Every Friday we raise a glass to celebrate some of the best new boozy bottles to hit store shelves. This week we’ve got a bunch of boozy confections making brilliant use of illustration, notably through depictions of some formidable feathered folk. By which we mean birds.
Buena Cerveza, by Caava
San Diego-based restaurant and entertainment group Good Time Design commissioned Caava to design and develop its Buena Cerveza beer brand, a Mexican-style lager created with Coronado Brewing Co. “Buena’s style is rooted in the classic graphic arts of screen printing and woodblock type,” says Caava’s Cody Small. The agency developed a custom typeface for the project, used alongside Cabrito and Titling Gothic. We were drawn to this project for pretty much one thing though: that magnificent macaw, drawn by illustrator Mitch Frey.
The Farmer’s Wife Wine, by Nudge Studio
When South African agency Nudge Studio was tasked with designing the packaging for a new product from winemakers Kardouw Oenologie, it wanted to highlight the intricate process that goes into making a decent splash. It did this through an “elaborate illustration” by the agency’s Stefni Cruywagen, who was also responsible for the design itself alongside creative director Mike Cruywagen. The aim was to reflect the fact that The Farmer’s Wife—“an exclusive vintage wine”—never consists of more than five barrels. “The quirky illustration shows the hands-on approach this winemaker has to crafting her wine,” says the agency.
Rough + Raw, by Saehan Kim
Saehan Kim has designed the packaging for “conceptual whiskey brand” Rough + Raw, a double-aged whiskey distilled with raw natural materials. “The design is unique in that it incorporates a variety of different textures,” says the designer. “Rather than a hint of everything, Rough + Raw emphasizes the authentic, true-to-the-original taste of a single note.” Kim is still studying packaging design at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, and judging by the quality of this work, we predict a great future for this bright young thing.
Easy-Mixers, by TSMGO (The show must go on)
Ok so this isn’t strictly booze packaging, but it’s mixer packaging, so that’s near enough. We’re very, very much into these bottles for Easy-Mixers, created by Spanish agency The Show Must Go On. “The designs feature a variety of animals with mixed and matched features, giving it a playful overall feeling,” the studio explains.
The labels act like images from Surrealist parlour game Exquisite Corpse, in which people draw different parts of a body to produce a peculiar final character. TSMGO also drew on the origins of cocktails, which were “linked to digestive medicinal concoctions which helped to balance overindulgence, and heavily associated with pharmacists and healing properties,” leading to designs with a medicinal-leaning aesthetic. And some superb penguins, owls, and bunnies. What’s not to love?
