Shortcross Gin Brand

Shortcross Gin

Branding, Advertising & Print

Overview

Rademon Estate Distillery is the first craft gin distillery to be established in Northern Ireland. The distillery was founded in 2012 by husband and wife team Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong, it is located just outside Crossgar, County Down, Northern Ireland on the couples historic family estate.

The distillery lies in a beautiful countryside estate surrounded by landscaped gardens, wild meadows and rivers with lots of wildlife.

Inspired by the distillery’s historic surroundings the design team at Paperjam wanted to generate a name for the couple’s first gin with a focus on their location and heritage.

Research

The name Shortcross came from the Gaelic for Crossgar -“An Chrois Ghearr” meaning “the short cross”. It had history and heritage naturally associated with it and for David and Fiona it had meaning as it subtly referenced the location of their distillery.

With the selected name finalised for the couples first gin product, we then began to create a visual style for the branding and packaging that reflected the quality and uniqueness of their gin and would appeal to a high-end market.

The label documents the distillation process by openly displaying the batch number, flavour and alcohol content. This, along with a signature in handwritten type, helps emphasise the one of a kind artisan product and the craftsmanship that goes into each bottle of gin.

Visual Direction

The couple selected a traditional bottle shape with a heavy base, giving the additional feeling of a high end, premium product. Paperjam really wanted this product to stand out on a shelf and in the very competitive gin market – and so began to design labelling that would reinforce the quality of the gin, using 3 foils – silver, copper & black applied by CMI Print Services and heavy GF Smithtextured parchment papers.

While David and Fiona were busy developing the flavours of their premium gin Paperjam focussed on finalising their label design, copy, printing and finishing techniques getting everything ready for the gin’s launch in May 2014.

Shortcross Gin is currently being distributed by James Nicholson Wine Merchants and is now available to purchase in Fortnum and Mason and leading bars and restaurants across Northern Ireland including James Street SouthHadskisJames Street South Bar & GrillOx BelfastBalloo HouseThe Parsons NoseThe Poachers PocketMuriels Café Bar and The John Hewitt.

Outcome