Virtual visitors could embark on a mixology quest to gather ingredients and customize a cocktail, as well as sample a virtual menu of signature cocktails served by a nonplayer character (NPC) bartender.Screenshot: Courtesy of Angel’s Envy
The expansion, which adds 13,000 square feet to the facility, will allow the brand to welcome an additional 64,000 visitors each year, doubling its annual guest capacity—in real life.
The Bacardi Limited-owned whiskey brand also revealed Angel’s Envy Meta Distillery, the first distillery experience in Decentraland and the first brand in the Bacardi portfolio to create a home in the metaverse. Open from June 14 (National Bourbon Day) through June 20, the virtual space featured a gamified, educational distillery production tour and bourbon-making experience, interactive cocktail challenge, NFT wearable giveaways, and more.
Angel’s Envy Meta Distillery is the first distillery experience in Decentraland and the first brand in the Bacardi portfolio to create a home in the metaverse.Screenshot: Courtesy of Angel’s Envy
So, how do you taste bourbon in the metaverse?
Users were taken on a series of experiences such as a mash bill challenge that kicks off the distillation process and a chance to personalize a cask in the barreling room, as well as an ingredient quest to create cocktails. Plus, they could sample a metaverse menu of signature cocktails served by a nonplayer character (NPC) bartender. For an IRL taste, folks could also order a cocktail kit via Cocktail Courier.
In addition, at-home visitors had the opportunity to plant virtual white oak trees around the distillery, which correlated to trees planted in real life through the brand’s “Toast the Trees” initiative. Throughout the experience, visitors could earn virtual badges by completing tasks such as the mash bill challenge, which involved combining the right amounts of corn, rye, and barley. Customized NFT wearables included a free barrel backpack and an Angel’s Envy bar apron. Users could also collect their POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) token, which will grant them future benefits with Angel’s Envy.
Angel’s Envy partnered with Terrazero Technologies Inc., a metaverse products and services technology firm and experience development studio, to create the virtual distillery.
“As Angel’s Envy continues to grow, we are always looking to find interesting ways to introduce our whiskies to new audiences," DaDan said. "We aspire to drive innovation within our category, so we felt it was a very natural fit to tap into the exciting, new frontier that the metaverse, namely Decentraland, has to offer."
As for the updated physical brand home, which initially stood at over 90,000 square feet, it now includes a larger retail area; five new tasting rooms; an event space with a full catering kitchen and a new bar space, which will allow the distillery to be used for pairing dinners, private gatherings, cocktail classes, meetings, and corporate events; and a designated room for the brand’s “Bottle Your Own” experience.
While the brick-and-mortar expansion may be complete, fans of the brand can expect to see continued growth when it comes to metaverse-type experiences.
DaDan said that the brand received “an extremely positive response, both from users and the Decentraland Foundation,” adding that users spent “an average of about 80 minutes exploring the virtual distillery and engaging in every part of the experience. We also saw people connect with each other within the space, with groups coming together to take screenshots in front of our virtual photobooth stop. It was wonderful to see them interact in the virtual space and come together like a community—one that we want to continue to engage with and create valuable experiences for.”
See more from inside the IRL and virtual spaces.
