Constellation Spirits Inc. is pairing with country music star Kenny Chesney to develop a new rum.
The company, a division of Constellation Brands Inc. announced Monday that its joint venture with the star will be called Crouton Spirits LLC. The company will develop a premium rum, which it said is one of the fastest growing sectors in the spirits industry.
Constellation and Chesney will work together on every aspect of the beverage, including marketing and product positioning.
“We’re looking to create a fun-in-the-sun, vacation-in-a-bottle type experience that people everywhere can enjoy when they kick back and relax,” Chesney said in a statement.
Constellation Brands, based in suburban Rochester, N.Y., sells beer and spirits and is the world’s biggest winemaker by volume.
Its Chicago-based spirits subsidiary boasts brands such as Black Velvet Canadian whisky and Effen vodkas.
Kenny Chesney is the Country Music Association’s reigning entertainer of the year. Last month he was nominated for seven CMA awards, including entertainer of the year and album of the year.
Set to hit shelves in 2010, the new rum doesn’t yet have a name, though it won’t be called “Chesney,” Marty Birkel, president of Constellation Spirits, told the Chicago Tribune.
However Chesney will play an active role in marketing the rum that could include banners at his concerts. The product could even end up in one Chesney’s songs, said Birkel.
