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Metaxa 12 Stars, the latest premium spirit put out by The House of Metaxa, has been launched in Australia.

The focus of Metaxa 12 Stars is sensory exploration, with the tagline “Metaxa 12 Stars… you don’t drink it, you explore it.”

Special guests Costas Raptis, the current Metaxa Master, and Pole2Pole explorer Mike Horn, the face of the campaign, presented at the event.

On the concept of exploration, and how relates to the Metaxa brand, Raptis said, “Exploration means having the mind set to go beyond where everyone else goes… to be curious and a pioneer in everything that you do.”

He also shared some of the history and production of Metaxa.

“In 1888, when Spyros Metaxa created Metaxa, his ambition was to bring to the world a one-of-kind spirit, and to do so he had to go beyond the existing rules. Spyros went beyond the arts of wine making, blending and ageing to deliver - through a unique craftsmanship of bringing together aged distillates with aromatic Muscat wines of Samos and Mediterranean botanicals - an exceptional spirit.”

When creating a new Metaxa style, Raptis said he aligns the creative process with the philosophy of Metaxa’s founder,

“I am never in a rush. I know it takes time to achieve perfection. I create Metaxa 12 Stars with twelve blends.”

The concept behind the “don’t drink it, explore it,” campaign is to encourage consumers to experience Metaxa with all five senses, and to draw inspiration from Metaxa to apply that explorative mindset to everyday life.

“I would like those who are discovering Metaxa 12 Stars for the first time, to think that they have made a unique, unexpected discovery… and for those who have already discovered Metaxa, to renew and keep the excitement of the discovery,” Raptis said.

Explorer Mike Horn, the face of the Metaxa 12 Stars campaign, was chosen because of the way that he reflects the concept of journey and because he quite literally embodies the notion of exploration, according to Metaxa.

Horn is currently attempting to be the first person to circumnavigate the globe via both the North and South Poles, and he spoke to Food & Drink Business about the relationship between Metaxa 12 Stars and his career as an explorer.

“I explore nature using my senses and I believe this is how you drink Metaxa 12 stars, by using all your senses; sight- to capture your attention of the bottle, and smell and taste to engage your nose and mouth in all the flavours of the dried roses, honeyed figs and prunes, dark chocolate and dried orange.

“In our own way we are explorers, no matter if you are a distiller of Metaxa, an artist or an explorer… we all use our minds to explore the possibilities of what the fruits of nature have to offer us,” he said.

“Thinking of discovering a new world of taste and senses while consuming Metaxa 12 stars opens the mind to a new world of discovery.”

A website dedicated to the campaign, created by Interweave, explains the exploration philosophy of Metaxa 12 Stars.

The interactive web experience and the multichannel digital campaign build on exploration as a way of living, thinking and being.

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