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Bardstown Bourbon Company has announced a comprehensive packaging transformation across its core portfolio, set to roll out this year. The redesign represents a strategic visual evolution for the distiller, specifically engineered to address retail visibility challenges as the brand scales its nationwide distribution.

While retaining the brand's signature bottle shape, the update introduces a "refined modernist aesthetic" designed to correct previous packaging that the company identified as being "recessive" on the shelf.

Visual Architecture and Shelf Impact

The redesign focuses on increasing shelf presence and consumer navigability through several key technical updates:

• Enhanced Typography: Implementation of bold typography and secondary labels to improve readability from a distance.

• Colour System: A refined colour palette to strengthen visual separation between different expressions.

• Materiality: Usage of a soft-touch label substrate to add tactile density, finished with a heavier-weight cork.

• Iconography: Inclusion of a debossed topographical map, providing a nod to the distillery's Kentucky origins.

The design project, initially exploring deep market research with national agencies, was ultimately executed in-house under the oversight of Design Director Ron Jasin. The labels are being produced by international premium spirits specialist Eurostampa.

The move comes as Bardstown transitions from an industry innovator to a scaled national player. Pete Marino, President of Lofted Spirits, framed the redesign as a necessary evolution for the brand's commercial maturity.

Operational Rollout and Portfolio Expansion

The refreshed design will begin hitting shelves in early Spring, covering the core lineup: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond, High Wheat Bourbon, and Kentucky Straight Rye. The Discovery Series and collaborative releases will follow later in the year.

New Single Barrel Option: Coinciding with the visual update, Bardstown is expanding its "by-the-barrel" program. Buyers will now be able to select a Wheated Bourbon option—utilising the same 20% wheat mash bill found in the brand’s Bottled-in-Bond expression—alongside the existing Rye and high-rye Bourbon choices.

Dan Callaway, Master Blender, assured consumers of liquid continuity: "The labels have changed. The standards haven’t. Inside these beautiful bottles is the same award-winning whiskey – the consistent quality that defines our pursuit of what’s possible."