Bottled Masterpieces: Exploring the Art of Unique Whiskey Bottle Designs

Although most whiskey enthusiasts will claim it’s all about the juice inside, the design of a whiskey bottle is very important.  With an increasing number of new products crowding the shelves (not entirely a bad thing!) whiskey producers and marketers are constantly fighting for your attention at the bar or at your local whiskey shop.

For a more casual whiskey purchaser, or even a seasoned vet looking to try something new, a unique whiskey bottle design will certainly catch your eye. Whether it is an unusual shape, a fancy stopper, or just an elaborate presentation, unique bottle designs can be a lot of fun. While it can never replace the quality of the actual whiskey, the designers of these whiskey bottles made sure that their bottles stand out from the crowd.

Simple & Stylish

Sometimes less is more. Elegant lines, simplicity and subtle details are often part of the most beautiful designs. All of these bottles, however, avoid the generic bottle shapes that are all too common. Many of these unique bottle designs have become so iconic, like the Angel’s Envy bottle and wings for instance, that they have truly become part of the brand itself.

Octomore

Angel’s Envy

Imperial

Kavalan Single Malt

Gouden Carolus

Rounded Bottles

Although the first category departs from the standard cylindrical bottle, they are generally similarly proportioned; maybe a little taller, maybe a little flatter. The following rounded bottles are optically smaller, and perfectly fit in the palm of your hand. Sometimes referred to as whiskey grenades, these ball-shaped bottles are delightful oblong spheres of whiskey.

Blanton’s Original

Inish Turk Beg Maiden Voyage

The Glenrothes 1970 Extraordinary Cask

Embossed Bottles

Another approach to make a bottle unique is raised designs on the glass. Embossed letters, brands or other shapes give whiskey bottles an extra dimension. Literally.

Bib & Tucker

Jack Daniels Single Barrel

The Naked Grouse

Tamdhu 10

Fabrics, Wood, & Metal

Not content to modify the glass alone, the following designs incorporate other materials into the overall design and presentation. Unconventional combinations of glass, wood, fabrics and metal sure make for a unique whiskey bottle.

Chivas Regal 18 Year Old by Vivienne Westwood

Balblair Scotch Whisky 1989 Special Edition

Highland Park Loki

Yamato Takeda Shingen Edition / Nikka Gold & Gold

Unique Stoppers

While Blanton’s, truly an innovator in the bottle design space, put collectible and unique bottle stoppers on the map, they are not the only brand to do so. These bottles want you to remember their brand every time you crack the bottle open and take a pour.

Caribou Crossing

Lusty Claw Bourbon

Catoctin Creek Ragnarok Rye

Old School

Traditional bottles take you back to the “good old days” of whiskey. Or at least that’s what they want you to believe. Mason jars, jugs, and “medicinal whiskey” all harken back and romanticize moonshiner, bootleggers, and simpler times in whiskey’s storied history.

Douglas Laing Premier Bottle selections

Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey

Platte Valley Corn Whiskey

High-end Whiskeys

When you pay over $1,000 for a whiskey, you’ll expect the bottle to be just as unique as the whiskey itself. These one-of-a-kind crystal decanters are as much art as they are vessels for the rare, decades-old whiskey stored inside.

The Macallan Lalique series

Dalmore Eos

Gordon & MacPhail Generations series

Highland Park 50 Year Old

Mortlach 25

Strange Bottles

Sometimes a unique whiskey bottle design takes a turn, and lands on outright strange. Not sure the designers fully got the assignment on these ones, but you cannot argue that you 100% will not overlook these bottles on the shelves

Tommy Gun Bourbon / Cosa Nostra Whisky

Suntory Rolling Stones

Johnnie Tan Leather Brogue

Whiskey is all about the experience, and a unique whiskey bottle design is a part of that. While it won’t necessarily improve the whiskey, and in some cases unique bottles are really only designed to distract from the low quality drams inside, but when a great whiskey is paired with a great looking bottle, that’s truly something special!