First established in 1800 and now made by the Morrison Bowmore Distillery, Auchentoshan takes its name from the Gaelic meaning ‘the corner of the field’ – but today its close proximity to the city of Glasgow gives a uniquely urban character to their famous, triple-distilled single malt. This extra step brings a unique smoothness and sweetness to the whisky, which has led to it being dubbed ‘the breakfast whisky’.
Fusing centuries of tradition with a bold, modern outlook, Auchentoshan periodically releases one offs and rarities. Having decided to release a limited edition bottling of three cask-aged versions of a 30-year-old whisky, the company and their design agency Breeze Creative approached Signet looking to create a heavy and tactile label for these one-off bottles and also for their boxes. The overall design had already been conceptualised by Craig Mackinlay of Breeze, who then turned it over to Signet to make the magic happen!
Signet was ideally placed to deliver on this project which was made more challenging by the weight and thickness of the label to be produced. A further challenge was presented in terms of achieving an aged patina on the labels with chemical processing, because the labels needed to be uniform, and this process can be unpredictable. Last but not least, the label needed to be placed on both the curved surface of the glass bottle, and the flat surface of the presentation box, which required careful consideration of the raw materials. We proposed a label made from pewter, which is malleable, meaning that the design could be die stamped onto the metal but also that the labels would be flexible enough to bend around the glass for a perfect fit. In addition, the label was able to be pre-creased to the precise dimensions of the presentation box, eliminating the need to produce a different label for the box, or to use additional processes for this – the box labels were simply cut to a different length and pre-formed for simple application to the box.
This was a very successful project, with Signet’s expertise enabling Auchentoshan to achieve their objective while also getting excellent value for money, and securing a product that would simplify the application process to boot. We’re glad this limited edition bottle was a success and pleased that Morrison Bowmore remains a Signet customer with their Glen Garioch product.
Never under-estimate the impact of finish elements like a seal. It’s not always about print or labelling!
