He was the genius behind the development of Baileys Irish Cream. Baileys was the product of necessity combined with invention. Grand Metropolitan was the owner of both IDV (now half of Diageo) and Express Dairies. In Ireland there was a small subsidiary called Gilbey’s of Ireland which marketed Gilbey’s Red Breast whiskey and also a small dairy company. The Irish government gave tax incentives for exports so Tom saw the gap and took the Red Breast bottle, with a big “R” on it and blended whisky and cream, together with Nesquik and that was the first sample of Baileys, says James Espey, Jago’s partner.
Baileys was rejected by consumers in research so Tom hid the research. The brand was launched in 1974 and today Baileys sells about 7 million cases or some 84 million bottles per annum.
In 1978, Gilbey’s South Africa (IDV) created a coconut style rum called Coco Rico. It was a superbly packaged product with a great taste and we thought it could be a world beater. The problem was that South Africa was a pariah nation. Tom had the trade mark “Malibu”. He tweaked the packaging, changed the name to Malibu and we imported it from South Africa. Tom described Malibu as a Caribbean-style rum and working with the advertising agency came up with the slogan “It comes from paradise and tastes like heaven” Today it sells 4 million cases a year and is owned by Pernod Ricard.
Last Drop Distillers was created when Tom was 82. It was believed there were tiny parcels of superb spirits – whisky, cognac and others — tucked away in cellars in Scotland, France and elsewhere. Today Last Drop Distillers is owned by Sazerac.