QUALITY PERCEPTIONS

Today, brands looking to board the fun bus are keeping the frivolity inside the bottle only, keeping labels pared back and premium. Take Bourbon Bourbon for example. A Kentucky bourbon infused with real Bourbon biscuits, from the square, plain bottle, to the simple label, the brand is loud and proud about its use of the confectionary item, but keeps things firmly in a craft space, with a muted colour palette familiar to bourbon consumers. Only the realistic image of a bourbon biscuit gives the game away.

&Whisky is another good example of thoughtful brand design. Though not a flavoured whisky, the brand leads on the flavour notes found within by evoking a feeling among consumers.

Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire 18 Year Old, (yes, that’s its name) does exactly what it says on the bottle. So does the very festive Roasting Chestnuts & Peat Fire Embers & Mince Pies & Hygge 10 Year Old. The label is entirely devoid of provenance, heritage statements etc. Instead, the stripped back label’s only notable feature is the product name in a stubbornly uncool font, with no spacing between each noun and an ampersand. What does that say to you? To us it transforms something that could seem faddy to something fun and approachable, but still serious enough to be credible.

New Categories Play With Flavour

Elsewhere, rum brands are also attempting to take flavour into a more quality driven space. A lack of regulation, the overuse of caramel to hide a lack of aging, a propensity for pirate imagery, as well as marketing that focuses on the party drink market, have lowered the perceptions of, in particular, spiced rums. The recent flurry of flavoured rums therefore, have had a current to swim against, when it comes to portraying themselves as being of quality.

How have they tackled that? With a label that could be just as at home on a craft gin, Suncamino Floral Rum (which claims to be the world’s first floral rum) has opted for a detailed illustration depicting sun, sugar, and the tropics. Or in other words, depicting its provenance. Though the rum hails from Barbados, the hibiscus, orange blossom and honeybush contained within is inspired by and sourced from South Africa. At the other end of the spectrum, there’s Twin Fin. Depicting an entirely surfy vibe with its matte pastel range inspired by both the Caribbean and Cornish coasts. Again, its another of the current sweep of rums to be shipped across from producing regions, only to be flavoured and bottled on less tropical shores. In this case, Cornwall. From the surfy font to the colour palette, Twin Fin is displaying this cross culturalism with pride.

Tequila Treads A Tricky Path

A category to watch is the emerging flavoured tequila market, which has a tricky path to navigate. It’s well documented that tequila has worked hard over the past decade or so to rejuvenate its image, moving from shots to sipping. How then will flavours fit into this? According to e-tailer Master of Malt, sales of flavoured tequila have increased by over 200% from 2021 to 2022. And an increasingly booming amount of NPD is dedicated to it.

But there’s a ‘watch out’. Though consumers, clearly, are ready and already embracing this new subcategory, if brands lean too deeply, tackily, or without thought into a design scheme of neon candy skulls, sombreros and other cliché Mexican tropes, the category risks undoing the premium groundwork of the last twenty years. Perceptions matter, and proving quality from the bottle first, must be a priority.

WHY BBQ’D DRAMS ARE IN

The world’s of food and drink have been slowly merging over the past few years, with food inspired drinks and drink inspired foods. Now, as two genres continue to play off each other, the term ‘don’t play with your food’ has become well and truly redundant. As Scotch brand Ardbeg announces its new BBQ-inspired liquid, we ask, do consumers really want to drink their food?

You’ve heard of peated whisky, but have you heard of meated whisky? You have now. Scotch brand Ardbeg has just launched BizarreBQ. Described as the distillery’s first ever limited-edition barbecueinspired whisky (because why possibly would there be others?) it has been produced to capture the flavours of smoky barbeque.

There’s no meat in it. But by working with ‘grilling guru’ Christian Stevenson, the distiller has figured out a process using double-charred oak casks, Pedro Ximénez sherry casks and the distillery’s unique BBQ casks, that give the liquid a “meaty, peaty punch” to compliment BBQ’d food. To hear them tell it, the taste is like: “Puffs of charcoal and soot mingling with smoky wood and aromatic herbs and spices”. Apparently there is: “The undeniable smell of bonfire and BBQ embers linger in the background. Deep, warming smoke follows in flame-grilled steak, chilli oil, cured leather and clove.”

The release marks the next phase of the distillery’s journey to uncover new ways of experiencing and enjoying smoky flavours. But will it ever be more than a curiosity? A dram to drink as a dare?

Does it belong to the canon of serious whisky making and experimentation, or is it a novelty fad?

Meaty Launches

The past suggests that novelty is at the heart of meaty launches. Look back to around 2012-2015 and there were plenty of them, across both the US and the UK. It was the era of Conwy Brewery’s lamb-flavoured Sunday Toast beer and the Rogue and Voodoo Doughnuts collaboration beer, Bacon Maple Ale.

It’s worth noting that this was an era where bacon seemed to creep into everything, from Manhattans to Brownies. And it was also the age of the overloaded, calorific and frankly ridiculous Bloody Mary serves. Piled high with everything from lamb chops and chicken wings to sliders, these colossal cocktail serves seemed to inspire a wave of meaty spirits, from Baller Chilli Bacon Vodka to Proof Maple Bacon Cocktail Syrup. Non-drinkers were not left out with drinks such as Jones Bacon Soda and Maple Bacon Iced Teas.

Following Food Fads

Since then, trends in both food and drink have moved on. With plant-based being the flavour of the decade, we’ve seen a shift to plant-based cream liqueurs among other things. But conversely, there’s also been a shift to junk-food inspired drinks, from Mountain Dew and Cheetos’ Flamin’ Hot Soda to noodle and even mayonnaise flavoured beers.

So where does this shift back to all things meaty fit in? Ardbeg is quick to assert the level of craft, knowledge, experience and know-how that has gone into creating this liquid. It might be a curiosity, but it is not a throw-away novelty. The brand has taken the long path to imparting flavour, rather than hooking up with a flavour house to simply purchase some. And there are of course legions of whisky devotees, always on the look out for the next step-forward in liquid experimentation from their favourite brands, who will greet this launch with enthusiasm simply because it pushes the boundaries.

Experience Thirst

But what this launch points to more than anything else, is that consumers are still seeking out new, slightly off-kilter experiences. Following a brutal few years of sitting at home with nothing happening at all, followed by a full-throttle launch into world wars, spiking interest rates and eversqueezed incomes, seeking out fun, new, and affordable experiences wherever possible remains a priority for many consumers. And increasingly, brands are willing to give it to them.

In fact, get used to the juxtaposition; high-end brands exploring and being playful when it comes to low-brow flavours and ideas will become a fixture over the next couple of years, as a desire by all to indulge in what we find both comforting and fun, will dominate. Expect prestigious spirits brands who have never dared launch a flavour to do so, while those already exploring limited editions to launch ever-more madcap takes on what’s possible to convey in a liquid.

The mega-trend for taking care of yourself and your body better will not go away; that one is here to stay. But in these stressful times, consumers want the permission and possibility to play a little more. Multi-dimensional, themed, and experiential launches from the brands they trust and that are viewed as premium, are just one way of doing that.

But there is a ‘watch out’; with budgets squeezed, new flavours need to be enticing enough to persuade consumers to part with their cash. Curious is in, but bonkers is out. In this time of perpetual and mounting stress and angst, novelty has a newfound credibility.