Top 10 award-winning spirits packaging designs
Feast your eyes on these standout medal winners from the 2025 Design & Packaging Masters, where modern luxury meets functionality.
For today’s consumers, a bottle’s feel and look can be parallel to the spirit they hold.
While functionality remains paramount, today’s sprits packaging should not only look beautiful but also stand out in a competitive market, be fit for purpose in homes and behind the bar, and, crucially, take sustainability seriously.
Consumers are also on the lookout for brands that convey a story or message, which is translated into innovative designs and an easily recognisable identity, creating a sense of authenticity.
A brand’s best calling cards remain its attractiveness and ability to catch the consumer’s eye, often the keys to the product’s success.
As part of The Global Spirits Masters Competitions (GSMC), six judges convened at the Ibis London Bridge hotel for The Design & Packaging Masters 2025 to distinguish diamonds from the rhinestones.
Below, you can take a look at 10 standout bottlings from the competition that caught the judges’ attention for their memorable and innovative approach.
Perro Verde Ensamble
The Master medal and Best in Class winner Ensamble from mezcal brand Perro Verde, proves that sometimes less is more when it comes to design. The judges praised the “deceptively simple” green-tinted bottle for its elegant, modern, creative, and classy aesthetics, which led them to wonder whether it was made from wild glass.
According to the brand, Perro Verde’s bottle design evokes the old pots that once held mezcal, when it was first produced around 500 years ago.
Giving an authentic, handcrafted feel, the bottle stood out for its “clever embossed back design on the glass, which shows clearly through the liquid” and attention to detail. The brand’s bold, intriguing logo with inverted type was praised for its character-giving properties, while the label’s extensive use of typefaces and the classy stopper added to the design’s artisanal appeal.
All these elements came together in perfect unison, creating a standout bottle for both on- and off-trade. The timeless representation of clean-lined luxury Perro Verde Ensamble retails for US$130.
Cygnet 77
Welsh brand Cygnet Gin, co-founded by classical singer Katherine Jenkins OBE, is known for its tear-shaped, ‘lighter-weight’, handcrafted decanter.
The design for 77 – the brand’s gin aged in Welsh whisky barrels with Manuka honey – amazed the panel with its elegant, attractive shape, with extra credits for the elongated punt, which “inspires discussion”. Standout packaging worthy of a Gold medal.
With a personality that reflects the brand’s owners’ vision of classic opulence while embracing transformation, the bottle brings elegance to a night at the opera. It has a suggested retail price of £129 (US$172).
Le Tribute Countryside Luxury Gin
“Master for the bottle, but Gold for the combined box and bottle” was the verdict from the judging panel for Spanish MG Destilerias’ Le Tribute Countryside Luxury Gin, part of the brand’s limited edition high-end series.
The “superb” textured art deco bottle, which promotes reusability, offers an upgrade to Le Tribute’s standard gin,with modern, elegant leather trimmings and a zamac plate. The vessel is paired with a Nouveau-style box, which although pretty, the judges felt broke easily when the bottle was removed.
Nevertheless, the design deserved its high marks and for those looking to elevate their gin experience, Le Tribute Countryside Luxury Gin is available for a limited time in two formats: with a gift box for €75 (US$82) and a gift set with glasses for €90 (US$98).
Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2025
Hailing from India, Indri single malt from Piccadily Distillery brought its A-game to the 2025 Diwali celebrations with a limited edition whisky aged in Marsala wine casks.
The box has a magnetic closure, while the bottle features beautiful artwork of elephants and Indian-inspired designs. The packaging then offers detailed explanations of the whisky’s inspiration.
The box was praised by the panel for its “nice texture and beauty”, while the bottle’s heavy, tall design made up for its sustainability concerns with an elegant closure.
Ultimately, the packaging was awarded a Gold medal for its clear and captivating depiction of India-inspired themes.
Patrón Reposado
Last year, Bacardi-owned Patrón Tequila was given its first package redesign since its launch in 1989. The new design stays true to the brand’s instantly recognisable shape and stopper, which the judges noted can be “recognised a mile away”.
