Current Bourbon Marketing "Gimmicks"

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We've all seen the holiday gift sets with a couple of (usually) cheap glasses packed with the bottle of bourbon. Occasionally there are more interesting ones like Knob Creek's package that included a flask. Today I saw two that are new for Houston. EW 7yo comes with a "neck talker" offering a 3 month subscription to a bass fishing magazine while the WT 101 has a "neck talker" holding a 50ml sample of WT's Rare Breed. I like to fish .... but guess which one I bought? This one makes sense in that they're trying to get you to buy their top shelf product. Not sure about the bass fishing tie in to bourbon.....other than we do a lot of it in the South.

Any other neat gimmicks out there?

Randy B.

[Paradox]

Here are a few I have seen:

(1) Jim Beam Black Label and Flask Set

(2) Jim Beam Black Label and Golf Shoe Bag

(3) Even though I do not much care for Knob Creek I do feel it makes a wonderful Mahnattan. I bought on of these last year and enjoy it. Knob Creek Gift Set with Mini Shaker and Small Batch Maraschino Cherries

(4) Nothing special here but this Wild Turkey 101 and 2 Rocks Glass set was out this Christmas

And finally I could not locate a picture of it, but Heaven Hill did a very nice gift set for Evan Williams Single Barrel which included a Mint Julep Cup.

Edit - Oh yes, and I have also seen a Knob Creek set that came with a Knob Creek Blanket, but the blanket looked like it would make one's skin itch like hell if used!

[kitzg]

These items are called "premiums" by marketers.

The nice thing is that in the spirits industry, as has been pointed out in these forums before, they usually are offered at the regular price. I picked up the JBB flask this year.

I always look for them at the holidays -- some of the glassware is also nice.

[Buckky]

I have purchased the Jim Beam Black with flask and the Wild Turkey with two "tumblers" in the past two Christmas's. These are the only time in memory that I have purchased these bourbons...when you have to have a give away to interest a dedicated bourbon-only buyer then maybe there is something bigger for these two particular distilleries to consider. I liked these whiskies but have no plans to purchase them soon.

[doubleblank]

I saw the Knob Creek w/shaker and cherries but passed because KC doesn't do it for me. I bit on the EWSB 93 with the "pewter/mint julip" cup (as I like the EWSB 93). Of all of those you posted, the golf shoe bag seems to be a bit of a reach for selling bourbon....I'll call it a tie with the bass magazine subscription.

Randy B.

[Paradox]

Just found another one... Knob Creek Golf Gift Set which seems to include a few golf balls.

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Now this one makes sense......Fortune Brands owns Jim Beam Brands and Titleist. They're cross-marketing two products at once and their cost for the golf balls is nil.

Randy B.

[Dave_in_Canada]

I know it's not exactly bourbon, but I got sucked into buying a bottle of JD which came in a very nice tin with hinged lid. Inside was a 750ml bottle and two logo lowball glasses. I guess the tin and the glasses added about $7 to the cost of the bottle.

I haven't had JD for many years and wanted to try it again anyhow, so it was more of a taste experiment. A bit of a failure, I'd have to admit.

[cowdery]

When I was doing this sort of thing, the challenge always was to find something cheap enough that it wouldn't require an "up-charge," which the retailers hated. It was tough, since the budget had to pay for both the premium and the special packaging. That's why you get lots of glassware, which is pretty cheap.

[ratcheer]

This year, I got Rare Breed in a gift box with two on-the-rocks glasses. It was even on sale for $4 off the regular price of the RB, alone!

Last year, I bought a couple of the WT101's with the 50 ml RB neck hangers. A pretty nice bargain. But, for me, WT101 is something I buy plenty of, anyway.

Tim