Favorite Bottle designs

[Kent Wang]

A current favorite of mine is Hendrick's Gin (image, official site), which looks very much like a bottle of medicine, recalling the way gin was sold out of pharmacies in Victorian England. A medicine, indeed, that will cure you of the disease of sobriety.

The way the label and the text are rendered are also very Victorian.

[tkd7]

Bulleit Boubon. I feel like I'm in the old West.

[Joe Blowe]

I really like the design of the baby Saz bottle, it's just too bad I'm not wild about the contents...

Edited December 23, 2006 by Joe Blowe (log)

[Kent Wang]

I was going just to mention the Sazerac as well. Both the bottle shape and the logo text evoke a wonderful 19th century aesthetic.

Now, for a bit of a diversion, the wackiest 1.75L bottle: Grand Marnier. You really have to see one of these in person. It's the exact same shape as the smaller versions, except the size is gigantic! Now, most 1.75L bottles are pretty awkward but the Grand Marnier really takes the cake.

Here it is dwarfing the 750mL Cointreau bottle. This is also one of the most expensive 1.75L bottlings out there, at about $70. None of the other liqueurs like Cointreau and Chartreuse offer bottles in this size. Really, it is quite an oddity.

[slkinsey]

Hah! That's awesome.

Not a bad buy at 70 bucks. That would be something like a 10 year supply of Grand Marnier for me.

[jlo mein]

I think the limited Pusser's ceramic decanter line is pretty elaborate. The largest, the Trafalgar, has incredible detail. Myself, I'm hoping to find one of the cheaper mini 50mL decanters.

[Alchemist]

It seems that there has been a slew of redesigning lately. Some major overhauls, some just grafficks. I personally miss the old Plymouth bottle. The new one's neck is too short to be bartender friendly. But don't miss the wat the bottom of the old one would catch the upper ridge on the Tanq. (My speed rail usually goes ((Right to Left)) Plym, Tanq, Beef, Bomb Dry, Matusalem ect...) Love the new neckk on Ketel One. I love the new look of Lillet, and am rather puzzled by the new Marie Brizard lable. Can anybody else think of others, or throw in thier 2 dollars?

[BrooksNYC]

The Deco-inspired bottle for the new St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur is absolutely stunning. The picture can't do justice to the weight of the bottle or the beautifully faceted surface.

[eas]

It seems that there has been a slew of redesigning lately.  Some major overhauls, some just grafficks.  I personally miss the old Plymouth bottle.  The new one's neck is too short to be bartender friendly. But don't miss the wat the bottom of the old one would catch the upper ridge on the Tanq.  (My speed rail usually goes ((Right to Left)) Plym, Tanq, Beef, Bomb Dry, Matusalem ect...)  Love the new neckk on Ketel One.  I love the new look of Lillet, and am rather puzzled by the new Marie Brizard lable.  Can anybody else think of others, or throw in thier 2 dollars?

←

We're seeing divergent trends in packaging design: some producers are moving towards more production and environmentally-friendly design (lighter and packing/shipping efficient) whereas many others are veering towards highly unique shapes and often heavier bottles. Perhaps some see their destiny on the shelf rather than the rail, so focus on design for best placement.

The most user friendly new design might be the new Bols bottles, though the US offering and contents seem to be unchanged.

Edited August 7, 2007 by eas (log)

[Malkavian]

I'm partial to the lines of a Sazerac bottle. Besides that, Jura distillery's hourglass shaped bottles are an interesting twist IMHO

[Kent Wang]

Milagro has some interesting ones. Milagro Romance has both a reposado and an anejo in one bottle. Milagro Select Barrel Reserve has a beautiful hand-blown glass agave inside -- no, that's not a print.

[scratchline]

Beautiful bottles on this thread! Here are a couple we like. The Four Roses Small Batch has the labels put on by hand, so they fit around the raised glass roses. The Lairds is their 12-year apple brandy--a very nice gift for those thinking ahead to the holidays.

-Mike & Jenny

[Kent Wang]

I wonder how much some of these bottles cost to produce. The Milagro and the Pusser's Trafalgar look quite expensive. Just a guess, but maybe $5 each?

[TAPrice]

Luxardo maraschino is a great product, but I always feel like the bottle should be sitting at a pizzeria with a candle sticking out of its mouth.

Luxardo's amaretto, however, comes in a bottle that I love (see this Spirits Review page for a photo). It's more or less rectangular but tapers towards the top. The sides are slightly concave.