Receiving praise from the judges for its textured sides that mimic agave piñas and the bottle’s orange neck tag, the design brings modern sophistication to the popular Tequila brand, refreshed and reborn.
Patrón Reposado retails for around £50-£55 (US$68-US$75) for a 700ml bottle, depending on the retailer.
Bluff London Dry Gin
Contrary to its name, nothing is deceiving about Bluff London Dry Gin. Named after the port town of Bluff in New Zealand’s South Island, the gin’s design tells the story of its coastal surroundings.
The gin is presented in an ocean-inspired turquoise-coloured round-shaped container reminiscent of a vintage perfume bottle, with “interesting net-like embossing” and a wooden stopper (plastic cork). The bottle’s aesthetics won over the judges with its “very unique shape”, which they said makes it “look great on a home bar”.
Bluff’s Master medal-worthy packaging and, of course, its Master medal-winning gin the hides inside can be experienced firsthand for NZD$89.95 (US$54).
Pistola Añejo
Described as India’s ‘first’ aged 100% agave spirit, Goa-made Maya Pistola Agavepura is making waves outside its home market not only for its wild Americana agave-derived flavour but for its modern embossed bottle. The design stood out for its “super cool, slightly quirky” square-shaped bottle, which piqued the judges’ interest and earned it a Gold medal.
The design is inspired by a legend of the beautiful goddess Mayahuel, who is rescued by the God of Wind from her grandmother, the Goddess of Darkness. To hide from her grandmother, Mayahuel disguised herself as an agave plant, but was soon found and killed. Grieving, the God of Wind scattered her leaves around the world, and the Indian Deccan turned out to offer the soil for her rebirth as Maya Pistola. With her 400 adopted rabbits, she embarked on a journey in search of authenticity, purity, and truth. The embossing on the back of the bottle, visible through the spirit, depicts the goddess as an agave plant with long, leafy hair.
Pistola Añejo is available in the UK from The Whisky Exchange for £39.95 (US$53).
Bols Blue 1575
In May 2025, Netherlands-based Bols celebrated its 450th anniversary by releasing a reimagined version of its Curaçao liqueur, Bols Blue 1575. Created in partnership with bartenders, the bottle is inspired by a traditional drum and is designed to meet the standards of modern mixology.
The panel praised the bottle’s functionality for its “great form, weight, and thoughtful design” as an “obvious step up from the standard”. Taking home a Master medal, Bols rose to the top with its sustainable approach, with a bottle made from 50% recycled glass.
The elegant and practical bottle is sure to make an impression in the on- and off-trade, and retails for £30.95 (US$41).
Thirlings Dry Gin
England’s northernmost distillery, Ad Gefrin, showcased its good taste in more ways than one at the Masters. For its Thirlings Northumbian Dry Gin, the distillery relied on a clean colour palette, pairing white and black with pops of copper.
One of the judges commented on the Master medal winner: “Love it. So much attention to detail. There’s a lot going on, but it’s clean at the same time.”
The design was also praised for the label’s off-white text, visible on close inspection, and the parchment paper-like textured material. The bottle also turned heads with its embossing, inverted dome at the bottom, wooden stopper, and authentic cork, adding an extra layer of sustainability to the design.
Thirlings Gin is named after a small settlement and a seventh-century castle in the area and aims to convey the Anglo-Saxon golden age of Northumbrian hospitality. Thirlings Dry Gin retails for £39 (US$53) in an award-winning 700ml bottle.
Eden Mill The Art of St Andrews 2025
Independent Scottish distiller Eden Mill’s limited edition 2025 bottling under its annual Art of St Andrews whisky series featured an illustration by local artist Deborah Phillips. Her work depicts Eden Mill’s new distillery silhouette against a sunrise, framed by botanicals and flowers blown by the sea breeze.
The panel praised the box’s beautiful artwork and the bottle’s look for their “clear label design” and “effortless elegance”, which were “distinctive without being too complicated”. The bottle has a decanter-style design with a diamond label featuring basic info on the front and more detail on the reverse.
The design evoked authenticity and created a real sense of place, earning it a Master medal.
Eden Mill The Art of St Andrews 2025 is available for a suggested retail price of £150 (US$205).
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