Distinguished whisky legend, Sir Alexander Ramsay opened the Fettercairn distillery in 1824. It was one of the first distilleries opened following the campaign to license Scottish whisky. A monument to traditional whisky production, Fettercairn has been at the forefront of high-quality Scottish whisky distillation for almost 200 years.
Located in the foothills of Scotland’s Cairngorms, the village of Fettercairn has a renowned whisky heritage, and benefits from an abundance of pure and clear mountain water – a vital element in the traditional whisky-making process.
Following a refresh of its bottle design, Fettercairn was looking for a way to better communicate its brand heritage and culture of distilling excellence through their label and packaging design.
Working alongside distinguished design agency Stranger and Stranger, we established several design options to communicate the history of the product range, while simultaneously delivering a traditional, high-quality feel that would catch the eye of the most discerning whisky connoisseur.
Collaborating closely with both the team at Fettercairn and their design agency representatives, and following a review of several suggested products, we settled upon a version of the Marque label as the ideal solution.
With an eye for detail regarding the brand colours and debossing effect, the Marque label delivered a sharp image and text to perfectly symbolise the high attention to detail of the brand.
The end product is mesmerising in its design. With clear and precise debossed text, its clean, sharp edges provide a deep sense of quality and craftmanship. The off-white enamelled image of a unicorn is offset effortlessly against the dark textured central background, drawing the eye towards the main brand image with ease.
Supplied to Fettercairn with a strong self-adhesive back that can be hand applied into a recess upon each bottle, the design and finish of this Marque label resembles a traditional copper coin used in the period that Fettercairn was established, a significant nod to the brand heritage.
We were also asked to replicate this design in a slightly larger version to be adhered to the box that several of their products are supplied within, thus ensuring that the brand is consistently represented by this high-quality imagery wherever it is displayed.
The final product was extremely well received by both the client and the marketplace, with recognition of the Marque label as an ideal solution to communicate the brand values and establish the sense of prestige, heritage, and quality that the client was looking for. We continue to work alongside Fettercairn today to ensure that their products remain a bastion of heritage and quality for the Scottish whisky producing community and we hope to continue to support them in establishing their next 200 years of producing the finest quality Scottish whisky to be enjoyed around the world.
