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Michael Bublé has achieved the upper echelon of success in the music world thanks to his smooth and distinctive voice. And now the singer is looking to mirror that success in the spirits world with the launch of his smooth and distinctive whiskey Fraser & Thompson. “It’s not uncommon for me to have a whiskey on the rocks after a show,” he told Entrepreneur. “There’s just something about the ritual of winding down and hanging with the band to reflect on the show. How exciting that now it will be my very own whiskey in my glass!” Here the Grammy-winning, multiplatinum artist shares his brand’s origin story and his future plans for what he calls his ultimate passion project.
Can you tell us about the inspiration for your whiskey brand’s name?
We honestly went through a lot of names. Nothing sounded right to me, everything felt a bit forced, but when I came up with Fraser & Thompson, I immediately had that feeling like – ‘this is it’ – this is the one. My grandfather grew up taking me fishing on the Fraser and Thompson Rivers in British Columbia. He said sometimes the greatest things can happen when two unexpected things meet, like the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. This whiskey is for my Grandpa, I miss him every day.
Photo credit: Fraser & Thompson
Describe the collaboration between you and Master Distiller and Blender Paul Cirka.
Paul Cirka is a longtime friend and award-winning master distiller. He is the reason I got involved with the project. It took over three years, but with his expertise and knowledge, we developed an incredible whiskey. Paul owns the Cirka Distilleries in Montreal, so he knows his whiskey. There’s no one else I would have wanted to work with on this project.
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When Fraser & Thompson becomes the biggest whiskey in the world, which I fully intend, it’ll be thanks to Paul and his blending expertise. For F&T, he created a blend of whiskeys from various grains, ages, and barrel types sourced from three different distilleries. The final product is a blend of Canadian Whiskey and Kentucky Bourbon, blended and bottled by Heaven Hill in Bardstown, KY under Paul’s guidance.
What sets it apart from other whiskeys in the market?
F&T is flavorful and really smooth. It’s not intimidating because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s no burn or polarizing taste, it’s just truly delicious and will appeal to the whiskey lover and the whiskey novice alike. The flavor profile is sweet fig and blood orange on the nose with a subtle finish of caramel, vanilla and a hint of spice. You don’t need to be a spirits expert to enjoy Fraser & Thompson — it’s a whiskey for everyone.
If you could share a glass of whiskey with anyone dead or alive who would it be?
My grandfather. As I mentioned, he was a whiskey enthusiast in his own right. He was my biggest supporter and, despite his obvious bias towards his grandson, I know he would have genuinely loved Fraser & Thompson.
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Talk to us about the challenges of marketing in such a crowded market like whiskey.
It doesn’t matter how good your marketing is — if the product isn’t good, it’s never going to work. Fraser & Thompson is a genuine passion project. We spent over three years developing the perfect liquid. It’s sophisticated and elegant while remaining approachable and accessible. I love that I’m able to be so involved in the marketing and thrilled at the chance to showcase a different side of me. I could talk about it for days, but I know success will come if I am able to convince people to try it because it’s really that good! While we continue to increase distribution Fraser & Thompson is available for delivery through ReserveBar now. It makes the perfect Christmas gift and an even better stocking stuffer. A bottle would fill their entire stocking– just think of all the money you’ll save! And if you’re lucky, they’ll pour you a glass.
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