations of the liquid in my mouth, the flavors found in it as I nosed and tasted it, my lips coming in contact with the glass, how the glass felt in my hand, and the look of the whisky in the glass were all parts that added to a greater whole.

I'll never have that particular experience again, but I'll have the memory of it whenever I'll look at or use one of those crystal glasses.

Now, that's not to say that every glass or mug used has to be uber-expensive or even overtly stylish, as I have used for regular dramming the smaller 8 oz. Ball jam jars, and they work quite well in that context, with them even having a style that I think looks nifty, with the lower third having a decagon panel pattern pressed into the glass cylinder.

This was part of a 12 pack that was probably made in the mid 1980's as a search for the current offering shows either a totally smooth glass jar or one with what is listed as "Crystal Cut" in the Ball jam jar selector guide.

Anyhoo, I'm a sucker for a well packaged tchochke

[Uisge]

This just arrived today and I had to share

Black Bottle is revamping its packaging for the currently available version, which looks like this
, the brand also offered a rocks glass via Facebook towards the end of October if I'm not mistaken.

So guess what arrived today, free and totally unexpected on my part (especially since California is rather Draconian about what kind of advertising certain businesses can and can't do in this state....Remember Joe Camel? Yeah, tobacco products, beer and liquor are verboten to even send something like a flask or a branded coffee mug! Dewar's, based in Coral Gables, Florida couldn't even send a mini flask to me! Oy vey!), and if I do say so, it's pretty nifty, feels good in my big mitt.



And just a few days before my birthday, too!

[Capn Jimbo]

Welcome back to the U-man!


Like you - U - we too are fans of the good old Black Bottle, and of the good - old - bottle. What is it with these guys? Look. I'm an old marketing guy and I have done more than my share of telling lies, and gilding the lilies.

What I learned from those years was that the best, most effective and longest lasting marketing doesn't have to be dishonest. There is much to be said by finding out just what people love about the company and product and - just as important - what the company loves about itself.

History and tradition are sooooooo important and should not be squandered. But the truth is just like fishing lures - which are designed to catch fisherman. It's exactly the same with marketing. These slicksters are experts at creating doubt and instilling a kind of faux hope based on what their glitzy, clever new marketing campaign and look will surely accomplish. Their pitches are replete with all manner of convincing data, slideshows (delivered by an appropriate model), and delivered with amazing confidence and just plain goldplated mooseshit.


So how 'bout this new black bottle?

Everyone will have his or her own personal reaction, and I do wonder what Sue Sea thinks, especially as she is a lover of presentation (and tradition). Here's my personal take:

First, let me say I do love Black Bottle - the bottle I'm used to is the old green glass pinched-neck bottle - completely classic save for the screw top (which is still nicely done). "Est 1879" and "Gordon Graham's) signature nicely small and molded into the glass on the broad neck and shoulders. So lovely and traditional.

As for the new I can see and hear the presentation now...

"Folks you have a simply great product and we love your name: Black Bottle. This is a great name with a great history and we want to highlight your wonderful history and product. "

Since your product is called "Black Bottle", our extensive research and experience indicates that the bottle itself must be black. And we'll keep as much of the old label and typeface as possible for continuity, but we'll alter the type too to make it look even older.

Your fine and well-respected company was established in 1879 and we want today's uneducated buyers to know that, so we're going to emphasize the 1879, and even give it the prime position, and make it the largest element.

Last, please note that the bottle reflects the old glass flask bottles of yesteryear but appealing to today's modern drinkers by a modern smoothing of the lines. Just like the new Jaguar. The wide flask shape also allows us to maximize the size of the "1879" and your updated label for maximum visibility - and sales - on the shelf.

We look forward to serving you and making this new introduction of your famous Black Bottle a smashing success!"

Personally I find this presentation way too obvious and smug. The "1879" actually dominates the bottle and actually overshadows the label name. Regarding the latter, it's clear the marketing mavens were wise enough to retain enough of the old label to avoid freaking out the client, but also enough to sell the presentation. There's an old saying in radio - if you want to sell an ad to a tough client, praise him and put him in the spot.

