One of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard’s subsidiaries, Irish Distillers, announced that it will be launching a collection of 48 bottles of Ireland’s oldest-ever whiskey collection. Titled Midleton Very Rare, the spirit is produced in the Midleton Distillery, Co, Cork, Ireland. A few hundred miles West, stands Nude Brand Creation, a design studio that has at its foundation the “power of simplicity.” The artists here say that it is in their DNA to keep things simple, pure, and uncomplicated. Without much effort, the creatives succeeded to translate these features into Midleton Very Rare’s identity, matured by the artists in their own creative barrels.
Well, it didn’t take the London-based agency 46 years to mature it. Here is the case of the drink which had plenty of time to “sediment” over the span of four decades. The peated single malt whiskey has successfully withstood the passage of the time. We see it now writing its own pages of history, with the creatives at Nude Brand Creation being the ones who creatively put on paper the new personality of the spirit.
The story has six chapters, which will be released one by one, annually, until the year 2025. The first launch is basically a 45-year-old Irish single malt. The final release will coincide with Old Midleton Distillery’s 200th birthday. We won’t read the entire book now. Instead, we invite you to immerse yourself in the first visual chapter that the agency created for the distillery.
The first thing Nude did was to create the drink’s vessel, worthy of carrying the liquid Jewel of the Midleton crown. Whilst delivering a contemporary aesthetic through a unique timeless form, the creatives managed to also honor the spirit’s heritage. The result is a beautiful hand-blown crystal decanter featuring a proud elegant stature and meticulous detailing.
Before being cut and etched by the craftsmen at Ireland’s world-renowned House of Waterford, each bottle is meticulously shaped. Clearly, the craft and the liquid are the stars of the script. The decanter’s cut clarity is nicely accompanied by a matt signature line, which stretches from the shoulders and plunges vertically through the bottle. To highlight the luxurious side of the whiskey, the artists crowned the bottle with copper adornments. The credits for the vessels’ look go to John Galvin, an award-winning Irish designer, and woodworker who was born in Cork County, just a few miles away from Old Midleton Distillery.
Laura Hanratty, Global Head of Prestige and Speciality Brands, Irish Distillers, said in a press release: “The launch of Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection represents a new chapter in the history of not only Midleton Very Rare but indeed Irish Whiskey itself, as we launch Ireland’s Oldest ever Whiskey Collection. It is also a landmark moment in placing Irish whiskey, in general, and Midleton Very Rare in particular, in the very top echelons of global luxury spirits. With so much experience in prestige pack design, it seemed only fitting that Nude would be our partner packaging agency on this product.”
Bernard Gormley, Co-Founder, Nude Brand Creation, concluded: “We are extremely proud to have been given the opportunity to work on the Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery collection and with the Midleton team and craftsmen who demonstrated so much skill and passion allowing us to bring the vision to life.”
Clearly, Midleton knew what they were doing by choosing to leave their visual fate in Nude’s hands. This isn’t the first time the duo worked together to pamper the audience’s senses. Check out the previous project the partners released in 2017 and let us know which one you enjoy best.
