WILDMOOR
Brand creation
A new luxury whisky brand, drawn from a legendary stash of high-aged malts and inspired by Scotland’s wildest reaches. A truly epic project.
William Grant & Sons had entrusted Malt Master Brian Kinsman with their famed “ancient reserves”: a collection of prized whisky stocks sourced and maintained by the family over decades. They were rare and full of character, they came from every corner of Scotland (including some ghost distilleries), and many of them were very old indeed.
Brian had to do something seriously special with these liquid riches. He decided to strike out for uncharted territory, exploring flavours far beyond the usual regional constraints of whisky-making. He would create a series of special blends inspired by the rugged beauty of the wilderness.
BEYOND THE GLEN
Our job was to give Brian’s vision an identity. The idea was to deliver a new take on Scotch. Instead of stags and pretty glens, we would celebrate the more dramatic, elemental aspects of the Scottish landscape.
Inspired by brands like Moncler and Canada Goose, we wanted to situate the brand in the orbit of the emerging outdoor luxury consumer. In terms of whisky design cues, we looked to the minimal elegance of Japanese whisky brands rather than those closer to home.
To evoke the uncompromising natural beauty of the Highlands and Islands, we decided to call the brand Wildmoor. Miraculously, the name was still available.
WHISKY MORE WILD
We were developing a brand with a big, rich story. So there was plenty to write.
I created the ‘Whisky More Wild’ tagline, encapsulating our key selling point in a way that echoes the brand name itself. Then there was the naming of seven variants, each inspired by a different kind of wilderness, with detailed flavour notes. From Ancient Moorland to Tropical Coast, we imagined the range as an immersive “flavour map” of wild Scotland.
Every element of the brand was crucial. We took a specialist photographer on a month-long wilderness expedition through Skye, Assynt and the Cairngorms to capture images for the outer packaging and key visuals. For the bottle, we used a topographical model of the Central Highlands to create a three-dimensional relief that was then applied to the bottle surface, turning the glass itself into a slice of the rugged landscape.
BLACK MOUNTAIN: THE PINNACLE
The Wildmoor range tops out at Black Mountain, an extraordinary blend of supremely rare grain and Highland malts with a minimum age of 40 years. Finished in Pedro Ximenez casks, a bottle retails at close to £1,000. Not your everyday dram then.
Agency: LOVE.
Creative direction: Dave Palmer, Chris Jeffreys
Design director: Nick Johnson
Video and photography: Adrift Visuals