Why should a super rare, limited edition whisky be sold in the same way as every other whisky is sold online? Driven by their audience on social media, Thee Ships was about to release South Africa’s very first 10-year-old single malt, single cask whisky and this question became our challenge. It was the perfect opportunity to build an experience that would invite our audience to be part of a whisky world-first: the Three Ships PX Live Whisky Sale - an interactive online experience that happened in real-time.
We created a set featuring 400 of the 800 bottles available and mapped hot layers over streamed live video to create an interactive experience that allowed everyone who joined the stream to hand-pick and purchase the numbered bottle of their choice. The purchase could be completed in under a minute with the use of SnapScan - a South African mobile payment method. Consumers joined the stream and fiercely competed for the numbered bottle they were after then watched in amazement as the store assistants climbed the ladders to retrieve the exact bottle they had just paid for and hand it to Master Distiller, Andy Watts who then signed their certificate of authentication.
Consumers couldn’t believe that it was live so Andy responded to their tweets, phone calls and even a request to do a little jig to prove that the experience truly was live. Never before had Three Ships Whisky fans been able to share an experience like this with the Whisky Master. After completing their purchase, consumers continued to watch as the bottles on the wall decreased while exploring the scene for further video content about this special whisky. The campaign netted us some amazing results and a bottle of whisky sold every 45 seconds, closing the store in 5 hours. In addition, our partner merchants sold out of remaining stock quicker than any other whisky in their history. Proving that even when it comes to selling whisky in the modern age, sometimes the best digital solution is how we make the experience more human.
The proudly South African Three Ships Whisky beat international competition to be awarded with the Best User Experience at the annual Webby Awards for the live online sale of its limited edition Three Ships 10-Year-Old Single Malt Single Cask PX Finish.
The Webby Awards is judged by leading internet experts who reviewed over 13 000 entries from 65 countries and Three Ships was awarded for “offering the best user experience through innovative design and useful functionality.”
Due to the success of the first sale, there have been a further six online sales of different Three Ships Whisky Master's Collection releases. In addition to the first sale, I also worked on the second and third sales as you can see below.
Each sale allowed us to create a richer immersive experience for the viewer by educating them about the whisky, the whisky-making process, the distillery and allowing them to ask the whisky maker, Andy Watts, questions via Twitter that he answered in real-time.
Three Ships 8-Year-Old Single Malt Oloroso Cask Finish
In the 3rd online live sale, we mixed things up with a shot of star power by bringing together Master Distiller, Andy Watts, and Expresso presenter and whisky enthusiast, Katlego Maboe. Together they hosted the sale and took viewers to various special locations within the distillery to sell bottles 2 – 11. While the rest of the bottles were flying off the shelves, Andy and Katlego spent the day answering viewer questions which makes for some excellent listening for whisky enthusiasts. Don’t forget to follow the Master’s Collection on Twitter to be the first to know when the store will be open again. In an incredibly exciting start, 151 bottles were sold in the first 15 minutes - that's 10 bottles a minute and at the end of the day, only a few bottles remained unsold.
In true double wood mastery, our Master Distiller, Andy Watts, selected a 5-year-old single malt matured in American Oak, to rest in Oloroso sherry casks for a further 3 years. The Three Ships Whisky 8-Year-Old Single Malt Oloroso Cask Finish is another exceptional testament to South African whisky and is a treasure to enjoy or to keep.
Oloroso which means ‘scented’ in Spanish is a warm and nutty sherry and the gentle smoke of the single malt blends seamlessly with the layers of dark chocolate, sweet citrus and red cherries typical of Oloroso cask finishes. Only a limited number of bottles of this extraordinary whisky have been made and, as always, we gave you the opportunity to get one of the first bottles right here.
Three Ships 15-Year-Old Pinotage Cask Finish
For the second release in the Master’s Collection, we launched a world whisky first. The 15-Year-Old Pinotage Cask Finish is the embodiment of what happens when two worlds collide. Watch what happened on the day below and learn more about this boldly South African whisky.
The Three Ships 15-Year-Old Pinotage Cask Finish is a blend of 15-year-old malt and grain whiskies distilled and matured separately at the James Sedgwick Distillery. Both the malt and grain whiskies spent the final years of their maturation in unrinsed Pinotage casks. Light in style, prominent cherry, plum, tropical fruit and the typical Pinotage earthy notes reveal on the nose. The palate is clean with hints of the banana and pineapple ending with a lingering warm finish. Only 4 000 bottles of this extraordinary whisky were made.
