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"That S*it Will Never Sell!": A book about ideas by the person who had them
The real story behind Bailey's Irish Cream and other great drink brands
The author, David Gluckman, spent over 40 years in a dream job. He created drinks, mostly alcoholic ones. Everyone knows Baileys Irish Cream. How it began, where the idea came from, and the rocky road it took to becoming the world’s best-selling liqueur are all described in this accessible and extremely entertaining book. There are successes, Baileys, Sheridan’s, Le Piat d’Or, The Singleton, Ciroc and Tanqueray Ten. Some interesting failures too like Abercrombie’s Prairie Dog and Stubbs Australian white rum. Each has a fascinating story to tell. And the author’s love of ideas shines through. The book is also beautifully illustrated with full colour pictures throughout.
The title? When a bottle of Baileys was put onto the desk of an American drinks industry pundit in New York, he looked, he pondered, and he pronounced “That s*it will never sell!” Well it did.
printed in full colour
229mm x 153mm
The author, David Gluckman, spent over 40 years in a dream job. He created drinks, mostly alcoholic ones. Everyone knows Baileys Irish Cream. How it began, where the idea came from, and the rocky road it took to becoming the world’s best-selling liqueur are all described in this accessible and extremely entertaining book. There are successes, Baileys, Sheridan’s, Le Piat d’Or, The Singleton, Ciroc and Tanqueray Ten. Some interesting failures too like Abercrombie’s Prairie Dog and Stubbs Australian white rum. Each has a fascinating story to tell. And the author’s love of ideas shines through. The book is also beautifully illustrated with full colour pictures throughout.
The title? When a bottle of Baileys was put onto the desk of an American drinks industry pundit in New York, he looked, he pondered, and he pronounced “That s*it will never sell!” Well it did.
printed in full colour
229mm x 153mm
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2017
5 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 20, 2019
Goodreads giveaway win.
Not sure why its taken me so long to pick this one up, I've spent most of my working life in the hospitality industry - significant portions of it in the wet trade, so this was right up my alley.
I'd never really thought about where a branded drink comes from, I guess always assumed they came from small producers and then got bought by the big companies and rebranded to fit a portfolio.
This book was interesting as it showed just how wrong my assumption was, and that just when you think theres nothing new to drink someone somewhere is trying to reinvent the liquid wheel.
Fascinating book about David and his work developing drinks for a company who eventually became a part of Diageo, some which were a huge success and are still massively popular today and some that while they burned bright for a while eventually disappeared and yet more which never made it off the drawing board.
Not sure why its taken me so long to pick this one up, I've spent most of my working life in the hospitality industry - significant portions of it in the wet trade, so this was right up my alley.
I'd never really thought about where a branded drink comes from, I guess always assumed they came from small producers and then got bought by the big companies and rebranded to fit a portfolio.
This book was interesting as it showed just how wrong my assumption was, and that just when you think theres nothing new to drink someone somewhere is trying to reinvent the liquid wheel.
Fascinating book about David and his work developing drinks for a company who eventually became a part of Diageo, some which were a huge success and are still massively popular today and some that while they burned bright for a while eventually disappeared and yet more which never made it off the drawing board.
June 1, 2022
This is a great account of Gluckman's adventures in the world of alcoholic beverage marketing. I really enjoyed reading through his thought processes with different types of drinks in regards to how he came up with new drinks and also how he went about marketing them. I had hoped that there would be more advice and insight on how to improve your own marketing techniques throughout; however, there were some notes at the back of the book.
October 26, 2025
A great example of one of my favourite kinds of books: one nobody else could have written. Or very few people, anyway. Gluckman co-developed Baileys, Ciroc and a bunch of other drinks, and this book is his story and theirs. It's engaging, enlightening, no-nonsense stuff, in a beautiful package. A joy and a great resource, which I found in a second-hand bookshop: for some reason it doesn't appear to be stocked by the retail giant, which is a bizarre oversight.
May 22, 2017
An engrossing and often amusing read about the drinks industry that also outlines a singular approach to creativity and trusting your instincts. If the author had listened to the first focus group Baileys would never have seen the light of day! It's an easy to get into book full of nicely related anecdotes from the author's travels around the world.
May 12, 2017
Great book. Super pics. Very interesting. Worth a read.
May 16, 2017
Fascinating read! Really nice design- love the cover.
April 1, 2024
Really great resource for anyone working in alcohol / marketing / ideation driven jobs
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews