The Famous Grouse brand

let’s begin

Not too long ago I wrote a distillery focus piece on The Famous Grouse Experience (going live June 2015) but first, I wanted to publish a separate article on The Famous Grouse brand at large.

On The Famous Grouse Experience, I wrote:

“As you walk around The Famous Grouse Experience you cannot help but be struck by how great a celebration of the brand this is.”

Even now as I flick through the photos I am so incredibly impressed at how the brand is brought to life at every touchpoint.

The Grouse Journey

From the ‘mega grouse’ as you enter the car park to the wrought iron grouse icons designed into fences, from the logo being emblazoned on all signage and even the lamps.

There is a sense of irreverence too as you notice quirks away from the distilling process quirks I discussed previously like the ‘caution grouse crossing’ sign or the cat flap for the distillery cat having his name written above it and even a musical product range box thing (technical term) that plays that iconic ad jingle for The Famous Grouse we all know and love.

There is a lot going on with a full range design due to launch globally in May of 2015 having been showcased at Cannes this year.

The new packaging really is a step change from the extisting core SKUs as it looks to stand out from the crowded blended Scotch whisky marketplace by ‘owning’ the colour purple on shelf, utilising copper highlights on secondary packaging and to frame certain parts of the label.

The new graphic system feels really grown up, colour is used elegantly, the bottle stands much prouder than before and the purple really does bring the brand to life, giving it energy and enthusiasm that counters the often apologetic nature of the bottle design we have all seen in previous years.

See it for yourself!

If you’re interested in seeing the rough style of this you can get a glimpse on theor super premium expression The Famous Grouse 16 Year Old available on global travel retail and limited to just a couple of thousand bottles.

The Famous Grouse

23 million cases per year.

The Black Grouse

115,000 cases per year – 20ppm, akin to an Islay whisky in complexity since being released in 2009, it sells around 80,000 litres per year.

It was actually spawned of a Swedish request for a peaty The Famous Grouse variant so they gave it to them with exclusivity for six months, now ships thousands of bottles each year.

Naked Grouse

Around 6,000 cases per year

Rich punters wanted their own blend so came over to choose from a series of selected casks thinking they would buy the casks they prefer but instead just bought six bottles so the rest were left to mature for an additional 18 months. When it was them checked on it seemed to work so they bottled it!

Tags: brand techniquesBrandinglearn moreThe Famous GrouseThe Famous Grouse brandwhisky branding
Greg

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.

You might be interested in

More from the blog

4 thoughts on “The Famous Grouse brand”

Leave a comment

Login / register