Heaven Hill Turns a Spelling Spat Into a Global Marketing Moment for Elijah Craig
There are few arguments in the spirits world more reliably guaranteed to ignite a bar-room debate than the spelling of the drink in the glass. Whiskey or whisky? With an "e" or without? Depending on which side of the Atlantic you're sitting on — or which glass you're holding — the answer feels non-negotiable. Heaven Hill Brands has decided to stop trying to settle that argument quietly and instead use it as rocket fuel for one of the most culturally savvy marketing campaigns Elijah Craig has ever run.
The Campaign: Leaning Into the Debate
Heaven Hill Brands is capitalizing on National Bourbon Heritage Month with its latest marketing push for American whiskey brand Elijah Craig. Rather than sidestepping the long-running transatlantic spelling debate, the brand planted its flag squarely in the middle of it. The global campaign, which launched in early September, is built entirely around the two competing spellings of whiskey and whisky. It is the kind of self-aware, confident move that only a brand with real roots and real credibility can pull off without coming across as a gimmick.
Professional golfer and Elijah Craig brand ambassador Bob MacIntyre has fronted a 24-second advertisement "bidding to unite bourbon and scotch lovers by lobbying for a uniform spelling of the word." MacIntyre, a Scotsman who has made a name for himself competing at the highest levels of the PGA TOUR, is a natural fit for this particular campaign — a man who straddles both worlds by birth and by profession.
For all of National Bourbon Heritage Month, Heaven Hill opened a public poll on the Elijah Craig website inviting visitors to vote for their preferred spelling, with the result set to be announced on September 30 on the brand's Instagram page. It is a participatory mechanic that draws consumers directly into the brand conversation, giving drinkers a sense of stakes while the brand collects invaluable digital engagement data.
MacIntyre's Voice: A Scotsman Weighs In
The choice of MacIntyre as the face of this campaign is no accident, and his quote captures the campaign's diplomatic spirit perfectly. "As a proud Scot, I'll always be fond of my scotch whisky roots, but in the spirit of bourbon's US heritage and bringing whiskey lovers together, I think the 'e' deserves its place." That line — a Scotsman conceding the "e" — is the kind of moment that earns genuine attention, not just paid impressions.
MacIntyre, currently ranked 16th in the Official World Golf Rankings, has secured two PGA TOUR victories and three international titles, including the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open and RBC Canadian Open. His profile gives the campaign both transatlantic legitimacy and sports crossover appeal — a combination Elijah Craig has been deliberately cultivating for years. As part of the sponsorship, Elijah Craig's branding is prominently displayed on the front of MacIntyre's golf bag, as well as on his caddie's attire.
A Continuation of a Broader Strategy
The activation follows a similar campaign aligned with International Whisk(e)y Day on March 27, where MacIntyre fronted a separate video advertisement for the brand. That earlier effort telegraphed where this was headed — Heaven Hill was building toward a sustained narrative around the spelling controversy, not just a one-off stunt.
Last year, Heaven Hill hired MacIntyre and fellow professional golfer J.T. Poston as ambassadors for Elijah Craig, backing the partnerships with a Ryder Cup-themed campaign that included media placements in golf publications, consumer contests, and in-store displays, among other multi-media marketing efforts. The infrastructure for this kind of globally ambitious brand-building has been years in the making.
The Whiskey vs. Whisky Debate: More Than a Typo
For anyone who has spent time in the bourbon aisle or behind a bar, this debate can feel like a minor quibble. But the origins of the two spellings are tangled in centuries of commerce, colonial migration, and competitive market positioning — and they matter deeply to producers and enthusiasts alike.
"Whiskey" is used in Ireland and the United States, while "whisky" is used in Scotland and most other whisky-producing countries, including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, France, and Canada. The divergence is not random. The "e" spelling was re-appropriated by Irish distillers in the late 19th century, seeking to differentiate themselves from Scots distillers, whom they felt were trading on the good name of Irish whisky while selling what they considered an inferior product.
The commonly accepted theory is that the spelling changed from "whisky" to "whiskey" in America when Irish people emigrated en masse to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Irish had adopted the "whiskey" spelling to distinguish their product from blended Scotch whiskies, and this spelling followed the diaspora. In other words, the "e" in American bourbon was not a deliberate stylistic choice by Kentucky distillers — it was essentially inherited, a linguistic hand-me-down from Irish immigrants who brought their traditions into the frontier.
The Scots ended up with the phrase uisge beatha, while the Irish spelled it uisce beatha, pronounced "Ish-ka Bah-ha." Over time, it would be shortened to just uisge (or uisce), which was eventually anglicized to whisky. That shared root is precisely what makes this a unifying rather than divisive debate at its core — both traditions spring from the same water.
