Cocktail Mixing Made Easy: Bacardi Launches Two New Digital Platforms to Bring Out the Bartender in Each of Us

30 Apr 2014 --- Bacardi, the world’s largest privately held spirits company, is leading the way to simplify cocktail-making with two new platforms designed to make it easy for consumers to create their own cocktails.

Through a fully integrated, cross-portfolio partnership with Jamie Oliver Group, the family-owned drinks company is poised to bring the art of cocktail making to the food and drink DIY-ers who want to learn how to make their favorite cocktails at home. With the introduction of the Bacardi Mixed Cocktails app and MixedCocktails.com website, at-home hosts will now have the savvy to expertly craft their favorite cocktails at their fingertips.

Consumer favorites of BACARDI rum, GREY GOOSE vodka, DEWAR’S Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin and MARTINI vermouth and Italian sparkling wines feature in Jamie Oliver Group’s media, Jamie’s Italian restaurants and on the newly launched Drinks Tube.

“Bacardi aims to provide people with the drinks know-how, inspiration and tools they need to experiment and have a go at creating great-tasting cocktails home using their favorite brands,” says Andy Gibson, Chief Marketing Officer of Bacardi and President of Bacardi Global Brands. “There are more occasions where people are entertaining at home and we want to make those experiences more enjoyable, as well as delicious.”

Bacardi and the Jamie Oliver Group
For 14 years, chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver has made cooking delicious food accessible to the home chef through his many television series, best-selling cookbooks, Jamie magazine, and most recently, the online Food Tube series. Now, he has turned his attention to the joy of cocktail-making and as a result he has joined up with Bacardi to foster the ever-growing cocktail culture and bring the fine art of cocktail making to kitchens everywhere.

The first result of the new partnership between Bacardi and the Jamie Oliver Group is the launch of Drinks Tube, the companion YouTube channel to Food Tube. Bacardi is the exclusive spirits partner for Drinks Tube and will co-create content that features various Bacardi Brand Ambassadors, mixologists and bartenders. The new channel is targeted directly at consumers who are searching online for cocktail information and inspiration. Each Friday, a new cocktail segment will debut on the channel, featuring classic cocktails such as espresso martinis and margaritas to seasonal creations like the GREY GOOSE Chocolate Cocktail designed by top Bacardi bartender Simone Caporale.

The partnership will also feature monthly content in Jamie Magazine and on jamieoliver.com, beginning with a series of Italian inspired recipes from Giuseppe Gallo, MARTINI Global Brand Ambassador. Additionally, Bacardi spirits will feature on the new cocktail menus in Jamie’s Italian restaurants in the UK (33 doors) and five locations internationally, delivering significant menu presence for Bacardi drinks and increased pouring rights for Bacardi products.

“We have an amazing opportunity through this partnership with Bacardi and its iconic brands to wake up the world to how easy it is to create quality drinks -- classic or new,” says Jamie Oliver. “We want to inspire everyone with the passion to be more adventurous in their own homes, to realize that we can all be ‘home mixologists’ and to have fun with ingredients and flavors.”

Gibson adds, “The partnership with the Jamie Oliver Group will bring this mission to life by providing a series of multiple touch points for consumers, whether that is through social media, Jamie Magazine or sitting at the bar in one of his restaurants. Jamie’s practical and no nonsense approach to food, combined with the cocktail expertise of the top Bacardi brand mixologists featured in the app will help to inspire people to have a go at home and try out new and exciting cocktails. Or, to simply learn how to perfect the skills needed for the classics.”

Mixed Cocktails Digital Properties
Hand-in-hand with Jamie Oliver, Bacardi launches its Mixedcocktails.com website and iOS app* bringing more than 150 years of spirits expertise and quality craftsmanship to consumers around the world.

With more than 400 recipes, simple-to-follow instructions and inspiring how-to guides, the at-home bartender can become an expert mixologist in no time. Users have the ability to filter their searches, save their favorite drinks and store photos of their own mixes in the My Bar feature. And for those consumers who choose to register their information, they can unlock extra features, share their drink recipe with friends and earn badges for every milestone they reach. The badges, such as ‘Whisky Whiz’ and ‘Magnificent Mojito,’ add an element of fun and a sense of achievement for the home cocktail maker.

Mixed Cocktails will be updated on regular basis with recipes culled from content generated through the Drinks Tube partnership. An Android version of the app will launch later this year.