34. WERNER DESIGN WERKS
The client mandate was clear: No parrots, parties, pirates, or palm trees. Instead, the bottle for 10 Cane Rum needed to reflect its desired market position as a super premium liquor—one designed for mixing drinks rather than sipping. “One of the phrases they used a lot was ‘redemption of the classic cocktail,’” says Sarah Nelson, a designer at Werner Design Werks. “We wanted it to feel like a decanter.”

As a result, a lot of time was spent focusing on how the bottle felt in the hand. A grip, for example, was added at the neck to make it easier for bartenders to pour. Since the rum is made in Trinidad, a crest was created to represent the Caribbean rum-making tradition and the heritage of Moët Hennessy. A bright orange label provides a modern contrast and helps the bottle grab attention in dimly lit clubs and bars.

The overarching goal was to create a bottle that felt classic and traditional rather than trendy; designers didn’t want it to look cool on the shelf today and dated in a few years. The accompanying launch kit for the rum is simple and basic, Nelson says, because potential buyers don’t have a lot of time to read copy. One of the elegant white folder’s main features is a series of info pages designed to be stuck in a three-ring binder—each covers a basic topic (“What is 10 Cane?”) in a highly visual presentation. But the project did have a small downside: The designers only recently got to sample the rum, which was still under development during the design process.
Michelle Taute