Don Edoardo: Barelled Premium Istrian Spirit

Design: MAKE Creative Design Studio
CEO: Davor Kos
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: O.P.G. Franc Arman
Location: Porec, Croatia
Packaging Contents: Grape Brandy
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass bottle
Printing Process: Digital printing, Foil stamping

The day Grandpa Edoardo would leave the tavern and choose a barrel with eight chalk marks from the neatly arranged oak barrels was always a special one. We knew that a small, somehow ordinary miracle had just occurred: human persistence overcame human curiosity and now it had paid off.

Eight years of waiting and aging had finally revealed the key to its existence.

We always asked ourselves why Don Edoardo’s grape brandy had to age for exactly eight years in oak barrels, why he only used the best husks of muscat and malvasia grape varieties and why and how he could elevate ordinary husks, one could say an ordinary brandy, into such a sophisticated beverage.

We recall when Grandpa would taste the eight year aged brandy for the first time… He would proudly leave the tavern with a thick glass in which the precious amber fluid sparkled, as if he had found some long-hidden treasure… and as if offering a sacrifice to the land from which it came, he would pour some liquor from the top of the glass onto the ground, take a short sip, purse his lips, smack his tongue, and on his face, which from an impatient frown quickly turned into blissful happiness, we saw a new victory arise… The desire to once again make a new chalk mark for a new eight year cycle…

In remembrance of their grandfather and great grandfather, a man who deeply believed in his wine and generously handed down his experience and knowledge to his heirs, his proud successors, his son Franc and grandson Oliver, have distilled a wine brandy in their winery bearing the name Don Edoardo.

Don Edoardo wine brandy, made from the husks of muscat and malvasia grape varieties, is distilled in traditional alembic copper stills. It is aged for eight years in uncharred oak barrique barrels. It has an alcohol content of 45% and is recommended as a digestive.

As it is made in a limited edition of only 500 bottles, this brandy has become quite an appreciated and sought after drink in our finest restaurants. You can also try it at the winery itself, which provides an added charm to the tasting experience.

Just like other premium aged brandies, whiskeys or cognacs, our grape brandy is bottled in heavy clear glass bottles which accentuate the amber shades of the Don Edoardo husks. The label is printed on black „wine label” paper which is in accordance with the original story of wines from the Franc Arman winery.

Along with the logo of the winery, there is also the handwritten name of the brandy itself in bas relief in red which is associated with the colour of the sun in the winery’s logo, and gives a recognisable tactile feel to the label when touching it with the fingers.

In addition to the standard information on the label (an alcohol content of 45% and a volume of 700 ml), it also includes what the brand is most recognisable for: eight white chalk marks which Grandpa Edoardo patiently marked with white chalk on each barrel for each year of aging. It is interesting to note that the space between the chalk marks became wider year by year and Grandpa in this way unconsciously revealed his impatience and uncertainty because, as the aging process drew closer to completion, it seemed that the years were longer and went slower… And that is exactly how this premium brandy needs to be savoured: drunk slowly in the company of loved ones and letting it flow slowly – just like the years it took for it to age.

Salute! Cheers!

What’s Unique?
It is interesting to note that the space between the chalk marks became wider year by year and Grandpa in this way unconsciously revealed his impatience and uncertainty because, as the aging process drew closer to completion, it seemed that the years were longer and went slower… And that is exactly how this premium brandy needs to be savoured: drunk slowly in the company of loved ones and letting it flow slowly – just like the years it took for it to age.