J.A.Baczewski Single Malt Whisky

When Baczewski x Brandy make their first single malt

There are few Polish brands giving as many challenges to designers as J.A. Baczewski. The most challenging of these, and the latest in our lineup, is the next step in the development of Baczewski whisky, the packaging design for Whisky Single Malt. The eight-year-old Single Malt whisky was matured in oak wine barrels and bottled in a limited edition of just over 10,000 bottles.

In embarking on this task, it was obvious that we would continue to draw on the brand’s rich iconography to reflect its timeless character and at the same moment create a contemporary package, a natural consequence of the path we had started so far with the rebranding of J.A. Baczewski whisky.

The minimalist, almost drug-like label on the bottle was provided by the client, who took care at this stage to also relate the form of the bottle to the historic first whisky prepared by Baczewski more than 100 years ago. The brand’s color scheme, so characteristic of the whisky world, has already established itself in tones of copper, gold and black, hence the choice of these colors as basic for the packaging design.
On the outside, the cuboid-shaped box was covered in matte black with an imitation of a stick-on white band with typography from the bottle label. The detail that breaks the matte is a flashing copper JAB sigil, placed at the base of the front of the packaging.

To emphasize the uniqueness of the product, we decided to expand on the brand’s history itself. Literally, we were helped by the very form of the designed carton – the opening cover, consisting of three parts, allows us to arouse the excitement of the unboxing itself, but also to keep the recipient for a longer time.

In this project, it’s the interior, just like tasting the whisky itself, that gives a full view of the quality. On the copper background, we created an illustrated chronicle of the basic facts of the brand’s history proving that such a demanding product as single malt whisky corresponds to the masterful history of the Baczewski family and is a continuation of the path set. Prepared as screen prints, the red engravings in the background of the packaging also provide a glimpse of past marketing forms, full of aphorisms, poems and humor, combined with equally abbreviated, anecdotal drawings. Pulling them from Baczewski’s archives is also a tribute by today’s designers to past creators.

Preparing the packaging itself posed quite a printing and bookbinding challenge. It was crucial to maintain the right intensity of black and red on the copper backing, as well as a suitably precise bindery capable of matching the obverse and reverse of the magnet-lockable box. Therefore, the partner in this project on the printing side was the international company Altavia.