THE CRAFT IRISH WHISKEY CO.’S FIRST RELEASE STRIKES GOLD IN THIS YEAR’S GLOBAL AND HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL A’ DESIGN AWARDS
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. wins the highest scoring Gold award in ‘Packaging Design Category’ for The Devil’s Keep Experience Box
12th May 2021, London The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. achieved Gold in the ‘Packaging Design Category 2020-2021’ of the A’ Design Award for The Devil’s Keep experience box, which was the luxury Irish whiskey’s first release. The A’ Design Award and Competition is the world’s most prestigious and influential design accolade, which acknowledges the best design and most innovative products from international brands and designers.
With over 4,000 entries submitted from the world’s top designers, the competition is judged by over 200 jury members from the International Design Academy, to form The Grand A’ Design Award Jury Panel, including design professionals, press and academics, who award brands across five categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron. The award-winning products and designs will be formally announced at the official A’ Design Award Gala-Night and Exhibition in Italy, which will take place later this year.
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. was the highest scoring Gold Award, achieving 9.9 within the top 2% of the category, missing out on Platinum to Pepsi Co’s redesigned packaging. It was the only whiskey brand to be awarded ‘Gold’, within the ‘Packaging Design Category’, alongside over 20 innovative brands awarded Gold in the A’ Design Award. It marks The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s third win of the year after being awarded ‘Luxury Drinks Secondary Pack’ for the design of The Devil’s Keep experience box at The Luxury Packaging Awards 2020 and Highly Commended for the design of The Devil’s Keep bottle in the ‘Luxury Drinks Primary Pack’ award in February 2021.
The Devil’s Keep is a rare triple distilled, 29-year-old single malt whiskey and one of the finest whiskies that Ireland has ever created. It was the first release from The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., making this accolade a moment of particular significance for Founder, Jay Bradley, and Design Director, Tiago Russo. The launch of The Devil’s Keep in November 2020 saw just 333 bottles released – with an additional 333 expected later this year. It was the most expensive inaugural first release in history, which sold at auction at USD $60,000 (almost £46,000 and €51,000 Euros), and the oldest triple distilled Irish whiskey in existence, only to be topped by The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s second release in February 2021 of the 30-year-old The Emerald Isle Collection.
The Devil’s Keep was designed to be a multi-sensorial experience, which engages all five senses. The Devil’s Keep bottle is encased in an experience box made up of two custom-locked cases, secured by bespoke brass Japanese style locks. The minimalist outer case of the experience box has a dark stained oak finish and a bolt of geometric gold detailing, while the burgundy leather walls that line the inner case help to refract the colours of the whiskey. Housed inside the box are the exquisite whiskey accessories: two uniquely designed glasses, an atomiser, a measure of barley, a carafe of water, a pipette and whiskey stones. To protect the main packaging, a structural transit box was designed in two parts, allowing a vertical extraction which makes the experience as effortless and ergonomic as possible.
No detail was overlooked in its creation, from the vial of barley sourced from the same malting house that housed the original barley for the whiskey, through to the carafe filled with water sourced from the Antrim hills which was also used for the original whiskey. A custom-designed pipette enables water to be applied precisely to release the micelles and the flavours, while obsidian whiskey stones can be used in place of ice to prevent the dilution of the whiskey. A special ‘angels’ share’ atomiser has been designed by expert perfumer Sarah McCartney, which is unique to The Devil’s Keep. It captures the unmistakable aroma of walking through the halls of a whiskey warehouse full of maturing whiskey, evaporating into the ether. Bespoke glasses, a custom numbered whiskey certificate and a detailed booklet which tells the story of The Devil’s Keep are housed in each door.
Tiago Russo, Design Director at The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., said: “It is a huge honour for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. to be recognised amongst some of the most well-established brands in the world. The A’ Design Award is the highest achievement in design, celebrating exceptional work from some of the most renowned names in the industry. Through the power of design, I was able to create a product that brings to life the story of The Devil’s Keep and celebrates Irish heritage and whiskey through a multi-sensory experience. The accolade is particularly special as The Devil’s Keep is the brand’s first release, and it now sets the benchmark for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. in the future as one of the brands to watch in the luxury whiskey space.”
Jay Bradley, Founder at The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., commented: “I am so proud that we have been recognised in the A’ Design Award for The Devil’s Keep. It has taken our team years of dedication, craftsmanship and passion to create a unique whiskey experience. To be recognised in such a prestigious category is a huge achievement, which has allowed us to take centre stage alongside some of the most exceptional products in the world. Through the launch of The Devil’s Keep, my mission was to challenge global perceptions of Irish whiskey by creating the most luxurious drinking experience – ultimately filling the gap in the market for ultra-luxury Irish whiskey.”
Following the success of The Devil’s Keep and The Emerald Isle Collection in partnership with Fabergé, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. will announce its third release in June 2021.
For further information about The Devil’s Keep, please visit: https://www.craftirishwhiskey.com/the-devils-keep/ Instagram: @craftirishehiskeyco
Website: https://www.craftirishwhiskey.com/the-devils-keep
Video: https://vimeo.com/473493966 (password: watch)
Notes:
Price: 10,000 Euros
About The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.:
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. is different. This is not mass-produced whiskey, but an attention to detail and crafting processes that create the very finest craft Irish whiskey.
The company sources rare whiskey and uses ultra-premium finishing barrels to mature its whiskey due to the high quality of the wood and previous spirit or wine that helps deliver complex flavour profiles. The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., knows that a premium level of spirit stored in this type of barrel adds deep and complex flavours into the finish which produces a phenomenal Irish whiskey.
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. uniquely cask their whiskey at 52% ABV. Adding water in at the start allows the water and whiskey to marry over time creating a far smoother whiskey.
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. is the proud whiskey partner of the The MICHELIN Guide and a partner in the Michelin Star Revelation Great Britain and Ireland 2021.
History of Irish Whiskey
It is little known that Ireland invented whiskey in the 14th century and dominated the sector. By the 1800s, a group known as the ‘Dublin Whiskey Masters’ brought the art of whiskey making to its zenith with iconoclastic disruption. However, although Irish whiskey suffered a dramatic decline due to an unfortunate set of geopolitics, it is now being reborn and today, clawing back past glories. Ireland’s emerging, small-scale but disruptive distilleries have the talent and freedom to innovate whiskey on a scale not seen since the 19th century. The Devil’s Keep sees the age-old secrets of Ireland’s whiskey masters re-imagined with the launch of the oldest ever released triple distilled Irish whiskey and the most expensive first release in the history of whiskey.
About the A’ Design Award:
The A’ Design Award and Competition is for designers, innovators and companies that want to highlight themselves to attract the attention of media, publishers and buyers. In a world where there are millions of products and designs launch each year, the award was born out of the desire to underline the best designs and well-designed products. The award-winning products and designs are highlighted to the international public via the A’ Design Award Gala-Night and Exhibition in Italy and they are communicated to all relevant press across the world.
For 2020 – 2021 there are 211 Jury Members forming the International Design Academy – The Grand A’ Design Award Jury Panel, composed of design professionals, press members and academics.
The full list of winners (Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze) can be found here: https://competition.adesignaward.com/winners.php
