Amazing Liquor Bottles

Amazing Liquor Bottles 

Packaging is an effective and powerful part of a brand’s marketing strategy, but sometimes packaging becomes a bit more than that. For many liquors, the bottle that holds it can be as much a reason to buy it as the drink contained within; Absolut Vodka is a brand that comes to mind. And sometimes, the bottle itself can become the object of desire…and even a collectors’ item. The 18 bottles that follow are rare, luxurious, aesthetically pleasing, or otherwise interesting— and that means that they’re some of the most sought-after liquor bottles that money can buy.

Macallan Crystal Decanter

This one-of-a-kind crystal Lalique decanter was commissioned by the famed Speyside distillery to be crafted using the ancient “cire perdue” method (also known as the “lost wax” method), which involves using a mold to cast duplicates of original sculptures and other kinds of three-dimensional art. Not only is the bottle a work of craftsmanship; it also and holds the oldest and rarest Macallan single malt ever bottled. It sold at Sotheby’s for a whopping $460,000 in 2010, making it the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold. Largely thanks to that final price, 36 other bottles of the same single malt were later sold for around $16,000 a piece. Even if the original bottle had fetched only the $150,000 it was expected to get at auction, that would have made it the most expensive bottle of whisky in the world.

Bombay Sapphire Revelation Collection

The Bombay Sapphire Revelation collection featured just five Baccarat crystal bottles designed by Karim Rashid, with the diamond and jewel decorated caps supplied by Garrard.  At $200,000 per bottle, the entire collection was worth a cool $1 million. The bottles were shipped to five separate cities across the globe (New York, London, Dubai, Sydney, and Singapore) to promote the brand with proceeds going to the Smile Train charity. Each bottle’s buyer also received a year’s supply of Bombay Sapphire gin.

Louis XIII Black Pearl

Louis XIII Cognac is at the very top of high-end cognacs. It’s a unique and rare blend of liquor aged between 40 to 100+ years in the Grande Champagne region of France. Though normally the brand goes for around $2,000 per bottle, this limited edition “Black Pearl” is listed for four times that amount. The bottle may look like steel or silver, but it is in fact a uniquely colored Baccarat crystal that reflects and refracts light like no other bottle before.

 Ladoga Imperial Collection

The premium vodka brands are getting into the fancy bottling racket as well, it seems. Ladoga created this classy Venice glass decanter for their Imperial collection.The decanter is detailed with 24-karat gold trim and inspired by Faberge eggs; when opened, the “egg” reveals the bottle and four cleverly mounted shot glasses within. The decanters come in a variety of colors, each suitable as a lovely collectors’ piece for any Russian vodka fanatic.

Crystal Head Vodka

According to legend, 13 crystal skulls dating anywhere from 5,000 to 35,000 years old have been found throughout the world. None of the skulls made available for study presented anything that would suggest they were manufactured any earlier than the 19th century, though there still exists some dispute on those accounts. Regardless, this is one of the more popular non-traditional bottles you might find in your neighborhood liquor store. And for under $50, it’s a bit more accessible than some of the above bottles. In fact, if you aren’t interested in the liquor inside and would prefer just to have the package, eBay has them going for just about $10 a piece (plus shipping).

Frozen Ghost Vodka

If you have some time to learn about the legend behind this bottle, you’ll discover a story line like no other. But it’s the bottle itself that I’m most interested in. The pictures simply don’t do it justice. From the front, it looks like a figure attempting to escape the bottle. Turn it to the side, however, and the figure follows you until, from the side, it disappears completely. It’s an impressive and creepy holographic trick that certainly fits the narrative.  I’m sure the vodka is pretty good, too…

La Collection Hand-Blown Glass Bottles

This Armenian brand takes its bottle designs very seriously. La Collection features a number of hand-blown glass bottles representing several different kinds of animals, including a bull, a horse, and an elephant, plus a few bottles shaped like other objects, like guns, a sword (with sheath), a menorah, and a ladies’ dress shoe. It’s definitely a brand worth collecting just for the unique glass work alone.

Milagro Tequila

The first time I saw this bottle, I wasn’t sure I was in the right place. Is this a liquor store or…? Upon closer look, it became clear that there were simply two liquors in a single hand blown crystal bottle. Milagro produced the above bottle to celebrate two complimentary styles of tequila:

“The 3 inner chambers are filled with 100% Blue Agave Select Barrel Reserve Anejo, each chamber representing a year of its aging to maturity. The outer chamber is filled with 100% Blue Agave Reposado aged to perfection for 9 months in oak barrels.” 

The bottle below, however, is another piece of art that also happens to contain tequila. The hand-blown bottle features a glass tequila plant inside for a breathtaking visual experience.

Hijos De Villa Tequila

Keeping up with the tequila theme, this bottle is designed to look like a handgun; it contains an ironically smooth tequila from Hijos De Villa. Along with the Crystal Head Vodka bottle, this is one of the more common non-traditional bottles you might be able to find locally and is also quite easy to find on eBay (sans liquor).

Kalashnikov AK-47

There are a number of other cool gun-shaped bottles, but this one from Kalashnikov vodka takes the cake. It’s the realistic gun case and included dog-tags that sells it, really. Not that the bottle itself isn’t great: it even stands up on the butt of the gun nicely without it (though I wouldn’t display it that way long—it’s still too tall), but the realistic case gives it that final detail for the full experience.

 Medea Vodka Programmable Liquor Bottle

Medea Vodka has done something truly remarkable with their bottle design that we find impressive. The LED display can remember up to six messages as long as 255 characters each. That’s right: each message contains more info than a tweet on Twitter! The batteries last about a year according to the website.

Precious Vodka

At first glance, this bottle may look like the Bombay Sapphire Revelation design. And while it’s priced far short of $200k, instead selling for about $70 retail, each bottle does come with one of five precious stones in the cap. It’s the poor man’s version of Revelation, but a vodka by Jewel Lines.

 Samurai Vodka

This Russian made vodka, called Samurai, features a bottle design that’s clever in a minimalistic sort of way. It appears as though the bottle was cut in half by a samurai sword; the bottle even stands that way. Simple, aesthetic, and clever.

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Mayan-inspired Anejo Tequila

This bottle, inspired by the Mayan culture, appears to be a stone replica statue and contains an unknown brand of Anejo tequila. Even though we don’t know much about the brand, one look at this unique bottle and I knew I needed to include it on my list anyway.

 Pshenichnaya Vintage Ceramic

Pshenichnaya is another vodka brand that’s explored non-traditional shaped bottles. This time, instead of glass, the bottles are made from porcelain and painted to match the design more accurately. Along with the car (above), this brand also has an AK-47 design, though it’s not nearly as aesthetically fascinating.

Glenmorangie Pride 1981

Glenmorangie Pride 1981 Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a single malt whisky beyond comparison. Glenmorangie Pride 1981 is the culmination of 28 years of passion, patience and artistry. As its name implies, the birth date was 1981 when the original liquid was distilled and laid down for maturation in Glenmorangie’s finest oak casks. The intention had always been to create an exquisite vintage 18-Year-Old, yet in 1999, a key was acquired to craft an even more outstanding whisky: a limited quantity of Sauternes barriques from the fabled vineyards of Chateau d’Yquem. Thus the whisky was extra-matured for 10 more years in those prized casks - the longest period any Glenmorangie whisky has ever undergone extra-maturation.

Kappa Pisco

Kappa Pisco was launched in 2012 by Grand Marnier, famous for their orange liqueur. This Chilean grape brandy is produced from double-distilled Muscat grapes combined with pure water from the Andes.