Case Study: Whittaker’s Whisky
Bringing Heritage to Emerging English Whisky
Client Name: Whittaker’s Distillery
Brand: Whittaker’s Whisky
The Company
Distinctive, Intriguing and Artistic Whisky Crafted in Yorkshire.
The concise strapline encapsulates the premise of an emerging whisky brand built for the connoisseurs. Looking to put English Whisky on the map, this Harrogate-based farm distillery is driving excellence in its unique whisky creation that is presented in three different expressions. This distinctive distillery which is proud of its Yorkshire roots is a member of the English Whisky Guild, which is a movement looking to ignite interest in the English Whisky category.
It was in summer 2018, that husband and wife, Toby and Jane embarked on a journey to launch a distillery and have since welcomed the public to join them on this adventure.
Crafting an Artisanal Whisky
After producing artisan, small-batch gin for many years, Whittaker’s Distillery chose to venture into whisky five years ago. They launched their first batch on the 1st of August 2024.
“It felt like a natural progression to move into whisky. The spirit has taken a long time to mature in the oak casks and we’re proud that after 5 years it is now been transferred into bottles.”
Their first release is bold, innovative and light golden in colour. On the palate you will discover creamy caramel, with spicy, nutty notes finishing with fresh vanilla, old-fashioned toffee and apricot.
“We’re the new kids on the block. We’re small, agile and can try different things, such as casks or grains. At the minute we have focused on barley, in its different varieties but we look to expand this in the future. English whisky is an exciting new growth area and our audience will primarily be those real whisky enthusiasts.”
A Timeless Whisky Bottle
To truly emulate their brand story, they were seeking a bottle that reflects the dedication that has gone into creating the double bourbon cask-aged whisky. This venture into whisky was the perfect opportunity to develop a bespoke bottle that signified the quality that lie within.
When it came time to design the bottle, both Jane and Toby had a clear vision in mind. ‘Subtle’ was to be the essence of this bottle. They did not want a bottle that was overtly dramatic but rather focused on less is more, integrating key elements of their brand in a subtle and timeless way. The brand design and concept work, including the iconic gold hare sketch that’s featured on their label was created by design agency, Dare!
One requirement for the bottle was to feature its brand name to give it an instant identity. The Whittaker name wraps the base of the bottle featuring its iconic font, which was embossed to elevate the feature from the rest of the bottle. The most prominent feature however was the emblem of a ‘W’ embossed onto the neck of the bottle in a cartouche-style format. This addition gave a sense of heritage even for such an emerging brand. Aside from these features portrayed in the bespoke bottle, the glass composition itself helped to create a sense of luxury. Whittaker’s Distillery chose white flint which they likened to crystal.
“You can see the quality of the glass instantly, undoubtedly, it’s so much brighter than our previous bottle. The additional features give a strong impression to our audience and a sense of heritage.”
Handcrafted Whisky Bottles
Whilst there was a clear vision for the design, Whittaker’s Distillery still needed to be guided through the production processes and given expert advice on what is possible in bottle creation.
Before the bottle was fully established, a prototype was given to demonstrate what the final product would look like before production.
“The entire process ran smoothly. It was so interesting and hugely enjoyable being in the factory when our bottles were being produced. It was also quite surreal because our bottles were being produced alongside Old Pulteney, which is a global multinational business, and we are a local farm distillery and here we are on the same factory floor. That was very exciting. Not only that, you could sense walking around that all the staff really cared about what they were doing.”
Proud Yorkshire Heritage
Whittaker’s Distillery has been sourcing ingredients from local farms and businesses for the entirety of their journey. The water is sourced from the spring on their farm, the barley is grown by another local farm, and then malted and milled in Castleford.
Now through the collaboration with Verallia, Whittaker’s is sourcing their packaging from another Yorkshire supplier, just shy of 30 miles away.
“Since our first interaction with Nolan, it’s always been positive working with Verallia. I remember going to the office before we were really on our journey to consider packaging and yet even then the team were happy to sit down and have a chat. My projected image of Verallia has always been positive.”
Forging the Future of Whisky
The new bottle gave renewed life to a craft local distillery, with distinctive packaging that would be the perfect addition to any whisky collection. Thousands of units of this elegant bottle were produced and are now being made available to whisky enthusiasts across the country.
“We wanted people to look at the bottle and instantly think ‘a hell of a lot of work went into creating that’. And if so much work went into the presentation the contents must be superb. The quality of the new glass bottles is so much better that I have felt compelled to replace the existing gin bottles with the new one.”
