A well-loved Huntly-based whisky brand has undergone a complete makeover and launched a new campaign with the help of a legendary, Scottish-born photographer and director.
Glendronach have said that they hope to “captivate a new generation of discerning consumers” with the rebrand. The new look strives for an “elegant, timeless aesthetic” that combines both tradition and modernity.
Deciphering the marketing speak, in practical terms this means a new bottle and label design. The new bottles are a bespoke, sleeker design compared to the traditional ‘wine bottle’ shape the brand previously favoured.
A subtle yet significant change is how the name is presented on the label. Glendronach have chosen to drop the stylised capital ‘D’. Much of the rest of the labels remain fairly comparable to before, with a similar font and layout, albeit with a more streamlined design.
The new bottles and labels will be seen in the brand’s permanent range of 12, 15, and 18 year old expressions. Glendronach have also opted to maintain the current colour scheme for their core ranges, with each of their ages presented in red, green, or blue packaging.
To commemorate the redesign, Glendronach have partnered with John Rankin Waddel - known professionally as Rankin - to produce a video capturing the brand’s “balance of tradition and imagination”.
Rankin has experience working with the whisky industry, having previously worked with Macallan on their Masters of Photography release in 2010. He also directed the video for the launch of the Bowmore Black Aston Martin DB5 Edition.
In the video, Spanish flamenco dancer Rocio Dusmet Orellana is seen dancing through the distillery, its production facilities and the casks in their warehouses. Flamenco dancing is probably as far away from something ‘traditionally Scottish’ as you can get, but the connection makes sense given the distillery’s prolific use Andalusian sherry casks to mature their whisky.
Speaking on the collaboration, Rankin said “I just loved the initial idea. I know the whisky sector well and this felt genuinely different and exciting to me. I also thrive off creating cultural collisions and finding beauty in the tensions they bring, plus, as a Scot by birth, the idea of bringing flamenco to the Highlands stirred passion in me that I just couldn’t resist.”
‘Raising Expectations’ is the tag-line for the new campaign, but its an ethos that The Glendronach has long lived by. As master blender Rachel Barrie explains: “The Glendronach is a surprise, a revelation and a flavour crescendo. At first taste, it has this amplification that’s so much richer than your expectations, and our philosophy is just that – to raise expectations in single malt by creating the most exceptional Sherried whisky. And we are now setting a new standard to match the exquisite nature of the spirit with reimagined visuals”.
The new-look core range will launch from July 2024. Later this year Glendronach will look to relaunch their premium range of 21, 30 and 40 year old expressions with new branding. Finally, a trio of whiskies under the banner of The Master's Anthology will also be revealed in the near future.
It’s an exciting time for the Highland brand. As well as the ongoing rebrand, the brand recently revealed plans for a multi-million pound expansion at the distillery. There’s also no doubt work going on behind the scenes to celebrate the bands 200th anniversary in 2026.
