By now, readers will likely have seen news articles covering the launch of Heaven's Door – Robert Zimmerman's foray into the whiskey business.
Yep – Johnny's been in the basement mixing up the medicine. And if Bob is doing things right, he is indeed on the pavement, thinking about the government.
As with any new spirits venture, the Nobel Laureate has had his share of regulatory hurdles to overcome. But as most new spirits brands are not formed by such illustrious sponsors, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that this particular launch is going smoothly and is unlikely to be the subject of a bust in early May on orders from the D.A. regardless of what Maggie may say.
Not that you would need a weatherman to tell you, but the wind is at the venture's back. Celebrity-sponsored booze brands continue to get dressed – get blessed – and try to be a success. This is just another example of a trend that could be viewed as twenty-years of schooling, leading to being put on the day shift and receiving a big payout like Mr. Clooney did with Casamigos.
Of course, this particular celebrity will need to make sure to keep a clean nose and watch the plain clothes. Now that he's in a regulated business, an unfortunate conviction could be problematic for the brand's license. But that isn't say that he has to avoid scandals – they might actually be beneficial for sales. Particularly since the consumer is always looking for a new fool. But of course it is hard to tell if anything is going to sell – so he should probably walk on his tiptoes. And if it doesn't sell and it looks like he's going to fail – I guess he can always join the army.
The brand is targeted at the higher (but not highest range) of the whiskey market – so you may feel like the cashier wants eleven dollar bills – you only got ten. Personally, I plan to try it. I certainly won't lift it, but may buy it as a gift for Mrs. HoochLaw – she particularly likes a sip of whiskey when she's got a bad cough. But – until I know whether I like it I'll probably keep it all hid.
[With apologies to those who might view this as silly – I simply wanted to see how many references to my favorite Dylan song I could get in a single post about his new whiskey. Twenty's not too shabby, right?]
Originally published in Brand Building
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