The American Exception
Both spellings are legal in the United States. The federal standards of identity at 27 CFR 5.143 are actually titled "Whisky," and the regulation states plainly that the word may be spelled as either whisky or whiskey. This legal flexibility is what allows brands to make deliberate choices about how they identify their products.
Today most American whiskeys — including bourbons, ryes, Tennessee whiskeys like Jack Daniel's, and American single malts — use the "whiskey" spelling. Keen-eyed drinkers have noticed that Maker's Mark bills itself as a bourbon whisky. That is a nod to the Samuels family's Scottish roots. So even on American soil, the spelling carries cultural weight, heritage, and identity — making Elijah Craig's campaign all the more relevant to any drinker paying attention.
Who Is Elijah Craig, and Why Does the Name Still Command Respect?
The brand at the center of this campaign carries one of the most storied names in bourbon history. Elijah Craig Bourbon bears the name of the Reverend Elijah Craig, known as "The Father of Bourbon," who established his distillery in 1789 on the banks of Elkhorn Creek in modern-day Georgetown, Kentucky. He is credited with being the first distiller to age his wares in charred oak barrels. The clear, unaged corn whiskey became transformed into a bold amber liquid with a distinctively smooth flavor that makes bourbon what it is today.
Historians still debate whether Craig was truly the first to char barrels, with some suggesting that burning casks to remove impurities was a common practice among coopers. But the mythology and the man are by now inseparable from the product. Elijah Craig stands today as both a man and a myth: a Baptist preacher turned distiller whose legendary barrel charring gave bourbon its distinctive flavor and color, and whose life's work helped grow a frontier town into a thriving settlement.
Craig neither patented his methods nor limited himself to distilling alone. He remained a dedicated preacher, community builder, and innovator until he died in 1808, and to his contemporaries, he was as much a civic leader and educator as he was a distiller. The brand named for him carries that same ethos — ambitious, multidimensional, deeply American.
The Liquid Behind the Legend
Produced by Heaven Hill Distillery, the nation's largest independent, family-owned and operated distillery and the world's second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon, the Elijah Craig lineup includes Elijah Craig Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Elijah Craig's accolades have included Whisky Advocate's Whisky of the Year, Best Small Batch Bourbon and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Excellent Highly Recommended honors at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. These are not vanity awards collected to wallpaper a press release. They reflect consistent quality across multiple expressions and across multiple years — the kind of track record that earns shelf placement and repeat purchases.
In the 2026 World Whiskies Awards America competition, Elijah Craig Toasted Rye won Best American Rye Whiskey in the No Age Statement category, while Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 19-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey claimed the Category Winner title for expressions aged 13 to 20 years. The recognition follows Elijah Craig Rye Barrel Proof being named Whisky of the Year by Whisky Advocate, demonstrating the brand's continued strength in rye whiskey innovation.
Heaven Hill's Golf Strategy: Putting a Premium Spirit in Premium Spaces
To understand why Bob MacIntyre makes sense as a campaign centerpiece, you have to understand how deliberately and successfully Heaven Hill has positioned Elijah Craig within the golf world over the past several years.
The brand has been named Official Bourbon of the PGA of America, PGA Championship, Women's KPMG PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup. It was also the "Official Bourbon" of the 2025 Ryder Cup, held at New York's Bethpage Black Golf Course. That is not a casual sponsorship portfolio — it reflects a sustained, multi-year institutional commitment to one of America's most affluent and brand-loyal sports audiences.
With golf consumers twice as likely to drink bourbon compared to the average consumer, the Elijah Craig partnership with major tour events offers a strong fit for the brand as it continues to cement its name in the world of golf. The numbers back the strategy. One of the fastest growing spirits in the United States, Elijah Craig has gained a loyal following for its award-winning family of bourbons and American whiskeys.
J.T. Poston, a three-time PGA TOUR winner, recently captured the 2024 Shriners Children's Open title. Known for his relaxed demeanor and passion for the outdoors, Poston embodies the values of craftsmanship and dedication shared by Elijah Craig. Together, MacIntyre and Poston give the brand representation on both sides of the Atlantic — one a Scotsman navigating the American tour, the other a homegrown American talent. The pairing is almost too on-the-nose for the whiskey-versus-whisky campaign, and that is almost certainly not a coincidence.
The "Greatness Within" Brand Philosophy
From a consumer communications perspective, the brand's key campaign is called "Greatness Within," a phrase that carries a double meaning. It refers both to the greatness within all of us — the idea that anyone can strive and achieve with grit and perseverance, much like Elijah Craig himself — as well as the greatness within the liquid itself.
