“ Janine Gordon was instrumental in making rum a real factor in the American market. ”
We know the critical importance of strategically driven, high-impact events and promotions to generate awareness and stimulate purchase of premium wines and spirits brands. Janine's work for Bacardi Imports (at Saatchi & Saatchi) helped make rum the #1 distilled spirit in the United States.
Bacardi Imports is a family-controlled spirits company, best known as a producer of rums. The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year, in nearly 100 countries. In 1993, Bacardi acquired Martini & Rossi, the Italian producer of Martini vermouth and sparkling wines. In 1998, the company purchased Dewar's scotch and Bombay Sapphire gin; in 2001, Cazadores tequila was added; and in 2004, Grey Goose, the French vodka, joined the company’s portfolio of fine spirits brands. Other acquisitions include Drambuie liqueur, Disaronno Amaretto, Eristoff vodka, B&B and Bénédictine liqueurs.
Despite focusing on the middle and lower end of the price spectrum, some Bacardi Imports rum offerings have achieved success at international spirit ratings competitions, in the premium spirits category. For example, Bacardi’s eight-year-old Añejo rum earned gold medals at the 2008 and 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Glenfiddich is the most lauded single malt Scotch whiskey in the world, having won more awards at the International Wine & Spirits Competition than any other single malt on the market. The original single malt whiskey has matured for at least 12 years in American and Spanish oak casks, ensuring that the whiskey develops complex, elegantly rounded flavors, with notes of fresh pear and subtle oak. Glenfiddich, Gaelic for “Valley of the Deer,” is one of the few single malt distilleries that remains entirely family-owned.
Founded in 1857, Buena Vista Carneros is California's oldest premium winery. Set along the south-facing hillside overlooking San Pablo Bay, Buena Vista Carneros boasts a remarkable number and range of sites, with more than 100 separate vineyard blocks based on topography, geology and microclimates. The 500-acre property, one of the most significant in the Carneros region, straddles the southern-most tips of Sonoma and Napa Counties. Wind and fog sweep in daily from the bay to cool the vines and extend the growing season. The vineyard produces exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Syrah.
The company claims that its "originale" amaretto secret formula is unchanged since the year 1525. They describe it as an infusion of "apricot kernel oil," with "absolute alcohol, burnt sugar and the pure essence of 17 selected herbs and fruits." The amber liqueur is presented in an oblong glass decanter designed by a craftsman from Murano, Italy. While the liqueur continues to be produced in Saronno, Italy, the product enjoys an enormous following and is sold worldwide.
Irish cream is a popular liqueur often served on its own, over ice or mixed in cocktails. Made of Irish whiskey, cream, chocolate and sugar, it can also include coffee and vanilla flavorings. Although Baileys is the originator and market leader, in recent years, O'Darby, acquired by Bacardi Imports in the early 1980s, has become a serious challenger.
When Bacardi Imports added O’Darby Light Irish Cream to its portfolio of luxury brands, the liqueur ran a distant second to the market leader, Baileys Irish Cream. JGA was asked to design a high-impact marketing PR program to boost awareness.
