Godawan is an artisanal Indian Single Malt, dedicated to saving the endangered Great Indian Bustard or Godawan from extinction. Since our brand creation a year ago, Godawan has quickly established itself as a uniquely Indian luxury brand that sets a new standard for mindful luxury – having invested over 11 million rupees already to protect 200 acres of feeding and nesting habitat for these rare birds. Looking to create the next chapter in the Godawan story, Diageo India came to Butterfly Cannon to create the Godawan 100 Series – an ultra-limited edition drop of 100 bottles, with all proceeds going towards the conservation of the last 100 Godawan birds.
Our designs for the Godawan 100 Series raise the profile of the plight of the Godawan through a tangible reminder of their extreme rarity. Each of the bottles were meticulously hand-etched, with unique illustrations of the last living Godawan birds picked out in gold. Making each of the 100 bottles a one-of-a-kind piece of art, that highlights how important every single remaining Godawan bird is.
Full of exquisite details, the individually numbered labels evoke the unparalleled craft of the Godawans’ homeland of Rajasthan. The Godawan wordmark, a contemporary interpretation of a traditional local typeface, blooms from a colour-blocked horizon that conveys the vastness of the desert landscape, so crucial to the Godawan’s survival. Whilst the layering of labels and typography, with pops of locally inspired colour, evoke vibrancy and artisanship. Applied as a watermark on the label and stamped into the hand-dipped wax cap, a hand-drawn bird surrounded by the copy “Born and Nurtured in Rajasthan” acts as a seal of quality and symbol of dedication to conservation.
With the Godawan under threat of extinction from environmental factors such as climate change and habitat loss, just like the core range, the sustainable impact of the 100 Series was a key consideration.
Its exclusive liquid was sourced from the Godawan vault in its desert home of Alwar, Rajasthan – now an Alliance of Water Stewardship-certified water-positive distillery. The whisky’s key 6-row barley ingredient was sourced locally and the packaging was responsibly specified – the bottling supplier was local, the glass weight optimised for the category and the paper labels were FSC-certified, with recycled content.
Finally, each of the 100 bottles are impactfully displayed in a bespoke case, hand crafted from up-cycled, dis-used casks from the distillery, in keeping with the brand’s commitment to preserving Rajasthan’s craft community.
“As with their exceptional work on the creation of the Godawan brand, Butterfly Cannon has done an incredible job of bringing to life the unique proposition of the Godawan 100 Series – capturing the unique essence of Rajasthan and this remarkable limited edition with the raison d’etre of conservation of an endangered species. We are proud of our partnership with them on Godawan’s continuing journey to become the global benchmark for mindful Indian luxury.” Hiren Dedhia, Design Head, Diageo India
The Godawan 100 Series was launched at the historic Alila Fort in the heart of Rajasthan. An immersive experience of local food and craft offered the first 35 custodians of the Godawan 100 Series bottles a glimpse into the story of Godawan and how the 100 Series would further the brand’s mission to build a bright future for this rare bird.
Godawan 100 Series – a rare & exclusive whisky, to save a rare species.
Source: Butterfly Cannon
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