News Briefs for November 10, 2023
November 10, 2023•Diageo has opened the Bulleit Limitless Lounge, a new experiential marketing initiative supporting the American whiskey brand. The first iteration of the experience is located in downtown Los Angeles and contains four scenes: Nature, Art, Imagination, and Music, all created in partnership with design studio Optical Animal. The cocktails featured in the lounge are designed by mixologist Crystal Mendoza. While the lounge’s LA iteration has already launched, the company plans to announce future Limitless Lounges across the U.S. Bulleit reached 1.7 million cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank. The brand is up 10.5% in IRI/Circana channels through October 8 of this year.
•Pernod Ricard has named Deb Dasgupta as Absolut’s new vice president of global marketing. Dasgupta joins Absolut with nearly 20 years of experience at companies like Unilever, Reckitt, and PepsiCo. In her new role, Dasgupta will guide Absolut’s marketing internationally. The Swedish vodka brand grew 10% for Pernod’s fiscal year 22/23, reaching 12.7 million cases globally.
•Los Angeles, California’s Broken Barrel Whisky Company has teamed with Laurel Canyon Spirits to release Black Hjerte, a new blended whiskey finished in coffee liqueur barrels. The whiskey is a mix of Kentucky-distilled rye whiskey and Kentucky Light whiskey bottled at 53.5% abv. The barrel staves used to finish the new whiskey are taken from barrels of Barrel Aged Black Hjerte coffee liqueur and Blood Orange coffee liqueur. The new release, the second in Broken Barrel’s Collaboration Collection, is now available in select locations in California for a suggested price of $99.
•Fort Collins, Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing Company has named Shaun Belongie as CEO. Belongie has served as New Belgium’s CMO for the past five years and, prior to that, worked in a variety of roles in finance, sales, and marketing at Kraft Foods and Nestle Purina. During his time at New Belgium, Belongie oversaw the rise of the Voodoo Ranger line of IPAs, among other key initiatives. New Belgium’s interim CEO, Danielle McLarnon, will return to her role as New Belgium’s CFO. In Belongie’s new role he’ll oversee both the New Belgium and Bell’s portfolios, with both breweries owned by Japan’s Kirin through its Lion subsidiary.
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