Creating Distinctive Premium Packaging for Diageo's Ultra-Aged Bourbon Collection

The Challenge

Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, discovered a stock of ultra-aged bourbons languishing in orphaned barrels at their Stitzel-Weller distillery in Shively, Kentucky. These Orphan Barrels—topnotch aged bourbons that were never bottled or used in blending—represented a rare opportunity in a booming collector bourbon market where bottles now retail for $300-$500.

Diageo's vision: create a new high-end brand family called Orphan Barrel, with each bourbon positioned as a unique, premium taste experience requiring distinctive packaging that would command shelf presence and justify the premium price point.

The Design Partnership

Diageo engaged Force Majeure NYC to create the distinctive, premium designs representing the distinct character of each bourbon. The Force Majeure design team delivered stunningly visual and tactile, high-end label concepts. But challenging tasks still lay ahead: preserving and enhancing these defining design attributes through the production process.

Our Role in Spirits Packaging Production

print-ability™, led by Russell Whalen in New York, partnered directly with the Force Majeure designers to form a tightly-knit production team. Our role: bridge the gap between creative vision and manufacturing reality—ensuring the brand team's vision came to fruition in the final, on-shelf packaging.

Each Orphan Barrel variant was painstakingly tested and optimized for:

- Substrate selection and specifications

- Color accuracy and consistency across print runs

- Special effects: foil stamping, embossing, debossing

- Varnish applications and finishes

- Print process optimization for premium spirits packaging

The Production Process

At the core of the print-ability™ approach is creative problem-solving for real-world production scenarios. We know which questions to ask vendors to maximize quality. We understand how to build precision production files that elevate brand impact while remaining manufacturable at scale.

For Orphan Barrel, this meant laser-fcoinocused print trialing and meticulous mechanical artwork development. We worked as partners with Strategy, Brand, Design, and manufacturing vendors—coordinating across the entire supply chain to ensure every technical decision supported the premium positioning.

The Result

The finished Orphan Barrel packaging demonstrated a clear triumph: the upfront production work was fully realized in the final, on-shelf product. The distinctive labels instantly resonated with consumers and collectors, establishing Orphan Barrel as a standout in the ultra-premium bourbon category.

This project exemplifies print-ability™'s core strength: partnering across strategy, brand, design, and production to create packaging that stands the test of time and wins in market.

Ready to bring the same level of production excellence to your packaging? Contact us or view our portfolio.