Obituary: Phil Parnell, visionary chief at Drambuie

AS THE chief executive officer of Drambuie over the last six years, Phil Parnell was the driving force in turning the whisky-based liqueur from a rare after-dinner treat or Christmas drink for older fogeys, this writer included, into a "cool" cocktail, or part of a tall, mixed drink for younger generations around the world.

Although born in England, he made his mark on Scottish business until his recent death from cancer, turning the venerable, historic but at-the-time declining Drambuie brand (owned by the MacKinnon family from Skye) from a near-relic into a vibrant product with which young people now wish to be seen.

Before he was headhunted by Drambuie, based at the Glenmorangie complex in Broxburn, West Lothian, Parnell's vision had shown similar success at Guinness/United Distillers and the Dunlop-Slazenger sports empire.

As the first non-family boss at Drambuie, he presided over a rejuvenation of the brand, as well as turning it from loss into the balmy high road of profitability. As one drinks writer wrote, Drambuie had "taken its eye off the ball," investing its shareholders' money in such things as the MacKinnon (albeit brilliant) art collection, an expensive Edinburgh HQ at Hillwood House, the upmarket car sales company Glenvaragill and a new cream liqueur that was never going to compete with Bailey's.

To balance his books, Parnell sold many of those off and concentrated on his own product and how to market and sell it. To attract 28-35-year-olds - who, he believed, had the most spending power for his product - he started off with the simplest approach, changing the design of the famous bottle to make the product itself - a mix of whisky, Highland heather honey and secret herbs and spices - more visible and easier to pour. A narrower neck to fit pub pourers was a simple but effective move. "The long drinks market is what we're after," he said after taking over. "Think of it in the same bracket as gin and tonic, whisky sour or Pimm's and lemonade."

Before Parnell arrived on the scene, Drambuie, to younger people, was a special-occasion tipple for grandparents. It tended to cash in on its history, purportedly first mixed by Bonnie Prince Charlie while running rings round English bloodhounds … and their dogs. "Risk, rebellion, passion and mystery," was its motto.

A business visionary and skilful marketer, Parnell totally changed that image to attract the young. To complement its classic Rusty Nail cocktail (Drambuie and Dewar's Scotch) - long popular in the US among stars such as Frank Sinatra - Parnell and his team introduced the Silver Nail - Drambuie mixed with soda - the Jamaican Nail, with ginger beer, and the Ruby Nail, with cranberry juice to give it a healthier hint to compete with vodka-and-cranberry.

To market his product to a new generation, Parnell was also instrumental in launching the Drambuie Pursuit, a 100-mile endurance race involving rock climbing, white-water rafting, mountain biking, kayaking and buggy racing across the Highlands from Skye to Inverness. His idea was that the event should retrace, albeit backwards, the steps of what Drambuie claims was its creator and first drinker, Bonnie Prince Charlie himself, during his flight from his English pursuers in the mid-18th century. Parnell managed to enlist such celebrities as English rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio (in 2009) to ensure publicity.

He also introduced the Charlie's Nail Bar sampling bus, a coach-turned-bar which visits rock concerts and other major events such as the British (Formula One) Grand Prix to push the product to a younger audience. Parnell was delighted to see "the Drambuie Warriors" take part in their Warrior Games, including tug o' war and limbo contests. He was even more delighted to learn that the bar-bus and the games introduced 32,000 new potential consumers a year to his product. Always aware of alcohol's dangers, he was a great believer in "everything in moderation".

Under Parnell's leadership, Drambuie more than held its own over the last few years, despite the global economic downturn, maintaining sales in its biggest markets - the UK, the US, Canada and, for reasons nobody is quite able to fathom, Greece. The loss-making company he took over in 2005 posted a 2.8?million profit last year, having moved its supply arrangements - whisky procurement, blending and bottling - from the Glenmorangie company to Morrison Bowmore Distillers.

In an interview last year, shortly before illness forced him to step back from the leading role at Drambuie, Parnell said: "Despite the ravages of the global recession, we have made significant progress towards the rebuilding of the company … With the exception of the problems in southern Europe, we look forward to further recovery in 2011."

Philip John Parnell was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, on 6 May, 1952, to a father who worked in the same factory for 40 years, something that later influenced young Phil's outlook and ambitions. He attended what was then known as Alleyne's Grammar School in nearby Stevenage before graduating with an MA (Hons) in modern languages (French and German) from Birmingham University. It was there that he met a lass from Barnsley, Pamela Lavelle, whom he would marry in 1976.

Despite his education in languages, "I wanted to do something commercial," he said. His first job was promoting canned cat food at the Spillers pet food company. "Actually, marketing pet food was really interesting," he said in an interview. "You have to consider both the pet and its owner. It was a real challenge." After five years at Spillers, he moved to Guinness, just as the company and other beer brands were beginning to see the importance of marketing. It was there that he met Ernest Saunders, controversial architect of the Guinness-Distillers merger.

Despite Saunders' later fall from grace, Parnell, who rose to be the commercial director at Guinness, regarded him as something of a hero. "Regardless of what came later," he said, "you have to respect Saunders for the way he turned Guinness around." Parnell later became marketing director at United Distillers, kicking off its rejuvenation programme for Johnnie Walker. After moving to Dunlop, the giant of the tyre industry, he helped pull its sports brand off the ropes to compete with Nike, Wilson and others.

Phil Parnell is survived by his wife Pamela, their son Simon and daughter Francesca.