A single malt double act

Whisky is one of those rare products that spans the pricing scale from the most affordable to the peaks of luxury. Designing packaging and branding for products from the same distillery, but those that reflect both ends of the spectrum can be a challenge.

Nude Brand Creation, a London-based agency, has unveiled designs for two whisky brands’ premium offers. Whisky branding relies on heritage, craftsmanship and storytelling to impart the right kind of characteristics on each individual product and to differentiate the many distilleries around the world.

For Pernod Ricard brand, Midelton Very Rare, the packaging for a new vintage is all about luxury. The sister brand of the more affordable Jameson, Midleton has just released its 34th edition of exclusive Irish whiskey. The bottle is designed in the shape of an ink well, with elegant sloping lines, a nod to Ireland’s literature tradition. That theme is carried through the label design and paper stock. The outer packaging is made from solid Irish wood with copper detail.

Mike Parsonson, partner at Nude Brand Creation, says, “We created a unique set of luxury codes which are derived from Ireland, by researching the history of the brand, as well as Irish craft and literature. The notion of luxury has changed in the last few years. Previously luxury packaging meant lots of gold, over-embossing and dark, rich colours. The new luxury is inspired by craft and honesty. The end result evokes understated luxury through subtle discoverable details and careful consideration of every material and mechanism.”

But Nude Brand Creation also worked with Scotch purveyor Ballantine’s, also owned by Pernod Ricard. The Glasgow-area brand is known for its blended lines, but the whisky market is moving more into single malts. Launching three, 15 year-old, single malts, it turned to the agency for support in creating the new range.

The packaging works to simultaneously reinforce Ballantine’s brand heritage, quality and consumer familiarity with the popular distillery. But, the introduction of three colours and new packaging allows the new whiskies to tell their own stories.

Mathieu Deslandes, Ballantine’s global brand director says, “The single malts category is dynamic and continues to grow rapidly as more consumers become lovers of this iconic Scottish spirit. As a globally known brand, we are sure that consumers will have confidence in the quality and credibility of these new single malts as they are widely recognised as the signature malts that form the heart of Ballantine’s.”