PURITY® VODKA PARTNERS WITH JOEL MCHALE IN ARTISANAL BRAND’S BIGGEST CAMPAIGN TO DATE

Purity® Vodka today announced the launch of its biggest US campaign ever, “Crafted Spirits,” which features a new digital content series starring actor Joel McHale.  The campaign shines a light on the world of obsessive craftsmanship, highlighting unique and accomplished craftsmen as a way to communicate Purity’s own dedication to quality in creating its award-winning taste.

 

“Purity® Vodka called with an opportunity to hang out with the world’s most unique craftsmen and drink on the job.  So naturally I said, ‘Sign me up!’ And they replied, ‘We just did – this phone call is legally binding,” said Joel McHale.  

 

The campaign will be first seen as a comedic, documentary style digital video series starring McHale and titled “Crafted Spirits with Joel McHale.” Executive Produced by Anthony and Joe Russo (“Captain America 2: Winter Solider”) through their Bullitt banner,  it was created with Purity® Vodka to show viewers Joel McHale’s journey to discover craftsmen who do things a little differently, to create the ultimate statement of taste.  This idea parallels the brand’s own Master Craftsman and Founder, Thomas Kuuttanen, who created Purity Vodka.

 

The first video in the “Crafted Spirits” series is being released today, and is free for those 21 and older to see at PurityVodka.com.  The other two videos will be released later this year.

 

“For the “Crafted Spirits” series, I play a lightly fictionalized version of myself. For example, this ‘Joel McHale’ is slightly taller than I am, thanks to trick photography.  He also has some free time on his hands which is very different from the real me. So I hit the road to discover the finer things in life, and – here’s the best part – score some free stuff,” added McHale.

 

“’Crafted Spirits’ is a natural progression in our communication strategy for an artisanal brand like Purity” said Andy Glaser, President and CEO, Purity Vodka. “We have a unique story in how we craft our vodka and create its award-winning taste. We can share this in a big and edgy way through the comedic storytelling of Joel McHale, while remaining authentic to our brand’s story of obsessive craftsmanship.”

SAILOR JERRY LAUNCHES “LIFE OUTSIDE THE LINES” CAMPAIGN

Sailor Jerry, the iconic American clothing brand and spiced rum inspired by

tattoo legend Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins, has launched a new campaign celebrating the spirit of rebellion

through an unofficial lineage of road trips, choppers, wild times and living outside the lines.

Rather than assemble a cast through traditional talent agencies, the Sailor Jerry team reached out to people

in bars and motorcycle clubs to find people who lived the spirit espoused by the brand. “We rode out into the

California desert, stayed up all night, found empty pools to skate in and filmed it on a Super 8,” explained

Creative Director, Justin Pittney. “Then we mixed it up with images inspired by our favorite cult films, found

footage and the artwork of Norman Collins. For Sailor Jerry, these things are natural. Creativity and selfexpression

are part of the brand ethos.”

Steadily building on its year on year growth, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum increased its global volume to 931,000

cases in 2013. The brand has won numerous awards including Gold winner of The Rum Masters in 2013 &

2014 from The Spirits Business and has been recognized as one of the fastest growing spirits over the past

few years, noted for spurring the global surge in popularity of the Spiced Rum category.

For further information go to www.sailorjerryuncut.com

W. & J. GRAHAM’S TO RELEASE SPECIAL EDITION SIX GRAPES OLD VINES PORT

It has been more than a hundred years since the famous Six Grapes motif was first used on a bottle of fine Port to denominate quality levels, Six Grapes being the highest possibleclassification, reserved for wines that were deemed to be potential candidates for bottling as Vintage Ports. Now, Winemakers at W. & J. Graham’s, Charles Symington and Henry Shotton, have decided to commemorate this by bottling a small quantity of a special wine made exclusivly from the oldest vines on Graham’s five Quintas.

 

Across the five Graham’s estates, vineyards of old mixed vines have been preserved. The youngest of these were planted in the early 1980s, but many also date from the early 1960s and 1970s, making them frequently more than 40 years old. These beautiful, gnarled old vines produce immensely low yields of fruit, which grow in small, tight bunches with intense concentration and complexity. On average, one old vine produces about a quarter of a pound of grapes and in some years the oldest vines produce even less than this.

 

Over their long life, Graham’s old vines have developed deep root systems, which reach over 20 feet into the Douro’s schist soils. As a result of the very low fruit yields, the flavors and aromas have extra profundity and concentration and the wines made from these old vines express the character of Douro’s schist soils and hot, dry summers with unique power and complexity. The whole Douro region is recognized as having some of the lowest yields of any wine region in the world and Graham’s old vines produce even less than the average. 2011 and 2012 were both outstanding harvests in the Douro, during which the oldest vineyards made particularly interesting wines. In these two years the old vines across Graham’s five estates produced an average of half a ton of grapes per acre.

 

The Six Grapes symbol originated in the 19th century as the code that W. & J. Graham used to identify the barrels containing the very best wines made at each harvest. The presentation of this Special Edition Six Grapes Old Vines Port pays homage to the original Six Grapes label that helped make the wine famous so many years ago. This wine will only be available in very limited quantities at fine retailers this Fall with a suggested retail price of $40.