Pernod to open 11 global micro-distilleries

Pernod Ricard is opening 11 micro distilleries across the US, Europe and Australia as part of plans to roll out its burgeoning Our/Vodka brand.

Our/Vodka will become the largest, locally-produced spirits brand in the world

Having launched the first Our/Vodka in Berlin in partnership with a local distiller in March 2013, Pernod Ricard is rolling its concept out to a variety of global cities from this June.

The concept itself sees Pernod’s Absolut Company arm partner           with urban micro distilleries in cities around the world to create a range of different vodkas which, according to each distiller, communicates each city’s personality.

Although every product created will be made to the same recipe and fall under the Our/Vodka brand, each expression will have its own flavour and style, having been produced using locally-sourced ingredients.

First to launch in June will be Our/Detroit in partnership with local community organisations that will host events at the distillery.

In September Absolut will launch Our/Seattle, the partners for which are to be announced, although the distillery will be located in Ballard.

Later this year the group will launch micro distilleries in the east and west coast, Holland and the UK for Our/LA, Our/Amsterdam and Our/London expressions.

Our/Miami, Our/New York, Our/Melbourne, Our/Austin, Our/Nashville and Our/New Orleans are scheduled to launch in 2015.

Risky business

“Finding the right partner in each city is crucial,” said Åsa Caap, founder of Our/Vodka and former innovations director at Pernod Ricard. “Since we hand over the responsibility of running the local brand and business to them, it has turned out to be our most critical task. In fact, we only team up with people who we could see ourselves spending holidays with.”

Jonas Tåhlin, VP global marketing at The Absolut Company, added that the Our/Vodka project was a big risk for the international drinks group.

“When this project was first introduced to me, I didn’t think it was something we should get involved in. Pernod Ricard is a large company, and Our/Vodka is unlike everything we’re good at. At the same time I was very attracted to the idea. It reminded me of 1979 when Absolut challenged every convention in the vodka market. Now we’re doing it again, and it feels perfectly right.”

Our/Vodka is presented in a simple milk bottle with metal crown cap.

Its introduction is just one of the many innovations Pernod Ricard has launched in the past few years, and makes our list of the company’s 10 most imaginative innovations of the year.