CLIENT

Campari America is one of the world’s leading spirits producers with a portfolio of more than 20 of the world’s best known brands, including Skyy Vodka, Wild Turkey Bourbon, and Espolón Tequila. The Whiskey Barons Collection was created using liquid from Wild Turkey distillery, although the brands themselves are not related.

CHALLENGE

In 2015, as the United States was rediscovering its love of American whiskey, Campari America approached Moxie Sozo for help resurrecting bourbon history’s most beloved brands. The Ripy family’s legacy is enshrined on Main Street of Lawrenceberg, Kentucky, where the T.B. Ripy House stands to this day. To bring that legacy to market, we needed to resurrect Old Ripy.

Old Ripy would have to compete with a broad (and rapidly expanding) range of heritage-inspired whiskey brands, telling the unique and authentic Ripy family story quickly and compellingly, while also setting the tone for future releases.

SOLUTION

Old Ripy was one of two initial releases that launched the Whiskey Barons Collection, which features revived brands and stories from across bourbon’s history.

Old Ripy was packaged in 375ml bottles, an ode to the early days of bourbon when the industry’s lack of regulation allowed for a wide variety of unconventional bottles sizes. The label tells the story of James Ripy, who left Ireland in 1830 and settled in Anderson County, Kentucky, where he began producing bourbon in 1868. At its heart, the label features a gnarled oak tree, representing both the barrels in which the whiskey is aged and, more figuratively, the Ripy family’s roots planted firmly in America and bourbon history.