Packaging

[bluepeter]

I'm not sure if the minor rant that I'm about to vent is allowed here. I apologise to the moderators if I'm being naughty, but I couldn't see anything against what I intend to say in the rules.

Anyway, I've implied in another thread that I get irritated by the boxes or tins in which single malts are typically packaged. There's no real need for anything more than a bottle, so I reckon that these are unnecessary and wasteful. At least the bottles can be recycled (and mine are).

Then there are corks. They're not always easy to pull out and they can deteriorate with time. (I know, I've lost the better part of a bottle of Glenmorangie as a result of a disintegrating cork.) And corks necessitate foil wraps as a means of tamper-proofing. I've lost count of the number of times I've cut my thumb or finger on the on edge of a torn foil, usually when twisting a recalcitrant cork. The screw tops typically used for blends are much more practical. I'm no wine drinker (I don't like the stuff) but I have the impression that most wine seems to come with screw tops these days. Winemakers always used to use corks, but seem to have given them up. So why can't single malt distilleries?

And bottle design. It seems that pretty much every distillery has its own shape of bottle. There's no need for this: labels are quite enough for differentiation. Generally, though, it's not any real problem... except that it can be. Glenrothes is the one that particularly irritates me. Its short and squat bottles have two disadvantages. Firstly, they take up roughly twice as much shelf space as the more conventionally shaped bottles like, say, GlenDronach. Secondly, the distance from my thumb-tip to finger-tip is less than half the circumference of a Glenrothes bottle. This makes it a bit difficult to hold - it's supported solely by friction when I'm pouring it. I wish I didn't like their whisky so much!

It's just as well that airports are off-topic here, or you'd get a real rant

[dramblersanonymous]

Crikey! But what would all the marketers and cork makers do?

[ralfy legend]

Sometimes the packing does my head in but hey I can live with that as for the design of the bottle well I like them, I like the dumpy bottles myself, as for the corks, well come on most like the sound as it's the start of the ride, hopefully on 2017 you will have calmed down a bit hahaha.

[ralfy legend]

Sometimes the packing does my head in but hey I can live with that as for the design of the bottle well I like them, I like the dumpy bottles myself, as for the corks, well come on most like the sound as it's the start of the ride, hopefully on 2017 you will have calmed down a bit hahaha.

[opelfruit]

You have 5 main types of whisky buyers;

Casual drinkers
Those who gift
Collectors/investors
Filppers at auction
Enuthiasts



Of those;

Casual drinkers - nice packaging and a cork is good. It makes Mr/Mrs casual drinker feel like he/she is buying a superior and quality (expensive) product and he/she feels good about that because it sets them apartnfrom beer and wine drinkers. They are doing well for themselves.

Those who gift - packaging and corks are good. They look like nice and expensive gifts. They've done well for themselves here getting a good gift.

Collectors/investors - packaging is good. A bottle in into original packaging is worth more that a bottle without box. It looks better on the shelf and will make more money at auction. They've done well for themselves here.

Flippers at auction - see above.

Whisky enthusiasts - 2 camps; i buy to drink so the box goes in the bin (me). Or - I buy to drink buy to drink but I buy more than I drink. I'll keep it in the box on the shelf to protect my precious whisky, which I will drink and then throw the box away.


Of those only the whisky enthusiast doesn't really care. It's to be drunk. No matter it's box nor it's closure. These people, despite what we like to think here on the forums, make up a small part of the market. The vast part is made up of others, all of which expect a box and a cork.

Don't hate the game, it's the players fault. Your box, your bottle all make up your brand and it's what allows a high price to be charged. Yes I'd rather a plain bottle with vital information and no box, for a lower price.....but I'm one of the tiny percentage of enthusiastic consumers, so I don't matter
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[krakow]

Sorry not to fit into this whole scheme, but am I allowed to be an enthusiast who likes boxes, tubes and, especially, differently shaped bottles?

Things one enjoys can be enjoyed on a lot of levels at the same time. Yes, the drinking is the most important aspect, but there is something to the whole experience for me.

I feel the same about music - while it is the listening to it that is most important there, the record itself plays an important part, the artwork and presentation adds to the whole experience.
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The Drawing Room // Crimson Glow Photography

[Olorin]

[bluepeter]

Opelfruit, I think you've probably hit the nail on the head.

I've no time for investors (or those you call flippers, who I see as a subcategory of investor) - investment in wine, whisky and the like seems daft to me. The point of whisky is that it's made to be consumed, but who's going to drink a bottle for which they've paid tens of thousands of pounds? In any case, what's the betting that it becomes undrinkable before it's opened (if it is ever opened at all!)? I'd like to think that the distilleries don't deliberately cater to them.

But extra pretty packaging for the gift/special occasion market? Yeah, that sort of makes sense. The wastefulness still irritates me, though. I'd never thought of myself as a whisky enthusiast, but I guess that I'd fit your apparent definition.

Krakow, it's fair enough if you like the extra packaging, but I don't think that music is a very good analogy. Records and CDs are played repeatedly and have to be stored for many years. They aren't consumed and the packaging thrown away within weeks of purchase. I agree with you that the packaging is relatively important there. (Well, up to a point - I get irritated with non-standard CD boxes that won't fit in my rack.) Indeed, I particularly admire one artist and the work that he's done for my favourite band. As a teenager, I had posters of his pictures from album sleeves on my bedroom wall. And there's more information to provide with music, and hence an inherent need for more packaging. I regard a CD case as akin to a whisky bottle and the booklet as akin to its label. There's rarely as much waste with a CD or LP as there is with a bottle of malt.

[Timp]

Err yeh but having spent time with people who have got that sort of money, opening a 3 grand bottle is like me opening one every worth 100.. no comparison to what/ how I would view opening one of this value.

I would say Krakow, do what you want, when you want, regardless!

Anyway, I like different crisp packets.. who wants their frazzles in a wotsit bag!

[krakow]

[sorren]

Another topic on boxes , packaging and all the thrills..
As many already know I fall in the collectors category so for me the packaging is important.. I don't argue that whisky might be sold for less without any packaging but I would still argue that the companies will never sell at anything less than the price they want.. As Opel has already mentioned whisky fans can be sectioned into sub categories but many of us fall into more than one category.. I spend a lot of money each month buying whisky to both drink and store.. some may be sold and some will be given to my children once I'm passed.. so storing these bottles is important.. boxes and packaging therefore is essential to me..