The Auction
The Distillers One of One auction gives whisky creators the opportunity to come together as an industry to celebrate their craft and donate a one-of-a-kind whisky to raise vital funds to help disadvantaged young people in Scotland.
The Client
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a global whisky club that celebrated 40 years in 2023. Since it was first established in Edinburgh in 1983 the society has expanded to almost 40,000 members and has bottled whisky from over 180 distilleries. For their inaugural contribution to the Sotheby’s auction, they partnered with STCKMN to lead on the design and production of their never-to-be-repeated whisky release.
The Brief
Design a one-of-a-kind packaging design that would compete for attention amongst the other established distillery lots, using sustainable methods/materials in the production that would tell the story of the aged liquid and reflect the craft involved in the whisky making process.
The Process
STCKMN consulted with sustainable British paper innovators, James Cropper for advice on sustainable properties and paper pulp specifications and appointed industrial design agency Matter for the production of the sculptural piece. A combination of contemporary prototyping techniques and traditional hand making to take it from ambitious concept to a reality.
The Unique Result
‘The Only Drop’ is a handcrafted, paper moulded sculpture that celebrates the relationship between liquid and cask. A visual narrative of the 33-year partnership that gave birth to this unique whisky.
The liquid itself is represented by a ripple formation that’s inspired by the unrepeatable pattern of water in nature, mirroring the layers of history and taste within the whisky itself with a single droplet representing the rarity of the release.
To honour the casks’ contribution to the flavour in the whisky, wood shavings from the original casks are embedded into the sustainable paper pulp sculpture. The idea being that when the sculpture is placed onto the bottle it reunites the whisky with the cask as they once were during maturation.
Using the natural tension of the pulped paper and the downward pull of gravity, the rear clasp cradles the bottle contour, securing it atop the bottle. The single droplet cut-out on the front centre of the sculpture gives a glimpse to the rare liquid within. The society monogram revealed on the rear, framed by the sculpture, is like a medal proudly symbolising the Society’s dedication to seeking out only the purest of liquids. Debossed typography adorns each side of the sculpture commemorating the distilling and bottling dates.
Removing the sculpture reveals a ripple graphic on the front of the bottle to mirror that of the sculptures, created using a multi-pass raised spot UV varnish, the light and liquid refract through it creating movement.
To give a nod to traditional bottling methods the cork stopper has been sealed using a wax dipping method.
In keeping with the Societies tongue in cheek style, tone of voice. There’s a line that reads ‘only one dram left’ on the rear base of the bottle, a sort of jovial signifier that you’re coming to the end of your whisky.
A 10cl miniature was created to allow the buyer to sample the whisky. It shares the same design features as the main bottle such as hand dipped wax neck and copper foil embellishments.
Accompanying the bottles is a hand-bound, hand foiled booklet that details the concept of “The Only Drop’, the whiskies journey and tasting notes.
The Outcome For Good
The bottle sold at the Sotheby’s auction in October 2023, achieving a final sale price of £15,000 with all proceeds aiding disadvantaged youth across Scotland via Youth Action Fund.
