We’ve been working hard on an exciting development for the business and you, our customers. Finally, this week we celebrate the launch of the brand new, bespoke Cuckoo Spirits bottle. ‘Shaped by Nature’, made in the UK and designed to be even more sustainable.

Our Dream Come True Bottle

The new bottle is an evolution of our original Cuckoo Gin bottle, a beautiful adaptation of an off-the-shelf option. We launched this bottle in 2017, when we first started distilling sustainably handcrafted spirits on our Lancashire farm.

Back then, a custom bottle wasn’t an option. Unfortunately, the funds simply weren’t available. Instead, we settled on a stock bottle and got creative, putting our unique stamp on it. In the process, we won an IWSC Gold Award for Packaging!

Fast forward four successful years, and a large order for Cuckoo Solace Gin. Firstly, the order from Craft Gin Club raised over £10,000 for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust. Secondly, it gave us the opportunity to create our own unique bottle. A bottle that tells our story and aligns even more closely with our brand principles.

Reimagined From The Ground Up

The Cuckoo Gin bottle and packaging design has been instrumental to the success of the brand. It has never failed to stand out on the increasingly crowded craft gin shelf. This made the redesign a case of evolution. Rather than revolution.

Our fantastic branding and design agency, Design by Gray, created the new design. They worked alongside UK-based bottle manufacturers, Allied Glass. Together, the teams considered how the distinctive design features of the original bottle could be enhanced on the new one. In addition, they gave consideration to the overall shape and the eco-friendly nature of the bottle.

Graham Walker is Creative Director at Design by Gray. He explains, “The inspiration behind the Cuckoo bottle has always been linked to the sustainable distilling process and the beautiful natural surroundings at Holmes Farm, where Cuckoo Gin is made, and where ingredients for the spirits are grown.”

The wild botanicals illustration was hand-drawn for the original bottle by local artist, Dorothy Charnley. Now, the illustration has been reimagined and embossed on the bottle. Graham continues,

“As well as being incredibly tactile, the new bottle looks like it could quite literally have been grown in a farmer’s field.”

A Bottle Shaped By Nature

Design by Gray’s ‘Shaped by Nature’ approach to the design inspired other special features. This includes the new curved body. When the bottle is turned on its side, it is reminiscent of the undulating landscape of the Pennines that run through the heart of Lancashire. In addition, depth has been added to the various colour gradients. These represent the ever-changing and unpredictable skies above Lancashire.

The rolling shape and coloured gradients are not the only representations of our Lancashire roots. The new design proudly displays the name of our home county. Elegantly embossed in capital letters around the shoulder, the new bottle is undeniably ‘Lancashire’.

To complete the redesign, we have a new neck and security label. This features illustrative botanical detailing and is part of a wider development of our visual identity. As with the previous design, our main label represents the sun. This completes the rural landscape picture presented by the bottle, inspired by the local legend of the Brindle Cuckoo. For a premium look, labels are printed on high quality paper with luxury embossing and metallic foils.

Sustainability Made In The UK and 50% Lighter!

Throughout the design process, we’ve had the environment at the front of our minds. We now have a bottle that not only looks fantastic but is better quality. It is also even more environmentally friendly than we had envisaged.

Sustainability is one of our key brand principles at Brindle Distillery. It runs through everything we do. Creating our new bottle means we now have control of more elements of production. As a result, our bottle now lives up to the high standards of quality and sustainability that we set ourselves as a business.

The new bottle is made in the UK. Also, it uses recycled glass and is 50% lighter. From production to delivery, this reduces the overall carbon footprint of the bottle significantly.

We purposely made the decision to have our bottle made in the North of the UK. This was due to the proximity of the factory to our location in Lancashire. Supporting British manufacturing and the assurance that we were going to get a quality product were also key factors in our decision-making process for the new bottle.

We’re delighted with the outcome and think our customers old and new will be too. We hope the new Cuckoo bottle will continue the successful growth of the Cuckoo brand. Not only locally and nationally, but also globally, where we have already begun exporting to Europe, Asia and Australia.

Exciting times ahead!

The entire Cuckoo Gin range is now available in the brand new bottle! Buy online at our distillery shop or come in and purchase your favourite gin direct from the distillery. See you soon!