Eoin Bara: Getting Americans to Drink Mór Irish Gin

We caught up for a few glasses of gin and a chat with Eoin Bara, the Founder of Mór Irish Gin, at a pub in Dublin.

Mór Irish Gin is one of Ireland’s fastest growing gins. They started in 2015 at a distillery in Tullamore, continuing the legacy that stretches back to the 1930s when Eoin's grandfather was a master distiller of world renowned Irish whiskey.

They have expanded into the U.S. in 2019, and won some prestigious awards like Double Gold at The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, and Double Gold at San Francisco Spirit World Competition for packaging.

As gin is not the first that comes to mind when we think of American drinks, we wanted to know how you get Americans drinking gin, and how they got that gorgeously designed bottle of Mór across the U.S.

While we taste Wild Berry Gin, Eoin shares his experience of expanding to U.S. spirits market one state at the time, the legal context for selling spirits in different states, and how they got distributors and bartenders on board with Mór.

Whatever you think it's going to cost, it's going to cost more. If you go for New York first, you're going to bleed money.  - Eoin Bara 

Time stamps:

3:00 - What makes Mór Irish Gin unique and the story of Tullamore
5:30 - The products of Mór Irish Gin and why packaging is equally important as the gin
7:15 - The secret of ingredients and flavours and tasting of Wild Berry Gin
9:59 - Why they wanted to conquer American market and which states they started from
11:25 - The laws in different U.S. states related to selling alcohol - open, closed and controlled states
12:25 - What was the setup and research process in order to expand to the U.S.
16:29 - The stereotypes that Americans have about gin and what is American drinking culture like
18:15 - Why they opted for the strategy of conquering U.S. market state by state, despite having a license for over 40 states
20:30 - How Mór Irish Gin carries out their marketing and PR strategy in the States
22:50 - What is the best and the worst state to set up business at in the U.S, according to Eoin
24:30 - Eoin's advice for small distilleries that are considering expanding to U.S.
26:50 - Why going for New York is the biggest mistake that companies make when they start expanding to U.S.
28:50 - How was the reception in the U.S, and what is Mór's business infrastructure there
34:00 - Mór Irish Gin’s training and sales strategy for distributors and bartenders
38:57 - What were the biggest surprises when they expanded to U.S.
42:00 - Whom would Eoin caution against expanding to U.S.

Resources:

Mór Irish Gin
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America
San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Episode Transcript

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