Page 8 - IWSC Tasting Guide 2017
P. 8

Spirits focus
Brighton Gin triumphs at the IWSC – for its design
The IWSC Packaging awards celebrate superb
design – as well as that elusive “wow” factor.
By Adam Lechmere
An ar sanal gin produced in the Bri sh seaside town of Brighton has won a major award at the IWSC – and this  me it’s for its appearance.
Brighton Gin is a small-batch gin made with organic Bri sh wheat spirit, and re-dis lled with coriander, juniper, orange and lime peel, and milk thistle. The la er is indigenous to the South Downs, the rolling hills outside Brighton, and
is “renowned for its kindness to the liver”, its dis llers say.
But it’s the look of the bo le – its label in “Brighton Seaside Blue”, as the makers describe it – that clinched its win in the White spirits category at the IWSC Packaging Awards.
The design’s “Great execu on and storytelling, through clever and quirky design and content cues sells the brand’s provenance and evokes the sense of the iconic seaside city. Classy and classic,” consultant Rosie Davenport said.
The first batch of 400 bo les of Brighton Gin was launched from the city’s first legal dis llery (in the basement of a pub) in 2014, by Brighton residents Kathy Caton and Helen Chesshire. Since then it has consistently won plaudits for its “complex nature, both herbal yet creamy,” as one reviewer put it.
Entries to the IWSC Packaging Awards, which apply solely to spirits, are judged on their “crea vity, impact, innova on, relevance and originality” by a panel of experts.
The judging panel consisted of Davenport, managing director of Davenport Consul ng, Gin specialist David T Smith, brand strategist and whisky consultant Greg Dillon, Mike Axford of the Brand Foundry, and Ivan Bell, managing director of label design specialists Stranger & Stranger.
“Packaging tells more of an illustra ve tale than just hin ng at what is inside the bo le. Communica ng a brand story, illustra ng the product’s heritage and authen city, is vital in snaring the consumer’s interest,” the IWSC says.
There were some 200 entries this year; a er
the ini al judging round, gold medal winners then went forward for six Trophy categories: White spirits, Brown spirits, Contemporary, Tradi onal, Wow, and Storytelling. The “Wow” category was created to highlight the most quirky and innova ve entries.
Glenfiddich’s Project XX Single Malt Scotch Whisky and its IPA Experiment Single Malt jointly won the Brown spirits prize, while the fruit liqueur Italicus Rosolio di Bergamo o won the Contemporary category.
Two Vermouths from Cap Ma ei – the Grande Réserve Quinquina Rouge 2015, and the Blanc 2015 – won the Tradi onal Category. The design is “beau fully executed...tradi onal with a contemporary twist” Bell said.
Another Vermouth won the Wow category – the glow-in-the-dark UV-sensi ve label of the Padró &
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