Method1 creative director David Muldoon described the campaign as appealing to Elijah Craig's "striver" audience — "women and men who are forever in pursuit of greatness, whether in their careers, personal lives or celebrating milestones with friends. In the spot, we go into the values the brand shares with those who drink Elijah Craig Bourbon. Great things come to those who create, innovate, and celebrate."
The past five years have marked an exciting chapter of rapid brand growth and rising awareness. This momentum has been fueled by standout campaigns in the United States, anchored in linear TV, streaming, social, and out-of-home, that are now making their way across the Atlantic. The whisky-versus-whiskey campaign is a natural extension of that global ambition — it is explicitly designed to speak to both a stateside bourbon crowd and an international Scotch-drinking audience in the same breath.
Community, Cocktails, and Cause: Elijah Craig Beyond the Bottle
One thing that separates Elijah Craig from a lot of premium spirits brands is the depth of its community investment. The brand has not simply chased awards and sponsorship plaques — it has built programming that gives consumers and hospitality professionals real reasons to engage.
Elijah Craig Bourbon announced the launch of its fifth-annual Old Fashioned Week, running from October 11 through October 20, 2024. The 10-day celebration invites bourbon enthusiasts to enjoy the iconic Old Fashioned cocktail at participating bars and restaurants across the country, all while supporting a great cause. For every Old Fashioned sold, Elijah Craig donates $1 per drink, up to $100,000, to the Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization providing critical support to food and beverage workers through emergency relief and mental health services.
Through Elijah Craig Old Fashioned Week, the brand has provided total donations of more than $400,000 to date to organizations supporting the hospitality industry. For a spirit culture built on the shoulders of bartenders, sommeliers, and floor staff, that kind of long-term financial commitment carries real weight.
To amplify Old Fashioned Week, Elijah Craig launches national media campaigns featuring brand ads running on connected TV and digital video networks like Hulu, Roku, ESPN, and Peacock. The media buy reflects a brand that is not simply courting whiskey insiders — it is reaching out to the broader culture, to the casual fan who might be seeing Elijah Craig for the first time during a college football game or a streaming binge.
What This Campaign Means for the Broader Bourbon Industry
The whisky-versus-whiskey campaign is not just clever marketing. It reflects something more significant happening in the global spirits category — the ongoing convergence of bourbon and Scotch as premium lifestyle totems for the same type of consumer. For decades, these were distinct tribes. The bourbon drinker was quintessentially American, defined by oak and corn and Kentucky limestone water. The Scotch drinker was defined by peat, sea air, single malts, and Old World prestige. Those distinctions have not disappeared, but the boundaries have blurred considerably.
Elijah Craig's partnership with MacIntyre extends the bourbon's global presence, introducing it to an international audience through marketing campaigns, social media collaborations, and in-person engagements. A Scottish golfer wearing Elijah Craig branding on tour in Europe is a genuinely unusual sight — and unusual sights generate conversation.
Heaven Hill earned six honors at the 2026 World Whiskies Awards America and Icons of Whisky America ceremony in February at The Brown Hotel in Louisville. The Bardstown, Kentucky-based distiller won Distiller of the Year for the third time, alongside recognition for sustainability, public relations excellence, and two category wins for its whiskeys. Winning on quality while simultaneously winning on marketing is not a coincidence — it is the result of a company that treats both craft and communication as serious disciplines.
Master distiller Conor O'Driscoll put it plainly: "We're proud of these wins because they reflect both consistency and range. From premium, innovative rye to well-aged wheat whiskey, it speaks to the breadth of what our teams are capable of." That internal confidence is what allows the brand to engage in a public debate about how its name is spelled without flinching.
The Verdict: One Letter, Maximum Reach
There is a certain brilliance in building a global campaign around a single letter. The "e" in whiskey is not just a vowel — it is a geographic marker, a cultural signal, and in this case, a conversation starter that can reach consumers who might never otherwise think twice about the bourbon on the back bar. By turning a linguistic footnote into an interactive public vote with a golf-star spokesman and a month-long digital push during National Bourbon Heritage Month, Heaven Hill has engineered exactly the kind of earned media and social engagement that most brands spend millions trying to manufacture artificially.
More importantly, the campaign reflects how seriously Heaven Hill takes Elijah Craig's global positioning. The company bet on bourbon's revival years before it was obvious, a long-term strategy that turned out to be remarkably prescient — and with the numerous awards Elijah Craig has received since, that strategy has been affirmed, with the brand now a leader in the premium bourbon category. The whisky-versus-whiskey campaign is simply the latest expression of that same forward-looking instinct: find a cultural fault line, stand squarely on it, and invite the whole world to weigh in.
Whether the "e" wins or loses the public vote, Elijah Craig wins either way. Because the real prize was never the spelling — it was the conversation.
