Tipperary Boutique Distillery Whiskey Packaging

The team of Jennifer Nickerson, her Dad Stuart Nickerson and her husband Liam Ahern founded Tipperary Boutique Distillery in 2014. Having spent the past few years releasing independently bottled selections of single malt Irish whiskeys, they have now released their first homegrown, single estate Single Malt Irish whiskey. Limited to just 298 bottles, this homegrown barley whiskey is bottled, labeled wax sealed and boxed on the farm.

This whiskey is special in many ways, but most notably is the barley used. The die cut in the top section of the label shows the whiskey in the position the ground should be, with the barley growing from it. This indicates a strong connection between the whiskey and the soil from which the barley grew. The large block of foil is used to further bring attention to this fact, to show how fundamental it is in the creation of this whiskey. The phrase “From Barley grown in a single field on our farm” sits in the large section of foil.

The parallel lines created with the die cut shape are inspired by the lines seen in the field where the barley was grown. It is also a nod to the family field’s name ‘Railway Line’. The dark background allows the whiskey colour to bounce and is inspired by the colour of Rioja wine. Printed as a Pantone spot colour ensured a matt finish to create maximum contrast against the foiled elements.

These bottles were presented in custom handmade wooden boxes. The laser engraving on the box was designed specifically to reflect some of the label elements.

Along with the full size bottles there were also smaller 50ml tasting bottles. Too often, mini labels are neglected and can be an afterthought. During this project it was decided that the same print spec should be used for the mini labels with the labels designed specifically for the much smaller size.

A small number of pink foil labels were produced by asking the printer to change the foil roll toward the end of foiling the blue versions. The pink versions will not be available for purchase and will be used to raise money for charity.

Producing a whiskey during a pandemic is no easy task but this didn’t stop Tipperary Boutique Distillery. The Single Cask Release has been very well received with all 298 bottles sold within a month.