Michael Bublé Toasts to Family (and Fun) With the Launch of Fraser & Thompson Whiskey
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Michael Bublé is on the set of his new whiskey commercial, and the Grammy-winner singer is having a little trouble with his lines.
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It’s a classically overcast morning in Vancouver and Bublé is tossing around catchphrases for Fraser & Thompson, the new North American whiskey he’s created with longtime friend and award-winning Master Distiller Paul Cirka. Blended and bottled in Kentucky, the new release combines whiskeys from Bublé’s native Canada with Kentucky bourbon, to create a flavorful yet mellow expression that features notes of fig, blood orange, vanilla, raw honey and perhaps, a hint of maple syrup too.
Take after take of the commercial passes and the singer is seemingly getting more exasperated by the minute. But it isn’t the script that’s tripping him up, but rather the drink in his hand. Bublé has been holding onto a decidedly conservative pour of Fraser & Thompson all day, and he’s been itching to sneak a sip. The only problem? There’s only a tiny sample bottle of the whiskey on set, and it’s also the only sample of the whiskey that anybody has right now.
The filming finally finishes — Bublé never actually had a bad take by the way — and the singer goes off to his trailer, sample bottle of whiskey in hand. “Does anyone want to try some of this?” he asks, fishing a couple ice cubes out of a bucket. “I’m super excited about this but I’m also nervous,” he jokes, “because I like this a lot and I will get hammered.”
Fraser & Thompson launches today with a limited run in select stores in the U.S. and Canada, and on Reserve Bar at a suggested retail price of $29.99. Available in 750ml bottles at 42% ABV, Bublé says Fraser & Thompson is intended for both whiskey aficionados and casual drinkers alike, offering an “approachable new-to-world whiskey” that’s easy to enjoy neat, in a cocktail, or as he prefers it, on the rocks.
“Paul [Cirka, F&T’s Master Blender] says this thing that goes, ‘It’s all whiskey, but without the cringe,'” Bublé offers, trying to describe the liquid. “And I’m just like, please don’t put that in the marketing.”
How would the singer describe it instead? “It’s just nice,” he says, nodding his head for emphasis. “I think I like it too much because it’s really good. I think we have a problem.”
Bublé began the process of creating the whiskey more than three years ago, telling Rolling Stone that the liquid went through many variations before he landed on the right balance of subtle and sweet, punchy and smooth (an initial version of the campaign ad even joked that F&T stood for “fun and tingly”).
“The actual making of the whiskey was the most difficult and longest project that I’ve been a part of,” the singer says, revealing that there were more than a few times where the process had to restart because the team wasn’t satisfied with the quality or taste. “Someone said to me, ‘I don’t care how good your marketing is, I don’t care how well your content explodes,'” Bublé recalls: ‘If this isn’t wonderful juice, it’s never gonna work.’ You spend so many years creating a brand and creating trust and making sure that your name is synonymous with quality,” he continues, “And this is no different.”
Though he’s been presented with offers to launch “a million other things,” Bublé, who famously appeared in ads for sparkling water brand, Bubly, says Fraser & Thompson is personal. The name of the brand is a nod to the Fraser and Thompson Rivers in Bublé’s home province of British Columbia. The singer grew up camping with his grandfather near a spot where the two rivers meet, and to this day, he says it remains one of his favorite memories — and favorite views.
“The Thompson [River] is crystal teal, blue, pristine, and then there’s the sort of muddy ‘Mighty Fraser’ [River],” he explains, “and the confluence of the two bodies of water make this incredible blend.”
“I had come up with a million ideas [for the whiskey name], and at first, they wanted it to say something musical but it felt so on the nose,” Bublé recalls. “Then one day, I came home and I said, ‘You know what? This is personal to me.’ My grandfather and I were just kindred spirits and really close,” Bublé shares. “He’s the reason why I love the music I love, and so I wanted to do this for him.”
Whiskey has also long been a ritual for Bublé and his band on tour, giving the group a chance to decompress and debrief after a show. “Every night, I would walk offstage and there would be a glass of whiskey on the rocks, and I would always enjoy it in the dressing room talking about how the show went,” he says.
Though he jokes that he has to be “more disciplined” these days as the father of four young children, the singer says whiskey remains his “happy place,” adding that he enjoys the taste of whiskey as well as the experience of drinking it. His preferred drinking style: a couple of ice cubes followed by a generous pour.
Bublé is working on the launch of Fraser & Thompson with spirits incubator WES Brands, who also count Mark Wahlberg’s Flecha Azul Tequila and Jamie Foxx’s BSB-Brown Sugar Bourbon in their portfolio. Still, Bublé insists F&T is not a vanity project, but rather a chance to showcase a different side of himself to his fans, and hopefully, to a whole new audience.
“It’s the same sort of feeling I got when I started working with Bubly,” the singer says. “A lot of people had a certain thought of who I was because of my music, and for the first time, people were like, ‘Oh, he’s got a sense of humor; he’s got a personality.’ And for me, this was a big part of doing this sort of endeavor,” he says: “to grow for myself, and to have some fun again.”
That’s not to say Bublé completely rejects the “celebrity alcohol” label — he just needed a quick pep talk from a fellow Canadian, and fellow celebrity entrepreneur. “One of the first things I did was call Ryan Reynolds,” Bublé reveals, “And I said, ‘Ry, I’m doing this man, and I’m afraid I don’t know enough.’ And he laughed, and he said, ‘Mike, that’s what gonna help you, man. Just be genuine and have fun doing it.'”
Reynolds’ best piece of advice: “He said, ‘You don’t need to be an aficionado,'” Bublé recalls. “‘This is a lot different than what we do, but you have great partners. So just enjoy it and have fun.’ And it’s been a joy the whole time so far.”
Higher
Bublé is coming off his year-long “Higher Tour,” which took him across North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia in promotion of his 2022 album of the same name. The singer’s best-selling Christmas album is also a popular soundtrack for this time of year. And he teases that there may “be a shift towards me making movies,” though he’s quick to note that nothing has been finalized just yet.
For now though, the focus is on Fraser & Thompson, and on creating a product that both he and his team can be proud of. “All of us have worked tirelessly to create a brand that was trusted, had respect, and had quality in whatever we did,” he says, simultaneously referring to both himself and the whiskey. “And whatever I do, I’m always protecting that,” he shares, “because it isn’t just protecting a thing or person or an image — it’s protecting my grandfather, and it’s protecting my beautiful manager, Bruce, and it’s protecting the first person who saw me at a talent show, and the first one who hired me to sing at their bar when I was 16.”
“And you know,” he continues, “people love the whiskey and we can sell a bunch of whiskey, right? That is not as much fun alone. It’s a lot more fun when you actually build relationships and friendships and at some point, you all get to sit and go, ‘Look what we fucking did. Like, how cool is this?'”
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