Highland Park revamps design for 12 and 18YO

Edrington Group's Highland Park has released new packaging as part of its reimagining of the overall brand identity.

The brand’s Orkney Islands home has history rooted back to 800AD when the Islands were owned and ruled by the Viking kingdoms of Denmark and Norway. Although Orkney became part of Scotland in 1468, Orcadians still feel a connection with their Viking heritage as one in three of them has Scandinavian DNA.

Jason R Craig, brand director, comments: “For whisky fans, their first point of contact with any brand is the bottle and carton on a shop shelf or on a back bar. So, we had to create a new bottle and carton design which would explain our Viking bloodline and why we are ‘The Orkney Single Malt with Viking Soul’.

“The inspiration for the design came from an ancient ‘Stavkirke’ (wooden church), a world Heritage site in the tiny Norwegian village of Ornes. The wooden church is heavily decorated with extensive and ornate wood carvings which we thought would look amazing on a glass bottle. The result is a beautiful, heavily embossed bottle featuring an illustration which depicts an ancient Viking legend of a lion locked in an enduring battle with the forces of evil in the form of serpent-like dragons.

“The new packaging includes a new, wider bottle, a metallic label design that complements the glass, embossed with a contemporary looking logo as well as a premium ‘Torq’ closure to keep the whisky safe. All of which, we believe, will add consumer interest and excitement around the brand.”

The carton for each of the brand’s 12 and 18 Years Old whiskies also feature the ancient lion and dragon legend with embossed metallic detailing, ensuring enhanced premium cues, visibility and stand-out on shelf. In addition, the statement ‘Made with Pride on Orkney’ features on the side of each carton.

The whisky profile for Highland Park’s 12 and 18 Year Old single malts remains unchanged. However, each variant has been given a sub-brand name to give a stronger individual identity to each whisky.

These sub brand names are inspired by the ‘Nine Noble Virtues’ which the Vikings’ community lived by:

· Highland Park 12 Year Old – Viking Honour

· Highland Park 18 Year Old – Viking Pride

The new packaging for Highland Park 12 Years Old will begin to appear on shelf in the UK from the end of April 2017 while Highland Park 18 Years Old will be out later in the year.

29 April 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor