Billed as the first chapter in a new global campaign from Bombay Sapphire, the brand's new Infused with Imagination cinema and TV ad, above, features a captivating installation featuring 75,000-plus hand-applied crystals (Swarovski, presumably) that took more than 2,500 hours over nine months to create.

The specially commissioned three-dimensional artwork (designed by illustrator Yehrin Tong and photographed by Richard Foster, who has worked with De Beers, Gucci, Rolls-Royce and other luxury brands) aims to capture the essence, character, "timeless elegance, luxury and craftsmanship" of the alcohol brand.Continue reading...

Disney's marketing juggernaut for the fourth installment in its franchise leviathan Pirates of the Carribean is picking up steam, including such items as a nail polish tie-in with OPI (no, really). The latest promo was a package mailed to influential film bloggers like Slashfilm.com (above) and Comingsoon.net.

In addition to a packet of conceptual artwork and typical talking points, the swag package contained a glass skull bottle. A bottle that looks extremely familiar.Continue reading...

Trade Talks May Have Liquor Brands Toasting

International trade negotiations could be a boon for alcohol brands, especially American and Scottish whiskies. The U.S. is talking with South Korea about getting rid of a 20% import duty on bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, while the European Union is trying to reach an agreement with India to reduce high tariffs on foreign spirits. With whiskies growing in popularity worldwide, lower tariffs would certainly translate to higher sales. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, if tariffs are cancelled, U.S. exports to Korea could rise to about $17.6 million a year, up from about $6 million in 2009.Continue reading...

Pierre Celis passed away on Saturday, April 9. To most his name itself probably doesn't mean much, but to beer drinkers, his influence has almost assuredly had an impact. Celis was born in 1925 in a little Belgian town called Hoegaarden.Continue reading...

It was an ironic weekend at the box office. Russell Brand vehicle Hop dueled with Russell Brand vehicle Arthur for the top spot. Hop (once again) won the weekend, the widely panned Arthur didn't — and Brand's brand is now up for a bit of rebranding it seems.

We've already looked at the product placement in Hop, so let's look at the oddity that is Arthur — a film featuring both product placement for Maker's Mark and Alcoholics Anonymous.Continue reading...

From Whisky on Ice to Whisky so Nice

Those looking for a taste of history will soon be able to buy a Scottish whisky replicating one that sat on ice underneath the South Pole hut of explorer Ernest Shackleton for a century. The whisky, dating from 1896 or 1897 recently make it back to Scotland, where Whyte & Mackay Master Blender Richard Paterson created an exact replica, 50,000 bottles of which will go on sale in a matter of weeks, Whyte & Mackay announced. The bottles will sell for £100 (about $160), with 5 percent of each sale going to the New Zealand nonprofit that is preserving Shackleton’s hut, according to Global Post.Continue reading...

Beer lovers celebrating the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at the end of this month will have several special brews to choose from as English brewers tout their ties the royal event.

The Windsor & Eton Brewery, for example, has come out with a Windsor Knot beer, which was created with barbecues and street celebrations in mind, Master brewer Paddy Johnson told Reuters.

"We tried to design a beer that's light in flavour and colour, so that it will appeal to a lot of people, but has also got a very memorable flavour to it," he said. Much like the royal wedding, in fact.Continue reading...

Raging Bitch beer, true to its name, isn’t going to lie down quietly. Flying Dog Brewery (“Good Beer. No Shit”), the maker of the Belgian-style IPA, is suing to overturn the Michigan Liquor Commission’s 2009 decision to ban the sale of the beer in Michigan.

The commission had said that the beer’s label — designed by Gonzo artist Ralph Steadman, a longtime Hunter S. Thompson collaborator — is “detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare.” The suit also seeks damages for the loss of sales due to the Michigan ban.

The beer, which was named in 2010 as one of the top 10 new beers in America by Modern Brewery Age, was designed to commemorate the brewery’s 20-year anniversary. It’s Flying Dog’s best-selling beer.Continue reading...