That's what has happened here. To be fair, the bottle isn't that bad, but it is surely a departure. They may be taking a calculated risk based on the notion that the current drinkers will keep buying it anyway, but that the new bottle will seem uh, new to new drinkers who could give a rat's ass about history.

BTW, even the Black Bottle website recognizes the issue and includes a video attempting to justify the new bottle (here). This video is in the "heritage" section.

I hate to say it but this is all to reminiscent of the "new" MGXO bottle which was a huge failure at the time. Time will tell...

[Capn Jimbo]

Did Moi speak too soon?


If moi did, it wouldn't be the first time. It turns out that early in their history, the Graham family's products were actually sold in a dark bottle...


. . . . . . .


Of course the marketing wizards glommed onto this, and actually incorporated it into Black Bottle's now upgraded website (also in the Heritage section, link above), stating:

"And so it came to be (what is this, the Bible?), that for over 130 years the Black Bottle name would stand as a symbol of the Graham's uncompromising excellence (this is call butt kissing). It was only as the Great War tore through Europe that the indominable brothers (see butt kissing, above) were forced to substitute green glass for their revered black glass bottles"

In addition to speaking in a weird third person and publicizing their vaselined butt kissing, this forced justification for their modern return to a modernized black glass bottle fails for a couple reasons. First of all, the old image they chose to illustrate the old bottle isn't really black, but appears to be just very dark. Second, it is round and not a flask shape. And last it is well to remember that the "Great War", ie WWI ended in 1918 and it is fair to wonder...

What forced the "indomitable brothers" to stick with their green bottles and to fail to return to their "revered" black glass bottles for nearly 100 years until just coincidentally, these master marketers appeared on the scene to release this clearly pent up demand to return to a bottle that no one is really old enough to remember? Talk about blue, er black balls! The simple truth: it is their green bottle which has been traditional for the last 100 years.

Now I wish I hadn't thrown away my wading hip boots...

[Uisge]

I think this revision of the Black Bottle's packaging was more inline with the revision of Bunnahabhain, Ledaig (led-Chaig) and Tobermory by Burns Stewart Distillers, and to higher proofs and non-chill filtration as well, as they weren't particularly recommendable prior to the upgrading a few years ago.

[Uisge]

Full list of their brands here

[Capn Jimbo]

More good stuff, thanks to U...


Aha, I see said the blind one, in this case Moi. So what we have here is a homogenization, ie a corporate look for all the brands of Burn Stewart. Of the three I personally prefer the Bunnahabhain, nicely done and they can hold the phony story please. The Tobermory's seem to also have fallen prey to the make the established year the biggest thing on the bottle, for what reason I cannot possibly imagine.

U, your link to Whisky Intelligence (above) was also VERY interesting as when I showed your Black Bottle pic to Sue Sea a few minutes ago, her first response was "I like the black, have they changed the product?". And in accord with WI, they have indeed...

WI:

"After 18 months of extensive global consumer research and design development, the new Black Bottle heralds a return to the original Scotch, which the Graham brothers created in Aberdeen at the turn of the 19th Century.

Burn Stewart Master Distiller, Ian MacMillan...

"'The challenge was to develop a liquid that was more in line with the original character of Black Bottle while maintaining all of the quality for which the brand is renowned. I wanted to reintroduce a richness to balance the smokiness of the blend and in turn allow each component to contribute to the overall flavour.'"

She was right and we can only assume that the corporate mavens were unhappy with what they may have considered a well-respected but tired product, which they wish to reintroduce and reblend for new and dare I say - inexperienced drinkers. Again, quoting WI...

"“This whisky will appeal to the experienced blended drinker who enjoys drinking Scotch neat as well as those exploring whiskies for the first time and who prefer to add a mixer."

Ouch! Double ouch!! What we know about corporations is dead simple - it's not about quality, it's about new markets and profits. According to these spinmeisters the goals are three:

1. For some unknown reason to "recapture" the original character of their whisky as made before 1900 (which doesn't exist and thus which cannot really be duplicated), while...

