Case 06 — What's Your Whisky

Integrating AI across the full marketing mix.

Premium whisky is one of the highest-value categories in drinks — yet its volume and value were capped by a set of stubborn barriers. AI was the way to reduce them.

Two barriers were holding the category back. For consumers, premium whisky is among the most expensive sub-categories in spirits — bottles frequently cost hundreds of pounds, and rare bottlings many thousands — so a buyer has to feel confident they'll actually enjoy it before they commit.1 For the business, Diageo had only limited consumer flavour-preference data across its markets, so decisions on which of its many whiskies to sell, to whom and where ran largely on instinct. The question that framed the work: how could one platform give consumers the confidence to buy now — driving revenue in the near term — while at the same time generating consumer preference data at enormous scale, the engine of long-term value?

Role

Regional Senior Brand Manager

Client

Diageo · Reserve

Scope

Global

Year

2019–20

Capability

AI personalisation at scale

Proof

Public · 1M+ consumers worldwide

01The problem

Two barriers, one root: limited flavour data and low buyer confidence.

Two barriers sat on either side of the same category. The business had only limited consumer flavour-preference data across its markets, so decisions on which whiskies to range, for whom and where ran largely on instinct. And the consumer — facing a premium whisky that can cost hundreds or even thousands of pounds — had little confidence they'd enjoy the bottle they were about to buy. Different problems on the surface; the same root underneath.

02The idea

Develop one AI consumer experience that solves both problems.

Rather than tackle the two barriers separately, the move was to build a single AI-powered consumer experience that solved both at once: give the consumer a confident, personalised recommendation — and, in doing so, generate richly detailed consumer flavour-preference data, leveraging cutting-edge AI.

03The AI role

AI as the engine: recommendations that sharpen over time.

The AI was the engine behind the experience, built in partnership with FlavorPrint.2 It turned each person's flavour responses into a personalised, confidence-scored recommendation, and sharpened over time. At scale, the same engine generated insight that lifted marketing efficiency across the mix — campaign development, ranging, paid media and new product development.

04The approach

A gamified flavour experience — personal recommendations, global data at scale.

Consumers rated a series of engaging visual flavour stimuli — a game, not a survey — and the AI returned hyper-personalised recommendations that overcame the confidence barrier at the moment of purchase. The same interactions generated global consumer flavour-preference data at remarkable scale and quality, wired across three commercial journeys — on-trade (a bar QR scan straight to a recommendation), off-trade retail and direct e-commerce — with a CRM opt-in capturing it as first-party data, and performance loops feeding retargeting and continual model improvement.

05The outcome

Two barriers down: more confident buyers, and flavour data at scale.

Both barriers came down. On the consumer side, the personalised recommendation and its confidence ('% match') score reduced the perceived risk at the point of purchase — with more than 30% of people who completed the experience going on to buy, and over 60% of them choosing a brand they had never bought before.3 On the business side, the platform built the flavour-preference asset Diageo had never had, going on to profile more than a million consumers worldwide across 21 markets and 16 languages.4 5 The validation followed: Diageo acquired the underlying flavour-matching technology in 2022,4 and extended flavour profiling into further categories, including cocktails, in 2024.5

FAQ

What is Diageo's 'What's Your Whisky'?

What's Your Whisky is an AI-powered flavour-discovery experience Diageo launched in 2019. It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, built on FlavorPrint technology, to analyse a person's flavour preferences and recommend a whisky they're likely to enjoy. It has since scaled to 21 markets and 16 languages and been experienced by more than a million consumers.2 4 5

How does the What's Your Whisky AI recommendation work?

The consumer answers a short series of visual flavour questions. AI and machine learning map those answers across a multi-dimensional flavour model — 18 whiskies profiled against more than 500 flavour data points — and return a personalised, confidence-scored recommendation in a single exchange.2 1

What is FlavorPrint?

FlavorPrint is a flavour-matching AI that maps a person's taste preferences against a large sensory database to recommend products they're most likely to enjoy. It was developed by Vivanda (originally out of McCormick & Company) and acquired by Diageo in 2022. FlavorPrint is a registered US trademark of its respective owner.4

How is AI used in spirits and drinks marketing?

Beyond novelty, the durable uses are personalisation and recommendation, first-party data capture, and the insight that then sharpens ranging, media and product development. The value comes from integrating AI across the consumer journey so the data compounds over time — not from any single isolated tool. What's Your Whisky is one example of that integrated approach.

What results did What's Your Whisky achieve?

Publicly, it scaled to more than a million consumers across 21 markets and 16 languages. In travel retail, Diageo reported that more than 30% of people who completed the experience made a purchase — more than 60% of them a brand new to them. The flavour-matching technology was later acquired by Diageo and extended into other categories.4 3 5

Did Diageo keep using the technology after What's Your Whisky?

Yes. Diageo acquired Vivanda — owner of FlavorPrint — in 2022, and in 2024 extended flavour profiling into cocktails with 'What's Your Cocktail'. The same technology also powers the Journey of Flavour experience at Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh.4 5

Can I see the detail behind the headline figures?

Some additional detail can be shared under NDA — please request the full case study or start a conversation below.

Sources & substantiation

The barriers the experience set out to overcome — a complex, saturated category, risk aversion driven by an expensive price point, and a dated category image — and the FlavorPrint build (18 single malts mapped to a 33-dimension model of 500+ flavour data points; 11 visual flavour questions). Campaign Tech Awards finalist entry. campaigntechawards.com
Diageo launched the 'What's Your Whisky' AI flavour selector on 28 November 2019, using AI and machine learning with FlavorPrint to analyse a consumer's flavour preferences and recommend a whisky; live at launch in nine European countries and six languages. BeverageDaily, 28 Nov 2019. beveragedaily.com
In travel retail, Diageo reported that more than 30% of consumers made a purchase after completing ‘What’s Your Whisky’, and over 60% of those chose a brand they had never bought before. Nick Cook, Managing Director, Diageo Global Travel Europe & Americas, quoted in TR Business. trbusiness.com
'What's Your Whisky' was rolled out across 21 markets and 16 languages and integrated across retail, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer channels; Diageo acquired Vivanda — owner of the FlavorPrint technology behind it — on 30 June 2022. Diageo press release. diageo.com
'What's Your Whisky' has been experienced by more than one million consumers; in 2024 Diageo extended FlavorPrint flavour profiling into further categories, including the launch of 'What's Your Cocktail'. Diageo press release, 31 May 2024. diageo.com

The full case study — the engine design, the three consumer journeys and the first-party data model — is available on request. Request the full case study →

Case study describes work led by Andy Parton in a senior role at Diageo plc. All brands and trademarks are the property of their respective owners; Destreza is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Outcomes reflect a specific engagement and are not a guarantee of future results.

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