Copperfield London Dry Gin

Design: Nude Brand Creation
Illustrator: Alex Machin
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: The Surrey Copper Distillery
Location: London, UK
Packaging Contents: Gin
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Paper Label, glass bottle
Printing Process: Flexography

The Surrey Copper Distillery has launched their first product, Copperfield London Dry Gin, with brand identity and packaging developed by Nude Brand Creation. The new distillery was recently established by industry renowned former Chief Brewer at SABMiller PLC, Professor Katherine Smart, and her husband, Dr Chris Smart, former Head of Brewing Services for food and drink consultancy Campden BRI.

Copperfield London Dry Gin is handcrafted in small batches in a bespoke copper pot still using a blend of botanicals. The recipe is based on a heritage Georgian recipe taken from the first edition of The Complete Distiller by Ambrose Cooper, published in 1757 in Holborn, London.

In line with gins of the 18th century, just 10 carefully selected botanicals are used. Juniper rich, lightly floral and with woody spice, Copperfield gin is round and smooth with good complexity and length.

Copperfield gin is hand-bottled and hand-labelled. The idea of creating a book inspired bottle came out of Katherine and Chris Smart’s background in academia and their passion for collecting rare, vintage books, especially Charles Dickens. Naming the first volume ‘Copperfield’ was a direct reference to Dickens but also alludes to the copper still and the selected natural botanicals used in the creation of this amazing London Dry Gin.

The bookplate is embellished with a detailed illustration commissioned by Alex Machin. Interwoven botanicals overlay rich copper foiling to replicate a cover from the golden era of book design.

The ‘spine’ of the bottle allows each volume to be stored as a library, whilst the back face reveals its inner secret in the form of distilling notes seen through the liquid on the reverse of the label. The hand written script gives a true sense of delving back in time to unearth the inspirations plus includes excerpts from Katherine’s own notebook, made during the gin’s development process. The bottle is sealed with a copper stopper and a tamper proof ‘bookmark’.

Tony Enoch, Partner at Nude Brand Creation, said: “Katherine and Chris are avid collectors of rare and antiquarian books and, after creating the identity for The Surrey Copper Distillery, it was only natural that literature inspired the bottle design. The intricate detail of the label design together with the use of copper foil will create real impact on shelf. The handwritten notes on the inside of the bottle are an extra discovery.”

Katherine and Chris add: “Nude have been great to partner with and have created something we are really proud of. The bottles look fantastic in photos but in real life they are stunning. We feel they are the perfect package for the gin, both have been created with such care and attention.”

Label Apeel printed the labels using a new technique to allow the distilling notes to appear on the reverse of the label. Tom Hearn, Business Director at Nude Brand Creation, said: “We had a vision for the label which had a number of technical demands and complications. We couldn’t have achieved the end result without Label Apeel, who embraced the creative challenge and worked with us to print a unique label.”

Copperfield London Dry Gin is currently available as a 70cl bottle and a 5cl miniature.