HEBRIDEAN craft producer North Uist Distillery has overhauled the bottle design for its Downpour Gin as the business looks to reduce its carbon footprint.
The new bottle, designed by Glasgow studio Jamhot Design and produced by city glassmaker Vetroelite, uses 38% less glass than the previous bottle design and features biodegradeable inks which ensure the bottle can be recycled alongside clear household glass.
The brand’s strapline, ‘Island Life Distilled’, is embossed on the neck.
The bottle has also been designed to be easy to refill at the new ‘refill station’ at the distillery.
The company is currently working on a postal refill system for off-island customers.
Kate Macdonald, who founded the distillery in 2019 with Jonny Ingledew, said the intention was to create a new bottle “which would enhance our brand while representing our Hebridean heritage and the Downpour Gin inside”.
“Each bottle is distilled, bottled and labelled on the island to enable the business to have a long-term benefit for the community,” said Macdonald.
“We currently employ ten people and will look to continue to add to our team in the future.
“Our original bottle had a very heavy base which required a lot of glass. As part of the redesign, we have made sure that the new bottle is more lightweight and uses less glass than our original bottle. We have also designed it to fit into the refill station at Nunton Steadings, where anyone can come along and get their bottle refilled. This is an important development which will help us go some way to achieving one of our major goals which is to become more sustainable as a business.
“We believe we now have a bottle which more people will want to keep and one that will also encourage refills at our Nunton Steadings shop.”
