Hand-blown by Swedish glass artisans in Reijmyre, this is not your average ABSOLUT bottle. Limited to a run of 800, the stylized crystal decanter comes with two matching pinstriped tumblers and is sure to skew towards the higher end of the iconic vodka brand’s price range. Design aside, this is a nice attempt by a vodka category to reclaim a classic bartop accessory normally reserved for the likes of single malts and vintage reds.
Redhook Brewery is an interesting case study in the ever-shifting world of craft beer and microbreweries. A bit of an anomaly, Redhook was not started in Brooklyn but rather Seattle. It’s a microbrew, historically, yet the brand is almost 30 years old and owned partly by Anheuser-Busch. So, what does a slightly corporatized, ever-expanding beer company with a history of local tradition do when it wants to rebrand its product? Well, according to Seattle agency Hornall Anderson, choose an aesthetic rarely embraced by beer drinkers of any kind. With it’s tapered bottle reminiscent of a sports drink, brightly colored flavor-differentiating labels and clean, stylized mountain logo re-imagined, Redhook’s new brand is certainly a success visually. The question is, however, in a market where stark and modern design is rarely seen used successfully - how will the brewery’s fans react to the change? Personally, I like the look but am still dubious about how it fits into a sea of competitors touting van Gogh-style emblems (Blue Moon), tattoo-inspired inscriptions (Rogue) and heritage-driven no nonsense marketing (Blue Point), just to name a few.
Source: FastCompany
