Yomatsuri Japanese Whisky

Yomatsuri, a blended Japanese whisky, takes its inspiration from the ‘Chichibu Yomatsuri Night Festival,’ a 300-year-old celebration and one of the most important float festivals in Japan. The energy and vibrancy of this festival derive from the incredible fireworks that illuminate the night sky and depict the ‘Kasaboko,’ meaning ‘flower parasols.’ This is very much a family festival, and its spectacular origins lie in the rich silk market trade of the East. Its old-world charm is reflected in its rich colors, its energy, and its paper-colored lanterns, or ‘Bonbori,’ which illuminate and dance across a winter sky, paying tribute to the importance of its folk culture.

In our bespoke label design, we wanted to capture ‘a moment in time’ through our palette of materials comprising textured torn paper, hand-illustrated Japanese typography, and rich purple and gold inks. An original illustration of the ancient celebrations showing the ornate wooden buildings adorned with lanterns pays homage to the simple design principles of Japanese culture. We have intentionally kept the bottle shape refined and elegant, and when paired with a beautifully crafted wooden top, this nods to these incredible wooden temples and structures, as well as the wooden floats that embellish this winter festival.

As this quality whisky was also designed to appeal to a younger nightclub audience, we incorporated a subtle UV varnish layer into the print design, allowing for an added dimension of vibrancy and reflection across an illuminated bar shelf. Just like this ancient festival, we wanted to light up our design and its firework illustration.