Kentucky Wildcask Bourbon
Kentucky Wildcask Bourbon is in the wild. Few spirits capture the bold new energy like Kentucky Wildcask Bourbon. Designing the identity and package for this groundbreaking release wasn’t just about crafting a label—it was about collaborating with students at the University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment. The journey from concept to shelf was a rare opportunity to approach bourbon with the fresh eyes of tomorrow’s industry leaders.
This project was a fun and fast sprint with the students who led the design process in a hands-on exploration of building, blending, and branding their own whiskey product. James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits offers a Distillation, Wine and Brewing Certificate program at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment with a focus on the production of all alcoholic beverages. This hands-on program allows students to learn about distilled spirits, winemaking, and brewing science with extensive research opportunities. This course is guided by Herb Heneman. The Kentucky Wildcask Bourbon is projected to raise more than $100,000 for the Institute.
The evolution of this project was interesting on a number of levels but most interesting to me was how the next generation of spirits professionals envision what a bourbon brand looks like. Unlike most interactions where our agency is directly involved with presenting and receiving feedback from the client teams, here the direction was gathered and edited before passing it along to W. Bahan.
Rough drafts and concepts
This was good for time-focused feedback (everything was drawn and designed in 6 weeks), but it removed a level of understanding gained from engaging directly with the group to understand their vision. It’s an interesting experience and the result has been well received.
Wildcask brand guidelines
R3 concepts
R2 concepts
R1 concepts
We look forward to seeing the brand evolve as it's interpreted in the future and to follow these talented students as they take this experience into the future.
The course has enlisted numerous industry professionals and contributors to the project. Guest speakers have so far included Noe from JBBD Co., Dixon Dedman, founder of Kentucky Owl and 2XO Bourbon, UK Distinguished Young Alumni recipient, and Teremana Tequila CFO Keisha Raspberry, Bardstown Bourbon VP NPD Dan Callaway, and Susie Garvin, CCO of the Brindiamo Group. Corporate support comes from @jimbeamofficial Distilling Company (liquid), @bardstownbourbonco (dry goods, bottling and compliance support), Cursive (label printing), and W. Bahan design (branding and label design).
This is available as a limited product in Kentuck,y launching at the Cooper House on April 28th for a window to purchase a bottle and meet the class.
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