Exclusive Interview with Mr. Olli Hietalahti, Founder and CEO of One Eyed Spirits, based in Helsinki, Finland

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Q: Please state your name, title and location.

My name is Olli Hietalahti and I am founder and CEO of One Eyed Spirits. I’m based in Helsinki, Finland.

Q: We last interviewed you in our February 2013 issue.  It is hard to believe that almost a decade has passed since!  Back then you were behind the Ron de Jeremy (RdJ) brand, but I understand that Ron Jeremy is facing some serious legal charges and that the brand no longer exists.  Can you elaborate?

Yes. Certainly a few things have happened since. That feels like a lifetime ago! 

We started the whole Ron de Jeremy brand back in 2010 based on a joke: “Ron” is the Spanish word for rum and porn star Ron Jeremy was one of the most famous “Rons” in the world. For us Ron de Jeremy Rum was never about sex or porn but humor. The rum itself was serious but everything else was tongue in cheek, to say the least. 

But in June 2020 Ron Jeremy was arrested, facing serious charges of sexual crimes. He has been in jail waiting for the trial ever since. We had a good run for ten years but now the joke was obviously dead. Continuing the brand was not a morally feasible option for us so we ended our agreement with Ron Jeremy and discontinued the brand.  

Q: I’d like to take a moment to explore celebrity-backed (or celebrity-focused) brands.  Certainly, the benefits of having a celebrity associated with a brand are very attractive, but there is also a dark side -and a big risk-, when the celebrity attracts the wrong kind of attention.  In retrospect, was the concept of the RdJ brand too risky or was the fact that it was risky from the beginning what made it worth doing?

Ha, what a great question! Celebrity branding is attractive as you instantly generate interest and awareness, you don’t have to start from zero. The amount of awareness naturally depends on how much reach that particular celebrity has. We generated massive amounts of free publicity when the Ron de Jeremy brand first came out. There were hundreds and hundreds of articles, blogs, radio, tv, you name it. So, the celebrity can speed up the go to market considerably. Looking at the celebrity branding in spirits over the past decade, you tend to see a pattern. Those brands have a shot where the celebrity is hands on and very active in promoting (for example, Ryan Gosling and Aviation Gin) but the brands where the celebrity just lends his or her name tend to wither away. The good thing about Ron Jeremy was that especially during our early years, he was very eager to promote. We toured with him all over the USA, Australia and Europe. 

As the question hints, part of the brand strength was in the controversy. Ron de Jeremy Rum always created a reaction. Most often it was a smile. It was kind of “yeah, I know what you mean” reaction. Every now and then it was disgust. I loved that. If your brand is able to create such a strong emotion as hate, then there is the counter emotion, love. 

In a way the brand was a bit too risky. Many gate keepers such as buyers in large chains were too conservative to take it. They might tell us face to face that “you know personally, I think this is fantastic, but you know I just can’t take it.”. But what materialized later and why Ron Jeremy was arrested, that was something we did not see coming. Back in 2010 he was very well liked. He was great with people, he’d chat with anyone, never refused an autograph, always had a harmonica in pocket and he’d play songs for people and so on. He was very down to earth which really was the secret to his popularity. I think he did change over the years though and we did not actively use in the promotions during the last five years or so. I would politely say that he did not age gracefully. That is something we obviously had zero control on, but you could be right perhaps we should have been able to calculate that risk. 

Q: Let’s talk now about Hell or High Water Rum.  What is the story behind this brand?

I love a quote from Margaret Atwood: “If everything is all right all the time, there is no story.” 

For us things certainly have not been perfect all the time. So we do have a story. It tells about hardships and trouble. Obstacles. Fire. Near death. Death. Almost going bankrupt a dozen times, mistakes, back-stabbing. Finally, there is jail.

When Ron Jeremy was arrested we were faced with three options: we could continue with the brand but of course we did not want to do that, we could quit the rum business and go back to our former lives or we could create something new. 

We simply refused to quit. We are entrepreneurs and love the rum world. So, we decided to fight and create a new brand; whose heart and soul reflect our journey from one hardship to another. You fall 7 times, get up 8. 

The rum is called Hell or High Water. 

For those not familiar with the expression, “come hell or high water”, it means you are willing to do whatever it takes to overcome difficulties or obstacles. You never give up. Hell or High Water certainly sums up our journey but we think the story of winning through hardships is universal and touches everyone. We all face hardships and setbacks. We all understand the feeling. We like to say that “A Rough Journey makes a Smooth Rum”.

Q: I understand Finns have an expression related to learning as you go along.  It is “Työ tekijäänsä neuvoo,” correct?  How important is this attitude or philosophy for a new brand?How on earth did you know that?

I think that attitude is important to any entrepreneur. You can plan as much as you like but life has a habit of throwing curve balls at you. You then need to adapt, change the course of action and hopefully learn along the way.

We have often been asked, “if you knew everything you now know, would you have started the rum brand”. The answer is obviously no! Luckily one cannot know everything that is going to happen. You learn as you go. On the other hand, we would have missed quite a journey if we had known everything. It certainly has not been boring!

I’d advise to ask a lot of stupid questions and surround yourself with smarter people than you. We’ve tried to do that.

Q: Are the Hell or High Water Rums re-packaged versions of RdJ or are they new and unique formulations?

Basically yes. We have done very minor tweaks to one blend, but that was due to the availability and not branding. Our XO was quite sweet and we dropped the sugar level below the new EU requirement but that happened already during the last year of Ron de Jeremy. 

