7 SONS WHISKEY

Scenario
Luxco was looking to develop a new whiskey brand that would be sold exclusively in Total Wine stores. The whiskey would be distilled and aged at the legendary Ross & Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and they needed a name, story, and design for the brand. 

The Practical Approach
The direction was to develop a traditional, high-end American Whiskey brand. A typical approach for exclusive store brands is to simply “mirror” leading national brands and call it a day. Luxco, however, wanted this to feel more like an actual brand they could take nationally and potentially live on its own one day.

Our Practically Dangerous Solution
Through research, we found that consumers are getting really good at sniffing out fake branding, and badge value in whiskey is often less about the price tag and more about the story behind the brand — finding that proverbial diamond in the rough. As such, this brand needed to be more than a mirror brand; it needed to have an authentically true story as well as an image that could stand out on the shelf.

Going deep into research on the history of the Ross & Squibb Distillery, we found a story about how the distillery almost went under after the two original founding brothers passed away. It was only due to the extraordinary efforts of their combined seven sons that saved the distillery through some of the most difficult times for alcohol producers. Without their sacrifices and efforts during world wars and prohibition, this legendary distillery likely would not exist today.

With that, the Seven Sons whiskey brand was born.

The Result
As much as Luxco loved our designs, sometimes our clients have clients too, and Total Wine selected a label from another designer that played it a bit more safe and expected. Nevertheless, we are proud of the role we played in bringing a new and authentic whiskey brand to life — one that has true meaning in the legacy of one of the most iconic distilleries in America.