People say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but to be honest, when browsing for whisky, or indeed, any tipple for that matter, have you ever been tempted by a bottle purely because it had a label that you liked the look of? 

Now, full disclosure, I myself have been guilty of this in the past. Whilst shopping for whisky, and other spirits in fact, I’ve purchased bottles purely because they had eye-catching labels and logos that I liked the look of. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the power of advertising. 

While a label, logo, or packaging in general doesn’t affect a whisky’s flavour, it can alter our perception of the whisky, plus it can catch our eye and draw us in to begin with. Take it from us, our labelling is a prominent part of our marketing and advertising and it’s something we take very seriously here at Great Drams. 

But why are labels so important and just how big of a role do they play in the whisky industry? Well, that’s what we’re going to find out right now. 

A Quick History of Whisky Brands and Logos

While things are different overseas, for the purpose of transparency, I’m going to stick with UK laws, rules, and regulations when it comes to whisky labels and branding in general. 

Thousands of years ago, when whisky was sold in barrels and any other suitable containers the distillers could find, there was no such thing as whisky branding or logos. However, all that changed when a new law permitted Scotland to sell whisky to England via bottles, as opposed to in wooden casks. 

Enterprising merchants saw an opening in the market and decided to promote their very own unique blends of whisky. To help their blends stand out, they would create images or logos and attach these to their bottles. 

As the decades passed by, the world became more industrialised, and printing tech began to advance. In the late 1880s wide-scale advertising was adopted. The idea was to make their whisky stand out and look appealing. Many merchants decided to play on whisky’s roots and would come up with imagery synonymous with Scotland, such as Highland Stags, mountains and glens, rugged coastlines, bagpipes, tartan designs, and those types of things. They would also use words such as ‘special’ and ‘finest’ to help the whisky really leap out at people and make it sound more important and luxurious. 

More than a century later, and little has changed. Whisky producers still see the huge potential in labelling and branding and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. 

Eye-Catching Designs

Today, there’s a lot to be said for marketing and advertising. In fact, they’re fundamental parts of any business. 

You can tell a lot about a whisky by its label. Single malt for example, is often seen as a luxury product and is placed in the luxury goods sector of the market as a result. The label not only reflects this, but can help to enhance our interpretations of whisky in the first place. A single malt with a label featuring an intricate design with eye-catching colours, patterns, and slogans is more likely to stand out than a dram with a plain and tired-looking label. 

Whisky labels and logos not only need to draw new buyers in, they also need to be easy to spot so that whisky drinkers can easily identify their favourite dram on the shelf and put it in their shopping basket before they have the chance to notice the competition. 

Brands such Glenfiddich and The Dalmore for example, are instantly recognisable because of their use of a stag’s head as their primary logo. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey stands out because of its black and white label. Even Johnnie Walker immediately catches your eye because of the label’s diagonal position on the bottle, rather than it just being stuck on straight. 

The idea is to catch the customer’s eye and draw them in, and a great label and stunning packaging can certainly do that. 

Legal Requirements and Useful Info

Of course, when you do look at the label of your favourite dram before you pour yourself a glass, you’ll notice all manner of info on there, telling you more about the whisky you’re about to enjoy. 

Legally, according to Regulation 8 of the 2009 Scotch Whisky Association, every Scotch whisky must legally bear on the front of the bottle, along with anywhere else on the packaging, the category in which the Scotch belongs to, I.E ‘Single-Malt Scotch Whisky’, ‘Blended Scotch Whisky’, or ‘Blended Grain Scotch Whisky’. 

The only other words which may be added to the category description of the whisky is the name of the region the whisky was produced in. So, for example, if it is an Islay single-malt Scotch whisky, the label could state ‘Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky’, assuming the entire distillation was carried out in that region. 

These are legal requirements and deliberately falsely advertising a whisky as belonging to categories for which it doesn’t belong is a criminal offence and could result in a hefty fine, the threat of closure, and legal issues too. Regulation 9 deems it illegal for manufacturers to deliberately deceive the general public.

Also on the label, it is mandatory to including the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) percentage, plus you’ll find things such as age statements, distillation dates, bottling dates, the name and address of the distillery or bottler, cask details, and other useful info about the whisky, such as which number the bottle is, and how many were produced. 

Basically, the label tells you everything you need to know about the whisky, and lets you really get to know it before you enjoy it. 

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or grab yourself a dram or two at the same time, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at what we have to offer. 

With a large selection of limited-edition and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.