Mount Gay Rum

Services

  • Photography
  • Voice & Messaging
  • Website Design
  • Website Development

The Problem

One of the most revered and longest running rum distilleries in the world, Mount Gay Rum embarked on a journey to elevate their brand into the luxury spirits market with a completely new website. Luckily, they chose us to captain the ship.

Our Approach

Mount Gay Rum has been making rum virtually the same way since 1703. So for us the approach was to stay true to their process and highlight the natural elements of Barbados that directly contribute to the rum’s world famous character and quality. Of course to do this, we had to go there. See the island. Meet the people. And most importantly, drink the rum.

The Results

The new completed site is designed elegantly, well written, features honest and beautiful photography, intriguing content, and it opens with a unique scrolling narrative misdirect. For a brand that’s been around since 1703, this site proves that taking your time to do things the right way is the right way to do things. Within two weeks of initial launch, the site earned two international awards and recognition: a Communication Arts Webpick, as well as Honorable Mention from Awwwards.com.

Keep It Real

Mount Gay has been keeping it real since 1703. Only three ingredients go into their rum: molasses, water and yeast. So complicating the brand would’ve made no sense. Instead, as a creative team, we visited the distillery. We saw the tanks. We drove through sugar cane fields. We went deep inside a cave where the island’s fresh water originates. We drank rum at 11am in a local rum shop. We immersed our team into discovery and identifying the true roots of the brand. Our new site design and writing brings that truth to the surface.

Rum Studies are Better Than Case Studies

One of the truly unique features of the site - other than the side scrolling, narrative intro - are the “Rum Studies.” Since each of the premiere rums had its own photoshoot, we took those lifestyle shots and created a long scroll “Rum Study” page for the rums - giving them each their own study and a distinctive look and feel. This departure from typical product presentation added a depth of story and detail to each rum along with interesting ingredient facts and notes about flavor.