EXCLUSIVE Interview: High Spirits & NFTs at Art Miami 2021

In the frenzy of enthusiasm in Miami, VaynerNFT and BlockBar drop a few unique and comestible NFTs. 

Art Miami 2021 and Art Basel Miami Beach took place this past week and brought the combined energy of the blockchain and fine art worlds in a frenzy of activity that probably will be commemorated with the minting of many commemorative NFTs.

The relatively new VaynerNFT, founded in July by Gary Vaynerchuk with the goal of building NFT integrations “for the world’s leading intellectual property owners”, was ready to show-and-tell with four new drops for the shows’ art NFT-hungry audience. 

In addition to the successful generative NFT project Veefriends (launched in May), VaynerNFT is living up to its goal of offering NFTs from known brands and artists.

VaynerNFTs partnered with multi-disciplinary artist David Drebin to debut his “Diamond Dust” Collection in time for Art Miami 2021. Drebin released 20 exclusive, unique NFTs of his “Diamond Dust” prints through Nifty Gateway as one of their verified drops. Drebin’s real-world prints sell for up to $100,000, so one can speculate as to the value of the associated NFTs as this is his first experiment in the blockchain space.

David Drebin, “Below the Surface”, Diamond Dust Collection

Southern chicken franchise Bojangles released its first-ever NFTs with art from seven artists who are from North Carolina, with all works inspired by Bojangles Chicken Supremes™. Bojangles partnered with VaynerNFT to bring this one to life and offered 200 NFTs and each offered a chance to win free chicken for one year.

“Our Chicken Supremes are so delicious they deserve to be made into collectible art, and what’s more fitting to celebrate their greatness than to dive into the NFT space while supporting local artists,” Jackie Woodward, Bojangles’ chief brand and marketing officer said in a press release. “We’re hoping this partnership inspires our Supremes fans and celebrates the tasty spot where great food and art collide.”

Josh Henderson, artist, Bojangles Chicken Supremes collection.

But Food NFTs Require Drink NFTs

Budweiser, VaynerNFT’s debut client, partnered with VaynerNFT on the concept, creation, and launch of the Heritage NFT collection. There are 1,936 unique digital cans in the collection to reflect 1936, the year the first Budweiser can was created. The collection includes 1,900 Core Heritage Cans and 36 Gold Heritage Cans. 

“The Budweiser Heritage Collection is designed to celebrate the brand’s iconic history while also moving Budweiser into the metaverse,” Spencer Gordon, Vice President of Digital + draftLine at Anheuser-Busch said in a press release. “The launch of this NFT Collection is yet another example of our innovative and consumer-first approach to further strengthen our iconic brands.”

VaynerNFT reported that the Budweiser collection sold out within hours of release. 

The fourth VaynerNFT partner drop was from the Robert Mondavi Winery. The Winery partnered with French luxury porcelain house, Bernardaud, to deliver the Robert Mondavi Winery x Bernardaud collection in 1.5L Limoges porcelain bottles. There are 1,966 bottles and corresponding NFTs, including the first bottles ever produced by Robert Mondavi Winery.  The wine in the collection is only attainable through the purchase of the NFTs and generative artist Clay Heaton will produce 1,966 original works of digital art to accompany each purchase.

“We set out to create something truly revolutionary, channeling the visionary mindset of Mr. Mondavi himself, and are proud to introduce the Robert Mondavi Winery x Bernardaud NFT collection to mark the genesis of an historic transformation for the winery,” Robert Hanson, President, Wine & Spirits division at Constellation Brands, the parent company of Robert Mondavi Winery said in a press release. 

To Robert Mondavi Winery, NFTs are more than another way to sell wine -- they are looking for a way to track provenance and address counterfeiting in the wine industry by employing scannable authentication to protect collectors. The winery has partnered with sustainability platform Aerial to track and offset the carbon footprint of the project.

Robert Mondavi Winery x Bernardaud NFT collection.

Allen Hena, Senior Strategist at VaynerNFT, answered a few questions regarding the project. He is clearly bullish on wine and NFTs as a perfect pairing. 

“Robert Mondavi Winery debuted a first-of-its-kind partnership that will revolutionize the world of wine collecting and authentication… Robert Mondavi Winery will offer each collector a digital transaction record for their corresponding NFT purchase tied to the wine bottle they receive, acting as proof of authenticity that will forever live on the blockchain. The immutable ownership created through this process places the winery on the cutting edge of the wine authentication revolution,” Hena said. 

When asked if the NFT collection shows a broadening interest in collecting spirits among retail investors, Hena responded that this is more of the NFT space catching up with collector interest.

“The NFT industry is adapting to retail customers and investors. Presenting already accepted and understood collectibles to them supported by decentralized and open networks is a massive step forward for this space. It is very exciting to have Robert Mondavi Winery leading this disruptive change,” Hena said. 

