• by Teresa Buyikian , February 6, 2025

One new whisky collaboration has come up with a way to keeps consumers engaged with its community long after they’ve finished the bottle.

Late last month the group behind Barrel Global, a liquor distributor, announced the launch of The MaltyVerse, an online graphic comic community themed around premium whiskies.

The whiskies are sourced from distillers from Scotland to Kentucky. On each bottle, along with comic character artwork from illustrator Carl Harrison, is a QR code. Once scanned, the code grants entry to the MaltyVerse, where members can vote on future whisky releases, gain access to exclusive stories and original artwork, join the community forum and have priority access to future whisky releases.

Per the brand, the fictional story of the MaltyVerse is “based 100 years in the future where whisky has become a commodity as rare as diamonds and gold.” The story unfolds online as well as on the bottle artwork. Later, “the universe will expand with more characters inspired by other spirits including tequila, mezcal, and rum."

Per Founder George Koutsakis, the brand is planning on marketing the new offerings by “building awareness on social media, which will include webinars with whisky influencers, as well as building awareness through traditional advertisements and public relations including podcasts.”

“The idea for the MaltyVerse really came from my own interest in both whisky and comics, so I decided to create something that combined these two interests,” explained Koutsakis to Marketing Daily. "There are a lot of great whiskies out there, and many great independent bottlers. I wanted to bring a new layer of enjoyment to the whole experience."

The MaltyVerse thus far includes: MaltyVerse x Green River Distillery (five year-old), MaltyVerse x MB Roland Distillery (five year-old) and Cambus Distillery (30 year-old).

 The whiskies are only available online at www.maltyverse.com.