This is post two of a series taking a detailed look at the art, craft and engineering that went into making the packaging for the William Grants Balvenie Tale Of The Dog Whisky.
The finish of the cylinder that holds and protects The Tale Of The Dog whisky is multitextured – leather and wood – with a sleek shape. There are no visible fasteners.
A less involved way of packaging the whisky - in a straight forward tube perhaps - would lose so much of the theatricality and reveal that opening delivers. As well as the precious bottle of 42 year old whisky the cylinder also contains a copper dog and a booklet telling the story of what a copper dog is and how the whisky got its name. It’s a beautiful and intriguing reveal.
The closing mechanism for The Tale Of the Dog packaging is magnets. They can be hidden so they don’t interrupt the smooth shape.
The magnets work hard. They must hold the weight of the bottle, the copper dog, the booklet and the wooden packaging itself so there is no risk of the cylinder falling open. On the other hand they must open without having to exert pressure.
Peter calculated and tested for magnetic strength and positioning to get it spot on.
As well as the need to perform the secure closing function and easy opening function the magnets also provide a satisfying sense of solid closure in the sound and feel when they meet. It’s redolent of a very expensive car door closing and so entirely appropriate for such a rare and fine whisky.