Abhainn Dearg – Red River Distillery

Red foiled logo on folding board box
Printed folding board box and miniature box
Wooden Presentation Box with hessian interior
Embossed logo on wooden box

Folding boxboard carton

Wooden presentation box

The brief

The Abhainn Dearg Distillery is located in Uig, on the West Coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides which makes it the most Westerly of the Scottish distilleries. As well as being the first distillery set up in the archipelago for more than 200 years, Abahinn Dearg (pronounced Aveen Jarræk, which means Red River in English) also boasts in producing the first legal single malt whisky in the Outer Hebrides.

For the release of their first 10-year-old single malt, which included a limited edition of 100 numbered bottles, the company approached Clyde for help in producing some premium boxes in both 70cl bottle and 5cl miniature sizes.

The challenge

It was evident from the outset that something special was required for this on this exciting whisky release. The client was clear that they wanted their box to feel thicker and more luxurious. The 100 limited edition bottles presented a further design challenge for the Clyde team as we were tasked to come up with a premium, wooden box design that would complement the cardboard cartons.

The solution

Clyde produced suite of premium packaging including a luxury wooden presentation box, and premium printed folding boxboard cartons with tuck top and snap lock base in two sizes, plus labels and certificates.

Clyde’s team redesigned the client’s artwork from scratch to achieve a look that reflected the Abhainn Dearg brand; this included luxury finishing on both the boxboard carton and the wooden box.

To achieve an ultra heavyweight feel the 70cl boxes were made with two layers of 235gsm card and finished with a crushed textured laminate to the outer face. Red metallic foil in four positions further elevated the design.

The wooden presentation box was given a teak stained finish with a foil blocked logo and hessian lining. For these limited edition boxes, we also produced a printed certificate on parchment paper and suggested the addition of the founder’s signature to add authenticity.

The outcome

We were extremely pleased with the outcome on this project and delighted to support one of the few distillers that takes the product right from the field to the bottle!

The heavy weight and metallic finishing on the boxboard cartons truly fulfilled the brief, which was to create a box with real visual and tactile appeal. The inclusion of a matching box for the 5cl sample size gave Abhainn Dearg a powerful marketing tool.

For the limited edition bottles, the creation of a wooden presentation box further underlined the premium nature of the product, putting it right up there with products from Scotland’s heritage distilleries and appealing to whisky enthusiasts and collectors who are prepared to pay a three-figure sum to be one of the first buyers of the product.

You can see more details on our client’s website: www.abhainndearg.co.uk