MOUNT GAY SINGLE ESTATE SERIES, BY SUPERCULTURE.

Mount Gay, Barbados, is the world's oldest rum distillery. In 2015 Mount Gay purchased the original 17th century plantation adjacent to the distillery and took the decision to create the first Mount Gay single estate rum in 300 years, using only sugar cane from these historic fields. Unlike the usual molasses used in rum making, which is a by-product of sugar production, the Mount Gay Single Estate molasses used for this blend has been produced solely for rum distillation (so Grade A rather than Grade C). 

In 2021 SUPERCULTURE won the pitch to create the positioning and packaging design for this iconic, high-provenance rum. This included the naming, bottle design, labelling and was ultimately to include the product communications and launch concept.

In contrast to the "maximalist" tropes of conventional luxury spirits – the gold, the heavyweight crystal decanter and other embellishments – the driving thought was to take a minimalist approach with the aim of placing as little as possible between this sensational liquid and the customer. Accordingly category convention clear glass was sacrificed for 70% recycled glass and the name, instead of appearing in gold foil serif font is embossed into the glass itself in a more brutalist industrial sans font. A confident and understated tactile execution.

The label follows this minimalist philosophy, the main feature being esoteric "coding", giving the release year, series number and cask maturation types. With this rum we felt we were talking to a sophisticated cognoscenti who would recognise and readily decode this cypher. Talking to the few, not the many.

Coded, minimalist luxury.