After the U.S. Presidential Election of 2020, a number of surveys by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and others told an interesting (and perhaps inconvenient) truth: during the divisive election season, Americans slept less and drank more. A separate NIH study showed that alcohol sales per capita in the U.S. increased more between 2019 and 2021 than for any other two-year period since 1969—when (coincidentally) Richard Nixon moved into the Oval Office. With another divisive Presidential election fast approaching, we take note that while our lack of sleep may be a boon for therapists and big pharma (think Lunesta and Restoril), it will also give a bump to the distillery industry. Once again, it’s time to mark our ballots and prepare our livers.
Recent years have seen a strong trend in celebrity liquor brands. You might say the market is now awash (sorry) in Hollywood stars and starlets selling high-end hooch. Most recently, Beyonce announced the release of her SirDavis Whiskey on the spurred heels of her very successful country album. The gin market welcomed newcomers Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre (Gin & Juice) and aging heartthrob Brad Pitt (The Gardener—French Riviera Gin). Even the Rolling Stones got into the act with Crossfire Hurricane, a Jamaican-style rum that appeared behind the bar just as the Stones released their first album in 18 years. That musicians like Beyonce and the Stones have fallen off the wagon suggests that branded alcohol may become the latest ubiquitous item of concert memorabilia. After all, what good is your $42 concert t-shirt without some lethal alcohol that causes you to throw up all over it? (I’m just saying…)
Maybe that’s why I love the work being done for the venerable Irish brand Tullamore D.E.W. so much. Here’s a brand whose story goes back to 1829 and the construction of the first Tullamore distillery in County Offaly, Ireland. Whiskey trivia experts already know that the “D.E.W.” in this whiskey’s name stand for the initials of the brand’s creator, Daniel Edmond Williams. Upon Williams’ death, the distillery passed to his nephew, Bernard Daly. Daly not only took over as general manager but was also instrumental in bringing electricity and telephone service to Tullamore—which must have been a great help for those stumbling in the dark after a few too many and their newfound ability to phone a friend with a horse cart to haul them home from the pub.
What’s most remarkable about Tullamore D.E.W. is their ability to hang onto their brand heritage in the wake of so much change. In 1954, the distillery was shuttered due to multiple factors, including the Irish Prohibition, which nearly killed all domestic whiskey production, including storied brands like Jameson. The Tullamore brand was sold in 1960 to Dublin distillers John Powers & Son. That company merged with another distiller in the 1970s to form Irish Distillers, which built a new distillery in County Cork.
By the 1990s, Irish Distillers was so busy promoting their star brand Jameson that they sold off Tullamore to C&C Group. When C&C Group liquidated (sorry again) its spirit business, the brand was acquired by William Grant & Sons for €300 million in 2010. The new owner built a new distillery in Tullamore. In 2022, the brand sold 333,000 cases, but still ranks second behind Jameson with 4.2 million cases sold annually.
If you want to know the essence of this brand, watch the short film Tullamore D.E.W. created back in 2013 titled “A Parting Glass” that’s just as fresh and still rings true as Galway crystal (https://tinyurl.com/2ru5twx9). We watch four Irish “mates” in their Sunday best making their way across the green, green Irish countryside toward a churchyard to toast a departed friend. You feel the nearly century-old heritage of the brand in this piece in under three minutes through stunning cinematography, the camaraderie of the lads, and the storyline that leads to a surprising ending. “A Parting Glass,” a traditional Irish song, ties the action together perfectly:
So fill to me the parting glass and gather as the evening falls
And gently rise and softly call goodnight and joy be to you all
This is brand advertising at its finest. Anybody who desires to do top-drawer brand advertising should study this short film with the scrutiny of an astronomer who studies the sky in search of an undiscovered star. No offense to Hollywood, but if the star of your brand advertising is Beyonce or Brad or Mick Jagger, you’ve got some work to do. Dig deep. Find the soul that is at the center of every brand and put it out there. If you can manage to do that, all the world will raise a glass to you.
