Ardagh navigates new waters with Sailor Jerry

Ardagh Group has achieved two technical ’firsts‘ on the new bottle for Sailor Jerry, the spiced rum from William Grant & Sons.

The global glass manufacturer’s Scottish plant in Irvine has been able for the first time to produce a cork-mouthed bottle using its weight-saving ‘narrow neck press and blow’ (NNPB) process.

Whilst a cork mouth finish is relatively straightforward to produce using the blow blow process, it was untested and far more difficult under NNPB conditions. Ardagh technicians found a means of successfully performing this task.

The second ‘first’ came in the form of neck embossing – the first time this has been applied by Ardagh for the UK spirits sector.

The results of these two innovations is a bottle that is 20% lighter and also able to display a more impressive and uniquely  located embossed branding on the prominent neck feature.

Global brand director for Sailor Jerry, Julie Doyle comments: “Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum was developed to continue the legacy of Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins and was inspired by his era, when goods were made by hand and people had a stronger sense of pride in their work.  The new packaging has been introduced to align the brand’s look and old school feel with the premium, authentic nature of the spirit.”

The company began by producing clothing with the flash artwork of Sailor Jerry and quickly built a cult following. Sailor Jerry Spiced was created based on the old-school tradition of sailors spicing their high-proof rum rations. Sailor Jerry spent half his life as a sailor and the other half tattooing them, so making a spiced rum in his honour was an obvious choice. The rum is made the old-school way – “bold and smooth as hell”. For more details, visit the Sailor Jerry website www.sailorjerry.com

Ardagh Group is a global leader in glass & metal packaging solutions and a key supplier to most of the world's leading food, beverage and consumer care brands. Operating 89 manufacturing facilities across 21 countries, Ardagh employs almost 19,000 people and has global sales of approximately Eur 4.8 billion

12 January 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor