Another Bourbon

Recently named #1 in Kentucky on Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, RD 1 Spirits partnered with Dallas Independent Agency Poke The Bear for its first campaign showing off its award-winning bourbon for September’s Bourbon Heritage Month.
Known for their innovation in the bourbon space, RD 1 Spirits takes exotic woods from all over the world to create wooden staves that are then inserted in their bourbon barrel and aged for months to create the unique taste of their crafted bourbon. This tie to wood is featured throughout the campaign from the point of view of what it’s like inside the barrel of RD 1 bourbon.

For the print campaign, each letter, that tells the story of the bourbon, is handcrafted - similar to the product.
The campaign debuted at the Kentucky Bourbon festival with print, video and social.

"RD 1 Spirits is a company of true innovators—explorers pushing boundaries, always asking, ‘What else can bourbon do? What else can wood do for bourbon?’ Our role was to help them find their voice in the over-crowded bourbonscape and bring that spirit of discovery to life,” said Bill Milkereit, Co-founder & Copywriter, Poke The Bear. “I happen to love bourbon. I went to the University of Kentucky. This one was personal for me. A lot of bourbon brands sound exactly the same. This was Poke The Bear’s first chance to take a poke at a same ol’, same ol’ category. And bonus: I actually really love this RD 1 juice. The green label (Brazilian Amburana wood-finished) is now my go-to.”
"Just like the craft behind RD 1's aged, wood-finished bourbon, we knew the visual storytelling had to be equally handcrafted,” said Todd Tucker, Co-founder & Art Director, Poke The Bear. “Every letter in every headline was individually constructed using real photos (and a bit of Photoshop magic) allowing the wood itself to become the co-star alongside the lead actor—the bourbon."

“Poke the Bear challenged us with smart questions and quiet observations that unlocked what they do best and what we didn’t even know we needed. Clever, artistic, relatable, sticky messaging,” said Elizabeth Cornelius, Director of Marketing, RD One Spirits. “Our shared vision took twists and turns as it came to life, ultimately producing beyond what we originally imagined. The end result is a compelling, multi-media marketing campaign and an engaging cinematography experience for our distillery guests. But more importantly, it’s that connection for RD1 bourbon with consumers that creates a pause, and leads to a moment, and begins a relationship.”