LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The maker of Jack Daniel's said Monday it is rolling out a taller, slimmer bottle and simplified label for the popular whiskey made in rural Tennessee.
The new packaging for Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 -- known as Jack Daniel's black label -- accentuates the bottle's familiar square shoulders. The labeling is less wordy in the new bottles that will spread to U.S. stores by this summer.
For a brand steeped in tradition, the old packaging had been around only since 2001, though the bottle has been square since 1895 aside from a brief period after World War II when a glass shortage led to a round bottle.
The new bottle comes after a year of flat U.S. sales for the leading Jack Daniel's brand, though international sales rose.
Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. said it invested significant time and money to refine the packaging for its flagship brand.
The outside might look slightly different, but the whiskey inside is still the same, the company said.
"Given the worldwide economic situation and the increasingly competitive environment for premium spirits brands, we recognize the importance of having Jack Daniel's continue to stand out in the marketplace," said Jack Daniel's Managing Director John Hayes.
The new bottle has reached stores in Florida and is expected to spread to New York this week, said Brown-Forman spokesman Phil Lynch. The new packaging will go nationwide this summer and will reach overseas markets in the fall.
Jack Daniel's is available in 135 countries and global sales totaled 9.94 million cases in 2010, compared with nearly 9.6 million cases the year before.
The brand's first packaging refinements date back to the days of Jack Daniel, who originally sold his whiskey by the barrel. He switched to selling his whiskey in jugs and then to the familiar square bottles.
The new packaging for Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 -- known as Jack Daniel's black label -- accentuates the bottle's familiar square shoulders. The labeling is less wordy in the new bottles that will spread to U.S. stores by this summer.
For a brand steeped in tradition, the old packaging had been around only since 2001, though the bottle has been square since 1895 aside from a brief period after World War II when a glass shortage led to a round bottle.
The new bottle comes after a year of flat U.S. sales for the leading Jack Daniel's brand, though international sales rose.
Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corp. said it invested significant time and money to refine the packaging for its flagship brand.
The outside might look slightly different, but the whiskey inside is still the same, the company said.
"Given the worldwide economic situation and the increasingly competitive environment for premium spirits brands, we recognize the importance of having Jack Daniel's continue to stand out in the marketplace," said Jack Daniel's Managing Director John Hayes.
The new bottle has reached stores in Florida and is expected to spread to New York this week, said Brown-Forman spokesman Phil Lynch. The new packaging will go nationwide this summer and will reach overseas markets in the fall.
Jack Daniel's is available in 135 countries and global sales totaled 9.94 million cases in 2010, compared with nearly 9.6 million cases the year before.
The brand's first packaging refinements date back to the days of Jack Daniel, who originally sold his whiskey by the barrel. He switched to selling his whiskey in jugs and then to the familiar square bottles.