Three-fifths of the gang on Always Sunny in Philadelphia is getting into the liquor business. But lest you think this is yet another celebrity spirits brand, Four Walls Irish American Whiskey is less about the celebrity and more about the places and the people you enjoy the beverage with.
Four Walls, the Irish-American whiskey brand founded by Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, is headed for bars everywhere and is now available to order online. The name is a tribute to the four walls the gang calls home—the bar—and was initially sold as a limited edition release, raising money for the bartending community.
“We wanted to create a brand celebrating the four walls that have held our good times in and kept our troubles out,” said Howerton in describing the initial inspiration for the elixir.
Following the success of the limited drop, the three and their team of marketers, ex-agency folks and production people, began exploring ways to make a new version of Irish American whiskey, which they envisioned would become a go-to in the type of bars and spaces they cherish, where friends could raise a glass together and not be concerned about whatever is happening outside of that moment.
To break away from the usual celebrity spirit brand, founder and co-CEO of Four Walls Whiskey Casey McGrath said that the idea was to build a fully formed brand that could immediately have value and stand for something that is aligned with the celebrity.
“Four Walls is as much about places and people as it is about the three guys. It’s about bars of bartenders,” McGrath told Adweek. “It is probably the least reliant on the back of the celebrities, because it is fully formed from day one with what the brand stands for.”
McGrath is a production and advertising veteran, having created many campaigns that pair musicians with products, including Jameson’s “Love Thy Neighborhood” platform and “Meet Me at the Bar” campaign in partnership with Anderson. Paak, plus campaigns for Jägermeister, Martell Cognac and Avión Tequila. He also has a deep music background, having been creative director for rock band Kings of Leon.
He dove into the whiskey business with Howerton, Day and McElhenney and a team dedicated to making the brand work and appeal to those who would work with it daily—the bartenders.
“While [the bar] is a safe place, it’s also a place that you’re exposed to new ideas. And that bartender is crucial because a conversation between two friends over drinks is very different with two friends at a bar with a bartender involved,” said McGrath.