Aberargie Wins Gold at the IWSC for Traditional Design
We’re delighted that the brand, custom bottle and label design for Aberargie Inaugural won Gold for the Traditional Design category at The IWSC 2026 (International Wine and Spirit Competition).
The IWSC is one of the industry’s oldest and most respected competitions. They’ve been setting the global benchmark for quality across an extensive range of wine, spirits, and other drink categories since 1969 and evaluate over 12,000 entries annually from more than 90 countries. Their Traditional Design category is judged on how a design both respects the visual codes consumers expect from an established category, while still creating something with its own identity.
Morrison Distillers approached us in 2024 to create a compelling brand identity and packaging design for their Aberargie Inaugural single malt scotch whisky release. Aberargie Distillery is situated on the geographical border between the Highland and Lowland regions in Perthshire, Scotland and we developed a design strategy centered on the distillery’s core values: a strong sense of place and the tradition of whisky-making. We worked closely with the Aberargie team to encapsulate this essence of the distillery’s unique location, the traditional process of distilling, their ‘barley-to-bottle’ philosophy, and the patience and pride involved in crafting this limited first release.
Judge Guy Hodcroft felt the design reflected the story behind the whisky itself, a new distillery operated by a family with deep roots in Scotch whisky:“For Aberargie’s inaugural single malt, that balance was particularly successful. The bottle carries the recognisable cues of traditional Scotch whisky, but detailed embossing, a carefully considered closure and strong execution give it a sense of individual personality.”
Lauren Doherty, Senior Brand Manager at Morrison Distillers, outlined that “from the very beginning, we wanted the design of Aberargie to feel like a true reflection of who we are, rooted in our family heritage, shaped by our distillery and the land that surrounds it, and considered in every detail…”
Niel Hendriksz, Managing Director at Morrison Distillers continues that “this is truly a perfect summary of what we wanted to achieve from the start and I think Kingdom & Sparrow absolutely nailed it!”
The Aberargie Inaugural release launched earlier this year to an incredible reception.
