Hitting the high road

In its first nationwide bus tour, High Brew Cold Brew is touring the country in a refurbished, red-and-silver 1952 GMC Coach bus, aptly named the hashtag #HighBrewLiner. From its first stop June 6-11 in Denver and Vail, Colo., to its anticipated final stop Oct. 27-29 in New Orleans, the maiden voyage is designed to fuel guests with refreshing, cold-brew coffees at pit stops in 31 cities nationwide, the company says. OutCold, an experiential marketing firm, turned the coffee company’s vision into reality. “You can bet we are going to consume a busload of cold-brew during this aggressive five-month tour, but we are walking the walk because High Brew is truly for those who do,” said Fritz Heffinger, chief executive officer of OutCold, in a statement.

Engaging consumers

Approximately 126,000 bottles of Spanish white wine have gone beyond sophistication, thanks to a new contest allowing Barbadillo, Spain’s No. 1 white wine brand, to directly talk to consumers, the company says. Barbadillo partnered with Thinfilm, a near-field communications (NFC) mobile marketing solutions provider, for the contest that allowed consumers to interact with “smart” bottles of Castillo de San Diego white wine by tapping their smartphones on an NFC-enabled neck collar. The promotion, which took place from July 17 to Aug. 31, offered consumers the chance to win 12 cash prizes of $1,175. The “Dando en el Blanco” campaign, which loosely translates to “Hitting the Target,” also included TV, online and outdoor advertising support.

Milestone graduation

Moonshine University, a leader in distilled spirits education, celebrated the graduation of its 500th student, Fernando Vazquez, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who completed the five-day distiller course in late July. Vazquez plans to manufacture whiskey and gin at his own distillery, Destileria Artesanal Cholila. When asked how it felt to be the 500th graduate, Vazquez said in a statement: “It’s like the Blues Brothers and their mission from God. It makes me feel like it’s a signal from the universe that I’m meant to do this.” As a graduation gift, Vazquez received a gift basket of bourbon bottles that were signed by the respective master distillers. The gift basket featured Maker’s Mark signed by Greg Davis, Wild Turkey 101 signed by Jimmy Russell and Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select signed by Chris Morris.