How popular is Drambuie in Canada?
Phil Parnell: Drambuie is still very popular but amongst a relatively older set of consumers in Canada who are very, very loyal to the brand. I think some of that goes all the way back to the colonial roots of Canada and the association with the Scottish expatriates and there’s a lot of Scottish links to Canada back home. And, of course, because Drambuie is a Scotch whisky liqueur and the strength of Scotch whisky in North America, that all lends to its popularity.
Miranda Rennie: Canada is probably our fourth largest market and the U.S. is actually our first. The U.K, the U.S. and Canada have this very similar profile.
PP: But in Canada, as in other markets in the world, the conventional after-dinner drinking occasion has decreased.  Drambuie has not really kept up its appeal to a younger group of people. Its profile in Canada is much like it is in other markets, in that it’s too heavily dependent on an older group of people and it hasn’t really kept up its attractiveness to a younger generation.

How often is Drambuie served in the on-premise environment?
MR: The Rusty Nail is the classic cocktail that has to be made with Drambuie. The older consumer base, those that drink it after dinner, the 50 to 60-year-olds that drink it at Christmas will occasionally go into the on-premise and have a Drambuie, maybe on ice, maybe with Scotch in a Rusty Nail, but there’s not a really very high turnover to the brand. It sits there. So four or five years ago when Phil joined the company – it’s still an independent, family-owned company – we saw the necessity to take the brand into the future. We obviously need to hold on to that older group and keep them drinking it, but show them there are other ways to drink it. It’s not just an after-dinner liqueur. It makes great long drinks, great and simple cocktails and by promoting these cocktails we wanted to open up the occasions for consumers to drink it. Obviously, for the future, we’ve got to speak to a new generation of drinkers. We’ve got to get to 25- to 35-year-old drinkers, and show them this is a drink that can exist in their repertoire. It’s a great quality drink and it’s quite versatile and it’s got a fantastic history as well.

Why does Drambuie make an interesting base for cocktails?
PP: The flavour notes that are in there, like most of the really good liqueurs, are really quite complex. You’ve got different herbs, spices and, of course, for us one of the unique propositions is that it’s a secret recipe. There is saffron in there, and cloves, warm spices, bitter notes, fruits and things so depending on what you mix it with, you can tease out lots of different directions for flavours.

How valuable is the on-premise environment when you’re trying to reintroduce the brand to a younger generation of drinkers?
MR: Bartenders are the gatekeepers to the consumers. They’re the people who get the consumers to try a new way of drinking. If we wanted to get younger people introduced to the brand, we knew we were going to have to do that in the on-premise and not in the liquor stores. Our first protocol was to educate the bartenders because if you go into a bar and ask for a Drambuie, there were a lot of bartenders in North America who didn’t know if they had it. So educating those guys was priority No. 1 almost before the consumers. So we’re out in the bar trade, in those classic places that Drambuie is already being served – the high-quality international bars where they have the Rusty Nail, as well as in the trendy, more experimental bars in Chicago and London, and actually asking them to try making a Caprihina-type drink with muddled limes, crushed ice and Drambuie. The bottle has recently undergone a redesign. What was the impetus for lengthening the bottle and ditching the dark brown colour?
PP: Over the past 100 years, the bottle hasn’t really changed. And one of the things about the bottle is its dark brown so you couldn’t actually see the liquid so both from a consumer point of view and from a bartender point of view you just weren’t getting one of the greatest assets of the brand which is just how great the liquid looks. It’s short and it’s not easy to hold. It felt like it was one of those brands which wasn’t poured very often. It’s not like we think Drambuie is going to be one of those brands that’s on the speed rail, but in the same way if we want to be part of premium spirits, we need to look like one. Besides, it’s a beautiful colour, why hide it in that brown bottle?