BRAND MYSTICISM

An irreverent and wide-ranging treatise on building and maintaining a standout brand in business or in life, from the marketing mastermind behind countless iconic booze labels.

Steven Grasse made a name for himself as not only a distiller but also the mind behind beloved brands like Hendrick's Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum and the guy who made cheap-beer-standbys like Narragansett and Miller High Life cool again. Through his work in advertising and marketing, Grasse has changed the game in the booze world and become an authority on building an authentic, enduring, and deeply beloved brand. Food & Wine has called him "the punk-rock prince of small-batch spirits."

So how did he do it? Through practicing brand mysticism, a mentality for all endeavors based on keeping an open mind, taking risks, and developing authenticity - skills that have benefited him in booze, business, and beyond. In this book, he's sharing this practice with the world. Through lessons (big life things that feel like just cool stories), case studies (how did Sailor Jerry become the punk rock Captain Morgan?), and magical ingredients (what makes a great message sing), Brand Mysticism guides you through the steps it takes to channel entrepreneurial spirit into a brand, a business, a creative practice, or a life that breaks with tradition to achieve the remarkable.

This is an edgy and irreverent treatise on the art of branding from the booze world's mastermind on the subject, Steven Grasse, "the punk-rock prince of small-batch spirits" (Food & Wine) and creator of Hendrick's Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum, perfect for fans of unconventional books on business and creativity like those by Seth Godin and Austin Kleon.

Steven Grasse is the founder of Quaker City Mercantile and the creator of Hendrick's Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Art in the Age Spirits, and Tamworth Distilling, among many others. He's helped revive brands such as Narragansett, Miller High Life, Guinness, and Pilsner Urquell. He is the author of The Cocktail Workshop, The Evil Empire: 101 Ways That England Ruined the World, and Colonial Spirits: A Toast to Our Drunken History.

Aaron Goldfarb is a novelist, author, and journalist, who frequently writes about the spirits industry and drinking culture for Esquire, Playboy, PUNCH, and VinePair. His two most recent books are Hacking Whiskey: Smoking, Blending, Fat-Washing, and Other Whiskey Experiments and Gather Around Cocktails: Drinks to Celebrate Usual and Unusual Holidays. His 2018 VinePair article on Grasse, "How Do You Make a Booze Brand Go Viral?," fittingly, went viral itself and has since been shared online hundreds of thousands of times.