Dewar’s has launched Caribbean Smooth—a blend of Scottish and Caribbean flavors—with a bold global campaign.
The whisky is a new product extension launching this month in the U.S., with an immersive program, and in international markets through the fall.
The campaign theme , “Scotribbean World,” celebrates and balances the two cultures—Scotland and the Caribbean—in a lighthearted blend of unexpected cultures and flavors.
“This marks an important shift for Dewar’s as it represents the first expression in a new series of cask finished whiskies that explore how the blending of two cultures can create something richer,” says Zeenah Vilcassim, global brand director for Dewar’s. “This debut for Caribbean Smooth also stands out because it establishes an even bigger opportunity in the marketplace to enjoy scotch during the summer and year-round.”
A pop-up bar, “The Scotribbean Residency,” was underway at Gitano in NYC over the weekend. Puerto Rican supermodel Joan Smalls, the celebrity ambassador for the program, contributed her own family recipe to pair with the new Caribbean Smooth.
The event also brought notable bartenders to the Big Apple, including Iain McPherson from Scotland and Nicole Fas from Puerto Rico, who created a special fusion cocktail menu alongside Scotribbean food pairings and custom games. Some 300 media, influencers and VIP consumers attended.
“To help amplify this global launch and ensure it truly stands out for a wider range of consumers, we brought in some of the world’s best bartenders to showcase the new spirit’s application in on-trend gourmet cocktails for trade and cocktail aficionados,” she says.
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A central piece of the marketing strategy is an immersive digital campaign called “Speaking Scotribbean.”
A series of playful stills and animations on Instagram and Facebook invite users to learn about the double whisky and double language. A word generator combines Caribbean and Scottish phrases into a new Scotribbean slang to further illustrate the blending of cultures.
“This highlights our key premise of how two cultures together can create something extraordinary,” Vilcassim says.
Caribbean Smooth is a premium Dewar’s 8-year-old double-aged Scotch, finished in Caribbean rum casks for the tropical finish.
In stores, POS materials share the campaign.
This global campaign marks an important business and cultural shift for the Dewar’s brand, with Caribbean Smooth debuting as the first brand in a line of innovative cask-finished extensions that Dewar’s will be rolling out over the next few years. In line with the recent relaxed Scotch production rules, this means Dewar’s will be experimenting with different casks and cultures.
“While achieving sell out volumes will be a key commercial measure of success we are also hoping to achieve a positive impact on brand equity measures,” Vilcassim says. “Scotch has historically been seen as stuffy and traditional; however, we want Dewar’s to be seen as a progressive Scotch recruiting new people into the category and constantly innovating. Caribbean Smooth is the first of many cask series to come from Dewar’s that will continue to push us forward as a brand.”
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