The bottle just feels comfortable when you pick it up. The contours are designed to fit the hand (at least a hand my size--perhaps others disagree). Like an iPod, it's clean and pleasing--an example of design that doesn't call attention to itself.

Which bottles do you like? Which bottles stand out for their design and not just their beauty (Canton ginger liqueur, for example, I find pretty to look at but awkwardly heavy)?

Edited August 28, 2009 by TAPrice (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

From a perhaps too-practical perspective I like those bottles that are easy to grab from the rail with wet hands...Sazerac Rye is particularly good with it's long neck but most things in the 'standard' bottle work well like this. Many gins with their short necks can be difficult (don't even get me started on Hendricks) and Cointreau is tricky as well though I have seen neck extensions for Cointreau out there but have been unable to locate one.

From a purely aesthetic viewpoint it's hard to ignore the St. Germaine bottle. But I'm more of a function over form kind of guy.

[Pierogi]

Totally agree about the St. Germaine bottle, it reminds me of the Chrysler Building in NY.

The Tanquery 10 gin bottle is also gorgeous, from the shape and "faceting" to the beautiful green. The 750 mL bottle of Boodles gin is pretty cool as well.

[KD1191]

I quite like the look and feel of Balvenie scotch bottles, with the vase-like neck (though this is used to some degree in many other places). The Plymouth gin/sloe gin bottles have some of the same 'faceting' that looks so nice on Tanq 10. Four Roses Single Barrel has a bottle not unlike the Luxardo Amaretto, but without the concave sides.

ETA: Though I love the product and the aesthetics, I can't stand the bottle for Amaro Nonino. I can never get the cork out without using my teeth.

Edited August 28, 2009 by KD1191 (log)

[Kent Wang]

Truly, St. Germaine is the best.

Domaine de Canton is cool, very unique, but I feel a bit overwrought, like a premium vodka bottle.

The Luxardo Maraschino is annoyingly tall; I can't fit in my liquor cabinet. Though not quite as bad as Galliano -- who uses that stuff anyway?

[brinza]

I love the Bluecoat Gin bottle. It's like an antique apothecary bottle.

Another bottle I love to look at is Noilly Prat's new bottle.

I've always liked the Drambuie bottle, and I'm saving empties since the bottle design is about to change completely.

I think the Michael Collins Irish Whiskey bottle is very elegant--even the cap is quite smart looking.

The Samurai Vodka bottle is just too cool for its own good.

[Kohai]

Death to Cointreau and Hendrick's, however.

Iconic? Yes.

Bartender-designed? No.

[Vieux Carré]

I'll have to second the Balvenie bottle which I keep and use as decanters and my wife would like to put a vote in for the Bluecoat. I also kind of like those easy to handle Knob Creek bottles.

[Friend of the Farmer]

the new Bols liqueurs bottles handle so well - wish more were like it and they almost kinda makes me want to flair bartend too. Though given the risk of the contents spilling out, I'd best stick to knife throwing.

[jmfangio]

I think the Hitachino Kiuchi no Shizuku bottle is very pretty. I also love the bottle and packaging of Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal. But, be forewarned: a friend brought some back for me from France, and had her bags searched at every one of her connections. The bottle inside the milled wood case looks a wee bit too much like a grenade on the airport x-ray.

I agree about the St. Germain bottle being incredibly beautiful, if not the most functional. I haven't been able to bring myself to throw away my empties (I'm still planning to make a lamp out of at least one).

[llc45]

I think the Hitachino Kiuchi no Shizuku bottle is very pretty.    I also love the bottle and packaging of Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal.  But, be forewarned:  a friend brought some back for me from France, and had her bags searched at every one of her connections. The bottle inside the milled wood case looks a wee bit too much like a grenade on the airport x-ray.

I agree about the St. Germain bottle being incredibly beautiful, if not the most functional.  I haven't been able to bring myself to throw away my empties (I'm still planning to make a lamp out of at least one).

←

I buy the little St. Germain bottles and then group the empties as mini-vases on my table with single flowers. You could probably do this with the big bottle as well.

[haresfur]

Anything with a flair in it's neck so it doesn't slip through my grasp when I'm drinking

I'd have to agree with others that the Sazerac bottle is great for being distinctive and functional. Without making judgments on the contents, the Bombay Sapphire bottle seems well thought out and is pretty and distinctive enough to keep the marketers happy.