Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., of Bardstown, KY, the country’s largest independent family-owned spirits producer and marketer, is introducing its new super-premium Larceny Bourbon, the heir to the wheated Bourbons that make up the Fitzgerald franchise that Heaven Hill acquired in 1999. Larceny Bourbon continues the Old Fitzgerald tradition of using wheat in place of rye as the third or “small” grain recipe or mash bill as it is commonly called.
To deliver a distinctive and bold look in packaging which also projects a prominent shelf notoriety, the company called uponSaxco International, LLC(www.saxcointl.com), of Horsham, PA and its vast global resource network, long time packaging specialists for the wine and spirits industry. According to Larry Coomes, director of Midwest sales for Saxco International, “Our role was to help create a unique and beautifully balanced package design commensurate with this new spirits quality and superior taste while maintaining budgetary and time related requirements.”
Coomes says that he worked closely with Becky Amburgey, assistant brand manager at Heaven Hill and her team to assist with the initial design of the bottle. Saxco’s bottle design engineer then refined the design to its final form. Following the design phase of the project Saxco sourced and supplied a private mold extra flint square-shaped bottle with a bulb neck and rounded shoulders in three sizes-750ml, 1L and 1.75L from a reliable and trusted Asian supplier. All three sizes were manufactured to accommodate the attractive jet black natural cork stopper which was crafted by J.C. Ribeiro, of Mozelos, Portugal, one of the many quality vendors in Saxco’s vast international arsenal of time-tested high caliber suppliers. Saxco also supplied the heat shrink capsule that Heaven Hill applied to the neck of the bottle.
In addition, the Kentucky distillery finished off the new package design with an attractive gold, black and red label complete with a see-through skeleton key cutout. The labels were applied by Pre-Deco, also of Bardstown.
According to Larry Kass, director of corporate communications for Heaven Hill Distilleries, “The use of winter wheat replaces the spicier, fruitier flavor notes that rye provides with a softer, rounder character that is the hallmark of Old Fitzgerald and other “wheated” Bourbons such as Maker’s Mark and the Van Winkle line.”
Kass also explains that Larceny is a true small batch Bourbon produced from dumps of 100 or fewer barrels that have been selected from the 4th, 5th and 6th floors of the Heaven Hill open rick warehouses in Nelson County, KY. It is drawn from barrels that have aged from 6 to 12 years at this high storage and is bottled at a full-bodied 92 proof, 46% alcohol by volume. “Larceny’s high quality brand attributes will appeal to the brand’s primary target audience, 30 to 50 year old male consumers with refined taste and an appreciation for heritage and tradition,” notes Kass.
For 2012, Larceny will be available in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The average national retail price for the 750ml size will be $24.99.
