IMBIBE

Great King St. Blended Scotch Whisky

Designed by my favorite firm, Stranger & Stranger, and conceived as an entry-level offering for Compass Box Whisky Co. (whose “Lady Luck” product and packaging I featured back in February), Great King St. is a beautiful-looking, heritage-driven spirit brand that has been executed and launched onto the market flawlessly. The vintage typeface and color palette make the whisky look like a brand that might have been around for decades, while the Royal Tenenbaums-style doodle of the street, matte black top seal and brief description of the scotch’s tasting notes lend it a distinctly contemporary edge. I’d be interested to see how it tastes, considering it’s a more affordable line from a well-established purveyor of craft single malts and blended scotches - however, either way the packaging is dead-on. Here’s a little insight from Stranger about the brand conception process for Great King St.:

“It’s a kind of back to basics for them [Compass Box] so we thought the address of their very first Glaswegian office was appropriate and an unusual name for a whiskey. We got architects elevations done of the whole street so we can extend the range.”

As far as I know, Great King St. is only currently available in the United Kingdom - so if anyone has a chance to taste it let me know if the spirit lives up to the new brand.

Imbibe responsibly. 

Compass Box “Lady Luck” Blended Scotch Whiskey

A witty take on a traditional design by venerable house Stranger & Stranger, Compass Box’s “Lady Luck” offering is one of their most expensive and exclusive. A blend of two ancient Caol Ilas casks and a 1995 Imperial single malt, Lady Luck has a distinctly complex flavor of smoke and citrus. The label is what makes this product special, however, as Stranger has crammed in as many omens of good luck as possible onto one basic rectangular front image. If you look hard, you can find dice, rabbits, the number 7, four-leaf clovers, the Ace of Spades, keys and more. 

Imbibe responsibly.

Stranger & Stranger Single Batch Absinthe

Although you probably haven’t heard of them, Stranger & Stranger is a venerable design firm based out of New York and London that specializes in the packaging of liquor and fine spirits. From 1800 Tequila (of Sopranos-endorsed fame) to Kraken Rum (which has been featured on Imbibe) to the more widely-distributed Three Olives Vodka, they’ve designed over 100 packages and labels since their inception in 1995.

Every year for the holiday season, Stranger concocts distinctive single-batch specialties, brands them appropriately and sends them out to family and friends as a truly exciting gift. This year the firm outdid themselves by taking on a special project only recently made legal in the United States - absinthe.

As the 12th and most recent of their Christmas design series, this bottle of Stranger & Stranger absinthe is, indeed, a sight to behold laden with intricate and charmingly devilish details. From what appears to be a foreboding eye of the Illuminati on the top of the cork, to the optical illusions on the label’s main body and the choice of a clear bottle in order to place emphasis on the beautiful, light-green color of the liquid - it’s a product that Stranger & Stranger should most definitely be proud of. The quote inscribed on the matte black paper surrounding the cork describes the drink best: 

“Nectar, bittersweet - like the last kiss on the lips of a discarded mistress, is the secret charm of my existence; green as the moon’s light on a forest pool it glimmers in my glass; eagerly I quaff it, and, as I drink, I dream.” Marie Corelli, 1890.