Diageo unveils gift packs for Talisker and Bushmills

Friday, 21 November 2008

Diageo Great Britain has unveiled its Christmas gift packs for Talisker single malt Scotch whisky and Bushmills Irish whiskey, as well as ultra-premium brand Johnnie Walker Blue Label blended Scotch whisky.

According to Diageo, alcohol is the leading gifting category by volume in grocery, making up 65% of all gifts bought during the festive season and last Christmas £112m was spent on alcohol bought as a gift in grocers.

Talisker was said to be the fastest-growing single malt last Christmas, and this year the brand and its Christmas gift packs are benefiting from a £150,000 marketing spend in the 12 weeks leading up to Christmas.

There are three Talisker Christmas gift packs this year across the 10- and 25-year-old variants. The Talisker brand has also launched a new website for consumers and whisky lovers - www.taliskerwhisky.com.

Bushmills Irish whiskey is also offering two gift packs, to mark the 400th anniversary of the license to distill in the Bushmills area of Northern Ireland.

The first of the Bushmills gift ideas is Bushmills 1608, a special anniversary whiskey, of which only 1,000 bottles are available to buy pre-Christmas. This blend is presented in a limited edition case and is available at Selfridges and whiskey specialists across the UK.

The second is Bushmills 400th Anniversary Taster Pack, which contains three miniature versions of Bushmills most popular blends, Bushmills Original, Black Bush and Bushmills Single Malt 10-year-old.

Diageo GB is also introducing the "ultimate Christmas gift" with Johnnie Walker Blue Label. The brand has produced the Johnnie Walker Blue Diary, which includes "three once-in-a-lifetime experiences". The diary costs £95,000 (RSP) and only three will be produced.

The makers of Johnnie Walker has three more offerings to support whisky specialists. Johnnie Walker Gold Label is providing six individual boxes of luxurious chocolates for every case bought by the retailer to give their customers something extra at Christmas, whilst Johnnie Walker Blue Label is offering an engraving service to personalise the gift.

There is also a professional blue label gift wrapping service, please visit www.thewhiskyexchange.com for details.

James Pennefather, whisky brand director, Diageo GB says: "Whisky is a popular choice for consumers at Christmas, and this year Diageo GB has really focused on providing value added gift packs for retailers to offer shoppers.

"Christmas is a really special occasion, and consumers want a great quality product that they can be proud to give to their relatives or friends as a gift.

"This time of year is a very valuable time for retailers, and the sprits category plays a huge part within this. Whisky is the largest sprits category in the off-trade and represents 35% of total sprits value annually, and we believe our support this Christmas will help retailers maximize this profit opportunity."

Mike Dennis