Hasta La Creative!

In 2008, Mr. Grasse created a liquor brand called Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, named for an essay by German philosopher Walter Benjamin, who died in 1940. The spirit, which is made at the Greenbar Distillery in Los Angeles, includes varieties such as Root, which is described as a recreation of a “true pre-temperance alcoholic root tea.”

In 2009, Quaker City acquired a stake in New England’s Narragansett brewery and the shop still handles the brand’s marketing. Last year, Mr. Grasse opened his own distillery in New Hampshire called Tamworth Distilling, which uses local ingredients to make gins, whiskey, vodka, cordials and other spirits. His agency in 2015 also collaborated with E&J Gallo Winery on the creation of Lo-Fi Aperitifs, which is described as a blend of California wine and cold-extracted whole botanicals.

Because his agency only works on alcohol, “I can actually go in and have an honest conversation about what is wrong with your business,” he said. “And because I actually understand your business because I am in your business, I can actually guide you in a way that an ad agency can’t. Because ad agencies are generalists and as generalists, you can’t really help me with anything,” he said.

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