Pernod Ricard’s Kristy Rutherford outlines how the company’s Irish whiskey portfolio is approaching the on-premise during March.
There can be little doubt that Pernod Ricard has one of the most important stables of Irish whiskey worldwide, featuring the likes of Jameson, Redbreast and Midleton Very Rare.
This makes the St. Patrick’s Day occasion all the more important to the company, as Pernod’s Head of Whisky and Gin, Kristy Rutherford, explains.
“March is a huge month for Jameson, because of St. Patrick’s Day, but also for other reasons,” Kristy says.
“It is a month when we really try to get out there and support our customers, and bring Jameson to life in the on-premise.”
In practice, this support will mean bringing Jameson’s ‘Widen The Circle’ campaign to Australia, with Kristy saying this is the first time in several years that Australia has been included in a global master brand campaign.
‘Widen The Circle’ is recent marketing drive from the Irish whiskey brand that emphasises the spirit’s ability to connect people through mateship, as Kristy illustrates.
“Jameson has always been one of those brands that stood for those really genuine friendships – that’s when you find people that really get you, you have that spark moment and widen your circle of mates.”
The worldwide campaign will be supported by localised on-premise activations, as Kristy explains.
“We call it Jameson Spirit. It’s an on premise incentive that runs across the month of March, with lots of stock deals, merch and point of service visibility tools for supporting venues.”
“We’ll also have the Jameson Brand Ambassadors out in force, with Hero Venues including Frankie’s and the Duke of Enmore in New South Wales, Suzy Wong’s in Adelaide and Brooklyn Standard in Queensland,” Kristy adds.
“After the difficulties that on-premise has had over the last couple of years, hopefully St. Patrick’s Day is going to be a big occasion.”
Kristy also had some vital advice for venues looking to sell more Irish whiskey over St. Patrick’s Day: “The simplicity of Jameson Dry and Lime is something that works well in almost all venues to have as a base product.”
“Then from there, Jameson Black Barrel is a really good upsell, when customers want something just that little bit extra special, when they are out celebrating.”
Black Barrel is Jameson’s premium release, which includes a higher proportion of Irish pot still whiskey in the blend, and a maturation in double-charred first-fill Bourbon “black” barrels. The result is a richer, more flavoursome expression.
“It’s pretty versatile too, so venues can serve it on the rocks, or neat, but also in an elevated mix.”
One such mix is the Black Barrel Old Fashioned, suggested by Pernod as a signature serve for St. Patrick’s Day 2022. See the recipe here.
As ever, Kristy re-emphasises that staff training and education are vital when it comes to selling Irish whiskey.
“It’s about how engaged the bartenders are the venues are with talking about Irish whiskey, and their passion and knowledge,” Kristy says.
“People love that on St. Paddy’s Day in particular, because they get into that whole story and all things Irish.”
“If you can fuel that spirit amongst your staff, and you have a team that’s really engaged, the drinks sales will come.”
Pernod’s plans do not end with Jameson however, and Redbreast, long known as the ‘thinking drinker’s dram’ is also getting a moment in the spotlight.
“Redbreast is a really important brand for us, being a brand for people who are in the know,” Kristy says.
“We’ve got our first ever Redbreast Single Cask coming to Australia, which we will launch at an event at Webster’s in Newtown, on March 16.”
“It’s a 19 year old Sherry Cask, so that’s pretty exciting. There’ll be a tasting of six different Redbreasts, including two exclusives that aren’t available to the Australian market, including Redbreast 10 Year Old and Heaven’s Door Redbreast Master Blender’s Edition.”
The latter of these is a Bourbon (backed by none other than Bob Dylan) that has been finished in Redbreast’s Single Pot Still casks.
“Redbreast as a brand keeps going from strength to strength,” Kristy concludes.
