After a 10-year hiatus, Pernod Ricard, under its Canadian marketing company Corby Distilleries Ltd., decided to reintroduce its one-of-a-kind Pike Creek 10-year-old premium Canadian sipping whisky and produce it at the Hiram Walker production facility in Windsor, Canada. Pernod Ricard also owns Hiram Walker & Sons in Windsor, a distillery and bottling facility managed by Corby Distilleries Ltd.
To recreate its original classic package design to coincide with the rebirth of this previously popular Corby Distilleries Ltd. brand, it engaged the services and global resources of Saxco International, LLC, world-wide packaging specialists for the wine, spirits, beer and food industries.
"Our responsibility was to help recreate the bottle and décor in both design and color that would exactly match the original Pike Creek package while adhering to budget parameters and time lines," states Eric Bass, regional sales manager for Saxco International. To achieve the desired original attractive look and feel which embraced several evolutions of design and color matches, Bass worked closely with Louis Bondy, new-to-market leader for Pernod Ricard and the Corby marketing team.
Saxco sourced and supplied a quality 750-mL flint bottle with a long neck, rounded shoulders and push up bottom from Owens-Illinois Europe. Saxco additionally completed the special ceramic printing, which replicated the acid etched letters on the bottle through Serigraphie, of Montreal Canada. The pressure sensitive orange, blue and white labels were supplied and applied by Pernod Ricard over the ceramic lettering.
In addition, Saxco provided a natural wood top cork stopper assembly to finish off the design. The natural cork stopper was supplied by a long-time Saxco partner, J.C. Ribeiro, of Mozelos, Portugal. Pernod Ricard added the wrap around natural rope tie to the base of the bottle's neck to further authenticate the brand's original appearance.
According to Corby's master distiller, "Pike Creek Canadian sipping whisky is doubled distilled in small column copper stills and aged to perfection in first-use white oak Bourbon barrels. This hand-crafted whisky is uniquely finished in vintage port barrels that smooth out and release luscious undertones of flavor carefully blended and bottled in small batches."
Pike Creek is targeted to discerning male Canadian whisky enthusiasts 35-years-of-age plus and is being rolled out initially to markets throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. It is 40% alcohol by volume and retails for Can $39.95 in the 750-mL size.