2. Maintaining all the quality for which the brand is known (and which U and I love), and, AND...

3. Simultaneously attracting new drinkers who are "exploring whiskies for the first time and who prefer to add a mixer"!?!?

Good friends, this is clearly impossible. Whisky Intelligence is anything but, and ought to be deeply ashamed to reproduce these moose droppings. This PR is actually insulting except to those who obviously don't know better, and who are obviously the market for this likely destroyed brand.

What a shame. I'm buying all the old bottles I can find...




*******
Sue Sea's Bottle Impression: according to dear Sue Sea this fine morning: "I like the concept of black glass, but the huge "EST 1879" was overdone and out of place, as was changing the bottle to the current modern flask style - I believe this will all be too much for established lovers of Black Bottle, and I wonder if a price increase is also coming. I like the black glass, but would have combined it with a classic bottle and perhaps a gold leafed/black parchment style label, keeping the 1879 but more properly understated and molded in as before".

[Uisge]

One thing you might not know, and it isn't mentioned on the Black Bottle site, is that in April of this year, Burns Stewart and its brands were bought by a South African drinks company, Distell.

Perhaps they intend to bring Black Bottle into new markets that might not be familiar with it, and due to climate, prefer "lighter" Scotch whiskies that are mixed into iced long drinks?

[Capn Jimbo]

The plot thickens - but not the whisky...


Nice link, which turned up some fascinating information, per the new corporate master:

"Black Bottle was first created in 1879 by Gordon Graham of Aberdeen and was initially sold in pottery bottles and jars. Later a solid black glass bottle, specially designed in the shape of a pot-still, was imported from Germany. However, the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 forced the company to source new bottles and since then Black Bottle has been packaged in a green glass bottle, with the same distinctive pot-still shape."

Interestingly enough the new owner of the Black Bottle uses a pic of the old bottle we know and love...

. . . . . . .

Don't you love their traditional pot still shape? Isn't that - and the green glass - traditional and wonderful? Isn't the new bottle a complete POS?

[Uisge]

I note that Serge, he of Whiskyfun towers reviewed some blends, including the reformulated Black Bottle.

Not good, lowest score of the bunch, didn't make it out of the 60's.

While he is upfront about his bias, "Not my preferred style, it's a profile that we sometimes find in the new 'virgin oak' bottlings by other makers", I think I am not looking forward to the updated BB.


And I think his comment about "virgin oak bottlings" is a reference to another Burns Stewart single malt, Deanston Virgin Oak....



Kind of a shame, especially since the higher proof and non-chill filtration across the board for the Burns Stewart single malt brands has been received rather well by folks like Ralfy.

[Capn Jimbo]

Talk about coincidence...


Had a bit of insomnia tonight (Sue Sea is still suffering from her accident) and decided to pour myself a dram and check out The Project. And what did I pour? Yup...

Deanston Virgin Oak, 46.3%, "Simple, handcrafted, natural, un-chill filtered, nothing added but hard work and determination". They speak of a lemony, apple, sweet malty, nutmeg presentation and darned if it isn't. We've come to appreciate balance, here represented by the barley sweetness against the lemony oak - rather different and intriguing.

Per the label, the "virgin oak" refers to a finishing, from which we'd expect some new wood vanillans, toffee and a kick of spiciness, which proved true.


Serge knows his whisky and that's for sure...

I think you're right U as to the Deanston reference. To their credit, I applaud their honest and simple labeling on a very ordinary paper label, well done. And it is certainly a very pleasant and easy drinking dram that is unusual enough - via the "virgin oak" finish - to keep one's interest. His point, I believe, is that this is what distilleries are forced to do to make up for being hondled into pumping out ever more NAS spirit.

As such the Deanston must surely be at or close to the minimum age to earn the label "Scotch Whisky). But there remains a limit to what can be done in three years, virgin oak or not. I for one will raise a dram to the old Black Bottle...

Death to the conglomerates...



*******
Special Note: It's worth comparing the young virgin Deanston to a 12 year version, again by Serge.

Virgin: http://www.whiskyfun.com/archivedecembe ... tml#111211
Twelve Year: http://www.whiskyfun.com/archivedecembe ... tml#111211