Design case study | Parlor Cay Rum

November 4, 2022

Chad Michael Studio is an international branding and packaging studio for beverages and specialty goods. Sespe Creek Distillery called upon Chad Michael Studio to develop the packaging design for Parlor Cay Rum.

Tell us a bit about the brand – its heritage, its story, and its markets – and the brief for this project. How does the design express the brand’s values?

Named and designed by Chad Michael Studio, Parlor Cay takes the island and ventures West. An original Rum recipe made from scratch, pot distilled, barreled in New American Oak, and finished in Pedro Ximenez Sherry Casks.

The name “Parlor Cay” was developed and pitched to the client along with 4 other options. Parlor Cay was selected because it spoke perfectly to the concept of the merging of two worlds – The West and The Isles. From the name selection, the iconic illustration seen on the package design of a lone parlor sitting quietly on a small and unknown island was born. The single boat drawn up on sands represents how secret this island really is which is a direct reflection of the boutique size and location of Sespe Creek Distillery.

What inspired the design?

The goal with the brand was to be inspired by the spirit and western influence Sespe Creek Distillery inherently possesses but merge it with the worldly cues of Rum and craftsmanship. As with all the brands we create, we aimed to break the mould of what consumers expect a Rum to look like. The bottle is sealed with a raw wood cork which possesses real tree bark. As we work our way down the bottle the consumer is greeted with a rough but highly considered craft strip which speaks to location and nature of the batches.

What is innovative or unusual about the pack?

Unlike most rum bottles, the main label consists of a beautifully recessive colour palette, custom vertical logotype, woodcut style illustration, and several subtle branded stamps that look as though they have been faded overtime naturally.