We just came out with a new blend in October called Reserva Honey & Orange. It’s a wonderful twist on our Reserva blend. We’ve offered tastings at the Vienna Rum Fest and Bar Convent Berlin and the feedback has been phenomenal. People really enjoy it. 

Q: What rums are currently in your portfolio?

  • Hell or High Water XO is by far our bestselling product. It is a beautiful sipping rum in an eye-catching black package that takes the brand's signature smoothness to another level. The blend includes hand-selected pot and column still rums from Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana aged up to 15 years in American oak barrels previously used for bourbon.
  • The exceptionally well-balanced and smooth Hell or High Water Reserva is a proprietary blend of super premium rums from Barbados, Trinidad and Dominican Republic. The blend includes hand-selected pot and column still rums aged up to 8 years in American oak barrels previously used for bourbon. Reserva is a nice sipping rum and also works exceptionally well in cocktails.
  • Hell or High Water Spiced is created using the rums from Barbados, Dominican Republic and Guyana. This balanced, column-distilled blend creates a perfect base for our exotic spices to shine through. Hell or High Water Spiced is artfully blended with vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, anis seed and coriander. It is dark and flavorful while delivering the signature long, smooth finish.
  • The new Hell or High Water Reserva Honey & Orange offers a delicious twist on our classic aged Reserva rum adding delightful extra layers of sweet honey and refreshing orange to the underlying notes of charred oak, toasted nuts and fresh sugarcane. The finish goes on, forever. It is perfect neat, on the rocks or in a classic cocktail.

Q: How receptive and/or supportive have the RdJ consumers/fans been towards the new branding?  How about the trade (importers/distributors, retailers)?

I’d say 99 % of the Ron de Jeremy consumers understood why we could not continue with brand and supported the change. There were few vocal individuals who blamed us on abandoning Ron during his troubles. But overall people supported us. 

We have very good relationships with our importers and they all understood why we had to change, supported it and immediately understood the new brand. All in all, the brand change has been surprisingly smooth.

Q: What about Tom of Finland Organic Vodka?  How does this fit into your operation?

Our background is in advertising and branding. We love strong brands that have a story to tell and touch emotions. Tom of Finland was a revolutionary gay visual artist who created the now iconic look of masculine gay man. Coming from Finland we were naturally aware of Tom of Finland but when the Finnish Post Office published Tom of Finland stamps in 2014 it really clicked. We saw that there is everything a great spirit brand needs in one package. The story, aesthetics, values and target group. Everything was there. All we needed to do was to create an outstanding liquid and turn this into a spirit brand. Which we did. The vodka is organic blend of 95% wheat and 5% rye. It’s damn good.

From a category perspective it may look that having rum and vodka (well we have Flame of Passion Gin as well) does not make sense but we’re more into creating strong brands than thinking about category boundaries. 

Q: It really takes a lot of passion to endure all the obstacles you’ve overcome.  I’m sure you could fill a book with all the experiences you lived along the road, right?

Literally. I did write a book on our spirited adventures. It was published in Finland in June of this year. 

Q: Was writing your book meant to be therapeutic for you, meaning it helped you make sense of memories and experiences, or was it meant as an educational/inspirational tool for others, or both?

First of all, it was a challenge. I wanted to see if I could do it. Every ex copywriter dreams of writing a book one day. I knew I could write short form, headlines, sentences, paragraphs, anything up to a few pages. But a whole book is a different animal. Keeping the ten-year journey together and creating a structure that people could understand and follow was a real challenge. As they say, “writing is rewriting”. I had a very good and strict editor and she certainly whipped me. Rewrite. Again. And again. I originally thought that since I knew the story, it would take me maybe three months to write. Well, add one year. 

It was a crazy amount of work, but coming back to your question, yes it was also therapeutic. It brought back all the memories, many of which I had luckily forgotten! It also clarified a lot of things for me. Some things we had done that seemed kind of stupid started to make sense when you reflect back. Writing also gave me perspective for the future. 

I have received a lot of positive feedback and it does seem that our journey, all the troubles and set-backs and the stubborn refusal to quit do inspire people.

Q: Where is your book sold and will it be offered in English in the near future?

Currently it is only in Finnish and thus sold only in Finland. We are hoping to get it translated in English. I do believe there are elements of interest for the international reader as well. Sex and booze for example! 

Q: Where do you see the distilled spirits industry in 10 years (social responsibility, environmental sustainability, traceability, etc.)?

I’m obviously interested in seeing small and interesting brands prosper! Let’s hope the long awaited rum boom will finally materializes. All things related to responsibility and sustainability will become more and more relevant. We see that in the Nordic monopoly countries where the government nudges the consumers to that direction by issuing tenders for sustainable products.

Q: What advise do you have for people who are considering getting into the alcohol beverage industry, as brand owners, producers or promoters?

Hah, you know how to make a million in spirits? Start with ten!

Joking aside, you really need to concentrate hard on the branding and packaging before coming out. Delay the launch, take the extra time and do it again. And again. The market is so crowded that the new product really needs to stand out to have a chance. Obviously, the liquid needs to be excellent but the packaging is as equally important. The branding needs to be relevant and create emotions. Invest in good creative people, that will pay off along the way.  

Q: If people want to contact you, how may they reach you?

My email is olli.hietalahti@oneeyedspirits.com

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Just keep going, come hell or high water!

Margaret: Again Olli, thank you so much for this opportunity, I wish you and your entire team all the best of luck.

Cheers!

Margaret Ayala,

Publisher of “Got Rum?”