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Beverage NewsWine & Spirits

Wild Turkey debuts new packaging

New labels for premium bourbon and rye whiskey lines feature detailed turkey illustration

Wild Turkey Redesign
December 2, 2015

Wild Turkey, a brand of San Francisco-based Campari America, a division of Gruppo Campari, debuted a new look for its premium bourbon and rye whiskey range. Although no changes were made to the liquid, Wild Turkey designed the new packaging for its global line of products to better reflect the core values of the brand, it says. A new, detailed turkey illustration now can be found on every expression, most prominently displayed on Wild Turkey 101, and depicts a spirited bird that is authentic, proud, and bold, it adds.

"While sticking with our traditional recipe and authentic values, we are excited to present new global packaging for Wild Turkey. Proudly and prominently featuring our turkey brand icon, this new premium look is the result of in-depth research, consulting with our distillery, and listening to bartenders and consumers," said Melanie Batchelor, global vice president for spirits at Gruppo Campari, in a statement.

"With the explosion in interest we've seen in the bourbon and rye categories, driven by classic cocktail trends, we've seized the opportunity for bold premiumization,” she continued. “With this new, proud, and striking design, our packaging for Wild Turkey will now stand out amongst the competition as well as our award-winning liquid has done for decades."

The redesign comes on the heels of recent positive attention the brand has received stemming from critical and commercial success of its super-premium limited-time offerings, including Forgiven, Diamond and Master's Keep, and is the latest example of Gruppo Campari's efforts to further popularize the brand worldwide, the company says. To date, the company has invested more than $100 million to modernize and expand the Wild Turkey distillery, including the construction of a new visitor center and packaging facility.

The new look for the entire range of bourbon and rye whiskies also reflects Eddie Russell's recent promotion to master distiller, the company says. The packaging now highlights to consumers that Wild Turkey Bourbon (originally named Wild Turkey 81) is Eddie's creation, while his father, Jimmy Russell, is the creator of Wild Turkey 101. Eddie's signature is front and center on Wild Turkey Bourbon, while Jimmy's is prominently placed on Wild Turkey 101, it adds.

“We wanted the new packaging to capture the hard work, craftsmanship and heart that goes into making Wild Turkey,” Eddie said in a statement. “My father and I have been making whiskey the same way for over 60 years. From hand selecting the grain, to bottling the liquid, and everything in between, we make sure our product is made the right way — the traditional way — at every single stage. We're proud of our whiskey, and we're glad to have packaging that embodies that."

In addition to its range of bourbon products, packaging for Wild Turkey's rye expressions also have been updated. The new look features rich green colors and a premium split label design, a nod to the superior quality and character of the whiskey, the company says.

Although labels for each expression of Wild Turkey differ, they do share some common aspects that create uniformity across the range, the company says. These aspects include the following:

• Strip Stamp: Comprised of deep, rich colors and accented with gold foiled writing, the strip stamps at the neck of the bottle now denote what type of whiskey is inside each bottle, and most contain the phrase "Crafted with Conviction."
• Glass: Below the strip stamp on every bottle, a circular Wild Turkey marking is embossed in the glass. Near the bottom of every bottle, also embossed in the glass, are the words "BOLD. GENUINE. TRUE."
• Label: The new packaging now features a true-to-life illustration of a turkey found on every bottle in the range. Professional wildlife artist Julie Rhodes was commissioned to draw the icon, the company says. Working closely with the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rhodes took great care to make her work as realistic as possible, painstakingly finishing a small section at a time before moving on to the next. What resulted is an incredibly realistic depiction of a spirited bird that is regal, bold and proud, it adds.

New packaging for the following expressions are rolling out now: Wild Turkey Bourbon (formerly known as Wild Turkey 81), Wild Turkey 101, Wild Turkey Bourbon (formally known as Wild Turkey 86.8, for Australia only), Wild Turkey Rye, Wild Turkey 101 Rye, and Wild Turkey 101 8 Year Old (Japan only).

In 2016, Wild Turkey will evolve the packaging for the remaining expressions in the range, including Kentucky Spirit and Rare Breed.
 

KEYWORDS: bourbon packaging redesign rye whiskey Wild Turkey

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