HBO PARTNERS WITH DIAGEO TO CREATE ‘GAME OF THRONES’ WHISKEY

White Walker blend and single malts for Westeros houses tie in to global hit series

The “Game of Thrones” brand is no stranger to beverage partnerships, having released specialty collections of beer and wine. But according to HBO’S VP of licensing & retail, Jeff Peters, “we’d been looking for partners in the licensed spirit space for a while,” which was where Diageo’s pitch came in for limited-edition Scotch whiskey.

The Night King calls forth his icy army in Diageo’s White Walker by Johnnie Walker. The idea emerged from the fact that “we happen to have one of the northern-most distilleries in Clynelish that survives long, hard winters,” says Dan

Long Winters

The harsh, cold winters around the Clynelish distillery inspired Diageo to create the “Game of Thrones” tie-in, White Walker.

Sanborn, Diageo VP of PR and entertainment marketing.

Diageo also created eight single malts by aligning the locations and histories of their Scotland distilleries with the virtues of the Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and the Night’s Watch. Sanborn explains that the Cardhu Gold Reserve, for instance, celebrates the female leadership of Daenerys and House Targaryen, as the Cardhu distillery was “pioneered by two women during the 1800s when the industry was almost entirely male-dominated.”

The pairing of alcohol and “Game of Thrones” seems a natural fit, thanks to characters including Cersei Lannister, who has a proclivity for wine, and her brother Tyrion, whose motto is “I drink and I know things.”

“We’ve found in our research that there is an overlap between the adult ‘Game of Thrones’ fan and the adult Scotch enthusiast,” Sanborn says.

The experience of drinking the whiskey during “Game of Thrones” viewing parties is HBO and Diageo’s hope. “We’re getting ready to celebrate the end of this amazing story, and the whiskey can be part of fans’ own celebrations,” Peters says.

The whiskies were released nationwide this fall.