The independent creative studio has reimagined Archie Rose Distilling Co. for its next global chapter, creating a new identity and bottle for three Australian whiskies co-created with new co-owner Chris Hemsworth.
Founded in Sydney in 2014, Archie Rose has built its reputation by doing things differently. Rather than replicating the traditions of established whisky regions, it has developed its own uniquely Australian approach to ingredients, production and flavour. Now, as the distillery enters its next chapter with Chris Hemsworth joining founder Will Edwards as co-owner, Archie Rose tasked Thirst with creating a brand capable of carrying that story to the world.
Thirst found the answer in Australia itself. From burnt ochre earth and rugged rock formations to open skies and ocean air, the new identity draws on the contrasts of the Australian landscape and the character it creates. Thirst describes this as lightness and grit: an attitude that is optimistic and easy-going, but equally rugged, determined and inventive.
That thinking was carried into the bottle through a simple design principle: made for the journey. Rather than treating whisky as the reward waiting at the end of an adventure, Thirst imagined Archie Rose in the middle of it. The bottle takes its shape from the canteens carried on the move, with a tactile, dappled surface designed to feel as though it has already picked up the dents and imperfections of the journey.
That sense of exposure to the elements continues through every detail. The stopper takes its cues from a piece of gnarled, weathered wood. The label has a rough, torn edge and textured finish, while its position around the centre of the bottle references the leather strap used to secure a canteen to a pack.
Together, these details create an object that feels as though it has already lived a little – weathered, tactile and marked by experience. The result is a bottle that, like the whisky inside it, feels truly distilled down under.
The bottle forms part of a wider identity that avoids familiar national shorthand in favour of something more elemental and lived-in. The new range brings together three whiskies co-created with Hemsworth, with his signature appearing prominently on the front of the bottle – a visible expression of his involvement.
Hemsworth was actively involved throughout the development of the new brand, working alongside the Archie Rose and Thirst teams as the identity and packaging evolved.
“We’ve spent more than a decade proving that world-class whisky can come from Australia. This next chapter is about taking our award-winning whisky beyond our home market. Thirst understood that we didn’t need to make Archie Rose look more like an international whisky brand, we needed a brand with the confidence and character to travel, without losing what made people connect with us in the first place.” – Will Edwards, founder and CEO at Archie Rose Distilling Co.
For Thirst founder and Executive Creative Director Matt Burns, who grew up in Sydney, the project also carried a personal connection: “This one means a lot to me. I grew up in Sydney, so there was something pretty special about being asked to help take a brand from my hometown out into the world. But what I loved most was the opportunity to show a version of Australia that feels true to me. Not kangaroos, green and gold, but the heat, the light, the red earth, the ocean, the humour and the grit. Archie Rose already had all of that in the way it makes whisky. Our job was to bottle it.”
The new identity shows whisky in a wild new light, bringing the lightness and grit at the heart of Archie Rose into a brand built to travel.
The three new whiskies mark the beginning of Archie Rose‘s next international chapter, taking the distillery from Sydney to new audiences around the world.
Distilled Down Under.
Source: Thirst
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