James Cropper Partners with Bruichladdich for Exclusive Travel Retail Single Malt Whisky

Available in London Heathrow, Dubai Airport and Singapore Airport from the end of June, The Bruichladdich Twenty One whisky wrap is made from fully recyclable paper pulp and moulded to the shape of the Bruichladdich optimised, proprietary glass bottle. The brief given to James Cropper was to create conscious, modern, luxury packaging.

Similar in design to The Bruichladdich Eighteen and The Bruichladdich Thirty, which launched earlier this year, the Bruichladdich Twenty One wrap is custom in colour and shape with unique emboss and deboss features, the design also includes a branded, oversized custom clasp feature. Using 100% fresh fibre the wrap is significantly lighter than previous packaging solutions without compromising strength or integrity while significantly reducing Bruichladdich’s packaging CO2 impact.

With colour as a core competency of James Cropper, the papermaker’s on-site colour lab offers the capability and the technology to produce or recreate any colour. Being able to create 184 shades of black to 62 shades of white – and everything in between – James Cropper was tasked with creating a bespoke colour which still spoke to the wider Bruichladdich range and the brand’s signature aqua hue.

Using the team’s skill and know-how, they worked to overcome metamerism – when two colours that are not the same colour appear identical under certain lighting conditions. The colour match process went through several iterations over a number of years, before the team got to the final Bruichladdich Green shade. Once the colour was agreed it was taken to the colour lab in the James Cropper mill and transferred onto moulded fibre.

This collaboration demonstrates our leadership in crafting packaging that seamlessly blends sustainability with aesthetic appeal. We meticulously crafted every aspect of the design, from the choice of lightweight materials to the intricate embossing and vibrant colour, enhancing the overall experience for travel retail consumers.

The Whisky:

When Bruichladdich Distillery reopened in 2001 the team set out to reconnect land and dram, and The Bruichladdich Twenty One is this vision realised. Matured solely on Islay in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, and made with fully traceable Scottish barley, the GTR exclusive is ultra-high provenance with notes of dried fruits and sweet vanilla.