Responses by Mike Perry, founder and chief creative officer, Tavern.
Background: Bourbon distillery Jim Beam doesn’t often launch new products in its Old Grand-Dad line, especially not with such a significant age statement, so this release was special. We needed to design a bottle that felt true to the Old Grand-Dad brand while celebrating and elevating the rarity of the limited edition spirit inside. The bottle design needed to capture the hearts of bourbon aficionados in search of rich storytelling and intriguing spirit propositions who may have overlooked Old Grand-Dad in the past.
Design thinking: A contemporary release for a historic brand like Old Grand-Dad must strike a delicate balance between modernity and heritage. By mining the brand’s archives, we revived forgotten elements like the historic golden label and pre-Prohibition age statements while simplifying the layout to emphasize bold typography and nuanced details. This stripped-back, type-centric design lets the heritage elements shine without feeling dated.
Challenges: We had to be very careful to ensure the final bottle looked and felt right during printing. We prioritized tactility, turning new and familiar design elements into subtle opportunities to invite customers to take a closer look. Using premium, textured paper as the label’s foundation, we applied a blind emboss to certain design elements like the border. Spot varnishes were used to create a layered effect in the text, a rich black gloss to attract attention to the Old Grand-Dad logo and a subtle satin red to make the sixteen-year age statement pop without overshadowing the brand itself.
Favorite details: You don’t see many brands in recent years with decorative neck dressing. While digging through the Old Grand-Dad archives, we saw the brand had, in the past, featured a ribbon around the neck of its more premium bottles. We were excited to bring back this design element to create a nod to both past and present, sealing the heritage-inspired ribbon together with a wax stamp featuring our newly designed Old Grand-Dad monogram.
Visual influences: Given the long history of the Old Grand-Dad brand, we had a wealth of historic bottles and ads from which to draw inspiration. Grounding our design in graphic elements from the brand’s past enabled us to create something authentic to Old Grand-Dad while allowing space for contemporary reinterpretation.
Specific project demands: Staying true to the brand’s core lineup and historic design roots, while enabling it to stretch into a more contemporary, prestige space. We worked hard to strike the right balance between past and present, familiar and fresh.
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