Wine labels are typically rooted in time and vineyard, but spirits labelling tends to be more timeless and less geographically specific. Not so Dulwich Gin, which surprised British spirits retailers by becoming the biggest-selling spirits brand of 2019 in the four weeks following its launch. A big talking point for this new product was its unique, unforgettable labels.
Each bottle displays a different combination of colours, portraits and ‘mischievous’ Biblical texts, combined using HP Indigo’s SmartStream Designer (part of its Creative Tools) on an HP Indigo digital press at Berkshire Labels in Hungerford, England.
The colourful faces are drawn from early eighteenth-century paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, Peter Lely, Thomas Hudson, Joshua Reynolds and the British School, from the collection of Dulwich Picture Gallery (DPG), a short stroll from the headquarters of Dulwich Gin in southeast London. The drinks company is the brainchild of Dulwich resident Andy De Groose, who was thrilled by the runaway success of his new product and the way the technology ‘shuffled the deck’ for his new brand.