James Cropper partners with Bruichladdich for exclusive travel retail single malt whisky

Following the success of our partnership with Islay single malt Scotch whisky brand Bruichladdich, bringing the first of its Luxury Redefined range to market with a fully sustainable outer wrap, we have created the next instalment for the brand’s new Global Travel Retail (GTR) range – The Bruichladdich Twenty One.

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.

Natalia Williams

Product Manager, James Cropper

Gareth Brown

Global Marketing Director, Bruichladdich Distillery

01

02

“ Matching the colour was a challenge because we had to consider the particular fibre mix. Colour and fibre are inter-related and influence each other, which impacts the translation factor. Think of a cake recipe, you must follow the recipe. Here we needed to produce a recipe which gave us the ability to counteract the variation in the other raw materials and control the final colour. Our 179 years of colour application in papermaking means we can apply our understanding of the chemistry into today’s design briefs, using moulded fibre. We are pushing the boundaries in terms of what is possible in coloured moulded fibre. The wrap is created using 100% green energy and the wood pulp used in its creation is sourced from sustainably managed forests, certified to FSC® or PEFC® standards. Brought to life using a single material with no glue, the packaging is 100% recyclable in every household. ”

Natalia Williams

Product Manager, James Cropper

“ Partnering with James Cropper on our Luxury Redefined packaging has been a natural fit. The company’s commitment to progress, innovation and sustainability aligns perfectly with our distillery values. Like our entire Luxury Redefined range, The Bruichladdich Twenty One demonstrates that sustainable packaging can be simultaneously stripped back and beautiful. Rather than adding elaborate packaging or unnecessary weight we have chosen to subtract, letting form follow function to rethink what modern luxury can, and should, be. Everything about this GTR exclusive - from the weight and functional design of the glass bottle to the recyclable materials, custom colour, and texture of the outer wrap - has been carefully considered by the team at James Cropper to ensure that our new single malt whisky expression exudes contemporary luxury, while staying true to our values. ”

Gareth Brown

Global Marketing Director, Bruichladdich Distillery