DUNROBIN DISTILLERY
HONOURS PROJECT
Dunrobin Distillery is the distillery that never was. Before the COVID-19 lockdowns, Dunrobin Castle and their estate were pushing towards the founding of an all-new highland distillery, starting off with gin and then later pushing into whisky. These bottles and the liquid inside are a nod to what could have been. Each of the design choices are thoroughly researched and developed to create a bottle that’s rich both in storytelling and in substance.
A total of three different bottlings were produced, each with a different story surrounding the blended malt, to reflect Sutherlands community and the Dunrobin estates history, in order to create a coherent piece which is digestible and approachable for any audience.
This was a yearlong project starting with the desired flavour profiles of each whisky. Casks were each borrowed from local bars and the whisky spirit for the blends were either purchased or donated to make the final product. 3 litre casks were used to speed up the maturation time on each, so as to maximise time efficiency.
The Brand
Dunrobin Distillery
The branding will take advantage of an already established name which has plenty of external herritage to take advantage of in the design storytelling. Here we will highlight the history of Dunrobin and the Sutherland destricts history as a storytelling device embeded into the whisky with different design choices.
01. The Blends
Clearance
This particular blend will go through the details of the highland clearances. The whisky will be matured in sherry and absinthe casks and is heavily peated. Purple Here is not only used to highlight the sherry influence but also help inforce the umami roundness of that the absinthe maturation will bring.
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The design is tilted diagonally to connect with imagery of eviction notices which are often stamped at an angle. This will also encourage customers to pick the bottle up in order to see the whole label. The design also leaves space for customers to sign there name on the bottle, making the bottle seem a little special to each consumer.
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The whisky will then reveal a secret newspaper article on the back when the liquid is drained. These will all be unique stories related to the highland clearances and their aftermath.
02. The Blends
Witches Circle
This second blend will have a far more herbal influence with the main insperation being of the standing stones which are found around rowan trees. These stones are supposed to ward off spirits, which felt fitting when designing a high spirit whisky. Rowan red was therefore used to help reflect this.
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The casks used here are done with fortified wine into amaro casks, with another peaty finish. This will help enforce the more herbal imagery of witches and alchemy.
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The newsprint here will tell stories of real Scottish urban legends, giving the user extra instentive to finishing the bottle and buying another one to find out about more myths.
03. The Blends
Gada
Finally the last whisky takes insperation of the Scottish small village celebration of gala weeks. The whisky is named Gada instead of Gala as its a form of colloquialism which refers to the most important day of the week long Gala celebration. The term just shortens Gala-Day into one word. Gada is the day for party and therefore the whisky is a rousing spirit which invigors consumers for a day of celebration ahead.
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Green here is used to highlight the correlation between gala and apples (gala apples). This is then again enforced in the selection of casks which uses calvados, An apple based spirit. The whisky barrel however is heavily smoked in rosemary and the whisky itself is heavily peated and salted to give a nod to the coastal villages of Scotland who take part in Gala day celebrations.
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The newsprint on the back will show different real world stories of Scottish parties that maybe got a little silly or out of control.
