The Whistler 15 & 16 Y.O. Single Malts

The Whistler is a brand with a vast catalogue of Irish whiskeys. The brand is a creative exploration into whiskey finishing and as such the labels have a legacy of capturing this. With strong visual reference to the origins of the finishing casks, they proudly portray the story each finish brings to a Single Malt or a Blended whiskey.

These two finishes - Palo Cortado Sherry and Pedro Ximénez (P.X.) Sherry - were to sit at the top of their offering and as such we were tasked with bringing these to the next level.

With the 16 Y.O. Palo Cortado sherry finish, we brought alive Spain in a very vibrant and bold way. The colours bring you straight to the south of Spain which is sherry country. A top down and detailed illustration of a bull-ring shows a mysterious character about to embark on a quest, this being great Spaniard Don Quixote. The name ‘El Misterioso’ is in fact the nickname sherry producers have for Palo Cortado sherry, which is sherry variant the happens solely by accident and feeds into how sought after these barrels are.

What makes the P.X. finish special is that this is a single cask - 420 bottles - bought by The Celtic Whiskey Shop. The client approached us with the name ‘P.X. I Love You’ and in the efforts not to go down the obvious route, it was decided to depict a more macabre scene of this expression. A hand holding a heart, both of which have been pierced by two of cupids arrows; one to symbolise the American bourbon barrel it is matured in for 14 years and the second the Spanish P.X. cask it is finished in for another 12 months. Details of the influence also extend to the Spanish lace cuff. The concept was completed by being a love note to The Celtic Whiskey Shop. This was then launched in December 2022 for the run up to Valentines Day 2023.

For the Palo Cortado, this illustration was completed in house with the grape vine by Steve Doogan. The P.X. etched illustration was by Steve Doogan while the airbrushing and ornate ribbon & type work were done in-house. The illustration of The Celtic Whiskey Shop was done in-house. For both boxes, we worked closely with the producer to develop a relatively new-to-market hybrid box that consisted of cloth bound outer and exposed wooden frame. This is finished in foils and debossing with a carefully crafted insert outlining the products story in greater detail.