Another case of Scotch coming up short

I was interested to read your feature on how to make dark spirits appeal to younger drinkers (feature, DW 13 September).

I would like to agree with Lounge 4’s suggestion that perhaps a clear whisky (or whiskey from Ireland) could solve the drink’s image problem among the young. Unfortunately, it’s already been done – but without too much success.

Last year, Halo Design was involved in the branding and design of promotional material for TKO Pure White, ‘a unique spirit distilled from cereals and matured for more than three years in oak casks in Scotland’ – clear whisky to you and me.

The product’s primary market was the young party crowd who tend to drink white spirits with mixers. A clear product was needed because traditional dark whisky mixed with orange or cranberry juice tends to look like an unappetising, muddy soup.

Although TKO Pure White had a measure of success in Europe – Ibiza and the like – interest was generally lacking and I think it has now gone down the drain, so to speak. I suspect this failure had more to do with lack of promotional funds than the product itself.

Another case of a good idea not hitting its target – or perhaps, Scotch missed?

Gary Parfitt

Creative director

Halo Design

London SW1Y