Friday, August 17, 2012

Inbox - August 17, 2012

Inbox is our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our email inbox. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece that we receive. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday.

Within Inbox we write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information.  So what has grabbed our attention this week?  Find out below ...
________

Arran - Go for girl power
The award winning independent Isle of Arran distillery have appointed their latest 'Ambassador of Arran'.  Keiko Manni (pictured, left) from Japan has been appointed to help drive sales of Arran single malts in the country.  Manni is the Spirits Buying Leader for Isetan, a prestigious department store in Tokyo, and has helped establish the brand and increase sales significantly during the last five years in Japan.

Manni was awarded her 'Ambassador of Arran' title during a recent trip to the distillery.  She was accompanied on the trip by Sueko Yamada, a colleague at Isetan.  During their visit, they selected a single cask to be sold exclusively in Japan through Isetan.  With the help of Arran's Master Distiller James McTaggart and Senior Brand manager Louisa Young, they selected an ex-bourbon cask which was distilled in 2001.

Louisa Young, the Senior Brand Manager at Isle of Arran Distillers said, “Our export sales to Asia are significant and Japan is a key market for us. Keiko has long been a champion of our wonderful range of single malts, so we were delighted to host them as our guests on this trip organised by our Japanese distributor Whisk-e. It is great to see that the role of females within in the whisky industry has increased on a global level and they are more than making their mark in highly regarded, influential positions.”

Beam Global - Call in the graduates
The owners of the multi-award winning Kilbeggan and Cooley Irish whiskey distilleries, Beam Golbal, has hired five Irish graduates to promote its Irish whiskey brands in the USA. The graduates - Emily Duffy from Limerick, Joanne Ryan from Waterford and Ruth Dunne, Michael Egan and Jennifer Graham (all from Dublin) - will each be based in one of five US cities - Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

The graduates have been immersed in all aspects of Irish whiskey during a training session at the Kilbeggan distillery and tutored on how to market Irish whiskey to an overseas audience. They will work with the Kilbeggan distilling team on every aspect of whiskey production from distillation to maturation and received a whiskey master class from Beam’s Irish Whiskey Global Brand Ambassador John Cashman.

Beam’s Senior Global Marketing Manager for Irish Whiskey, Stephen Teeling, commented, “These talented graduates will be supported by Beam’s US marketing and distribution infrastructure as they promote our portfolio of Irish whiskeys in five major cities in the US. This program has huge potential for producing highly skilled people, who possess the talent and ability to successfully market Irish products overseas. There is scope to roll this program out across Europe and in other international markets.”

Chivas Regal - Made For Gentlemen
The popular Chivas Regal blended whisky brand has announced a new annual collaboration programme and details of the first participant.  The scheme will see the Chivas Regal 12 years old expression presented in uniquely designed packaging by a series of modern craftsmen.  The first edition is called Made For Gentlemen and has been designed by leading footwear designer Tim Little, the Creative Director and owner of iconic luxury British shoe brand Grenson.

Little's packaging features a deconstruction of the pattern pieces of leather needed to make a classic brogue style of shoe and will be available to buy from selected retailers from the beginning of September.  The Chivas Regal 12 years old Made For Gentlemen will retail for a special price of £25.39.  For further information, visit the Chivas UK Facebook page.

No comments: