US shot brand Fire Eater launches in the UK

Fire Eater, a cinnamon-flavoured, American whiskey liqueur from Bacardi Brown-Forman (BBF), is part of the Early Times Kentucky whiskey brand, which was established in 1860.

The variant was launched in the US last year and it hoped its success can be repeated in the UK, targeting 18 to 24-year-olds.

“Like Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey (launched by the company in 2011) Fire Eater will bring new drinkers into the American and wider whisk(e)y categories,” said BBF’s American whiskey marketing manager Crispin Stephens.

The drink is a 35% ABV blend of cinnamon, brown sugar and whiskey that offers drinkers a “hot yet smooth” shot, and taps into the trend for sweeter drinks amongst young people.

It will be supported with a £1.5m marketing campaign, which will include a raft of circus-inspired sampling events in pubs and bars, targeting 150,000 drinkers.

It is a move into the booming shot market for the company – a market that is currently growing six times faster than the spirits sector, according to CGA (MAT to end December 2013)

“With young adult consumers increasingly seeking new flavours and exciting drinking experiences, we have seen a surge in the popularity of flavoured spirits and growth in the shot category,” explained Stephens.

“We believe we have recognised a gap in the market and that Fire Eater will enable us to recruit new drinkers to the flavoured whiskey category by tapping into the demand for bold flavours for late night occasions.”

Rival Diageo moved its Smirnoff brand into the shot market for the first time last summer with the launch of Smirnoff Gold, a gold-flecked cinnamon flavoured liqueur.