Orkney’s Highland Park has unveiled new bold packaging design that swops its Viking iconography for a cleaner and more contemporary aesthetic.
Isle of Orkney-based Highland Park, one of Scotland’s northernmost single malt distilleries, is as much known for its Viking heritage as its well-balanced whiskies. Whether it’s The Warrior Series of old or its more recent Viking Legends range, the Edrington Group-owned distillery has always harkened to its Viking heritage. In fact Orkney itself was ruled by a succession of Viking earls who used the island as a base for raiding the British Isles, bringing death and destruction the way we remember them thanks to the highly successful multi-season drama series, Vikings.
But a recent Highland Park rebranding exercise sees the whisky brand unveil new packaging design moving utterly away from those traditions. Instead of Norse symbols and familiar Viking imagery – think Futhark runes, carvings, and Valkyries – the core domestic and travel retail ranges now depict Orkney’s provenance and nature. Indeed the new packaging draws inspiration from Orkney’s coastlines, windswept fields of heather, and ethereal, almost mystical climate.
As part of the redesign, Highland Park has launched new packaging across its global travel retail exclusive editions of 14-, 16- and 18-year-old whiskies, as well as the 12-, 15- and 18-year-old whiskies in its domestic range.
Their new livery – almost unrecognisable to long-time fans – aim to tell stories of the land, sea and sky of Orkney. Indeed the new packaging carries a colour palette of fresh natural hues inspired by each strata, flecked with heather as a tribute to the Orkney peat used in the making of Highland Park whisky, while subtle wood grain patterns resemble those on the sherry seasoned oak casks that’s used to age it.
Even the logo has been updated with more contemporary, cleaner lines, eschewing the runic look of its predecessor.
“For Highland Park, everything comes back to Orkney, from how we craft our whisky, to how it gets its distinctive taste, to the incredible community of people, who do things their own way. We’ve been here for more than 200 years, and the beauty and creativity of our island home continues to inspire us, as well as the unique flavour of the local heathered peat, which, with the new packaging design, is now celebrated, front and centre,” says Paul Condron, Global Brand Director of Highland Park.
“We’re excited to share this new design direction for Highland Park, which truly reflects the freshness and modernity of our Orkney home,” Condron added.
As with its livery, we most likely can expect Highland Park to also drop Viking connotations and references in its naming conventions for future releases.
You can find out more at: www.highlandparkwhisky.com.
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