The Robert Mondavi Winery NFTs will be available for purchase on December 15th -- but due to the convenience of digital ownership, this is in plenty of time for the big holiday. 

“I expect customers will use the Robert Mondavi Winery NFTs as special gifts for loved ones to redeem in 2022. That mechanism is simple for most consumers to understand. It is also a gift of innovation to a loved one,” Hena said. 

Neat or on the Rocks

The Dalmore Decades No. 4 Collection

Of course, if December 15th is too distant a date for you -- or if you just want to pretend to be 007 for the holidays -- Dalmore Highland Single Malt has partnered with BlockBar, an NFT marketplace specifically for luxury wine and spirits, to offer a limited edition liquor NFTs, “The Dalmore Decades No. 4 Collection.”

This will be the only NFTs within the Dalmore Decades selection, so Dalmore positions it as a “once-in-a-lifetime collector opportunity.”

The No. 4 Collection is one of 25 sets and contains four Decades whiskies. Each decanter is engraved with an exclusive set number and black collar and stopper. Each set also includes a custom pedestal to display the decanters. 

Gerry Tosh, Rare Whisky Director for The Dalmore and Dov Falic, Co-founder and CEO of BlockBar responded to interview questions to explain the significance of this partnership and NFT drop -- a drop of historical proportions, according to the creators.

“This Dalmore Decades No. 4 Collection available via NFT on BlockBar, is a unique moment for a collector to acquire a remarkable piece of history. Bridging the physical and digital worlds for the first time in its 180-year-old history, The Dalmore will be digitizing and selling an exclusive set through an NFT directly to a buyer. This asset-backed NFT from the BlockBar platform benefits the buyer by guaranteeing the authenticity and ownership verification, as well as offering a storage solution and handling insurance,” Falic said.

BlockBar believes that NFT drops like this create new opportunities for consumers of all kinds, whether their interest is in NFTs or collectible spirits.

“Through BlockBar, The Dalmore is able to offer an incredible collection straight from their distillery to the consumer. The product also doesn't go through a distributor or retailer so it’s able to be offered at the same price if not lower (like in this case). The price allows the consumers to actually interact and make a purchase from the brand itself…,” Tosh said.

The Dalmore thinks that this is less a story of expanding interest in collectible spirits, which is a space they have occupied for some time, and more a matter of serving the investor better. 

“We are fortunate in that The Dalmore is continuing to experience phenomenal demand with collectors including here in the USA. As worldwide demand for The Dalmore, and for Scotch Whisky, in general, continues to grow, the type of consumer that seeks to invest in Scotch Whisky, is evolving.  Ultimately, at a certain level of investment, a collector has a different expectation of how luxury brands, like The Dalmore, behave. Increasingly, collectors expect to connect directly with the brand, be presented with a truly special release and transact through a trusted and secure channel. NFT is one of the options that enable a luxury brand to meet that consumer demand…,” Tosh said.

BlockBar said that the process of purchasing a restricted product like spirits is actually made simpler through NFTs, as there are fewer hurtles selling and shipping directly to the buyer. 

“Usually, the issue with a 'restricted product' like spirits is the shipping and importation. We make this whole process simpler.. Bottles are only shipped twice, once from the brand’s distillery to the storage facility in Singapore and one final time to the consumer. All of the sales in between keep the product in the same location, no matter how many times it changes hands,” Falic said. 

BlockBar will be launching a gifting option soon which will allow buyers to give fine wine and spirits without having to ship it themselves just by sharing a link by text or email. They did not state whether that feature would be available in time for Christmas. 

The Dalmore Decades No.4 Collection will be offered via NFT on 7th December 2021 at 10:00 AM EST using a lottery mechanic. 

Conclusion

Drink, food, and the holidays when combined are a long-standing tradition -- and we have continued with the notion that anything that can be purchased any other way can still be improved by the inclusion of NFTs in the process. However, the needs for authentication and provenance in collectible wine and spirits do suggest that this is a happy combination of very old school collecting and blockchain technology.

The incentive certainly is there for established brands -- whether they are famous to a wide audience like Budweiser or known to serious collectors -- to reach their existing and new audiences with new ways to buy their products.

It’s easy to forget that the fascination with NFTs is still very new, so the impact of brands entering the space is working out the steps to make purchasing through NFTs -- not for the sake of the little image on your screen, but as a way to acquire a real-world object that has inherent value -- is helping to grind the barriers to this new form of digital ownership down to a fine powder.

After all, if 98% of the NFT projects lose value in the near future, as Gary Vaynerchuk recently predicted in an interview, there may be some comfort in acquiring something more than just a bit of digital art to go along with your investment. Wine and scotch can be a long-term investment after all -- as long as you can resist drinking it. 

See also: Most Expensive NFT Collections

* Cover image: David Drebin, “Blazing City”, Diamond Dust Collection