MISSOURI RIDGE BOURBON

Coastal Distillery are pleased to announce the release of Missouri Ridge Bourbon, making this smoothly satisfying craft liquor available in the UK for the first time, with a distinctive bottle design.

The award-winning bourbon, made by master distiller M Gregory Pope of the Missouri Ridge Distillery in Branson, Missouri, arrives in the European market thanks to its chance discovery by Richard Arnold, cofounder of Coastal Distillery. Watching the Discovery Channel programme Moonshiners one evening, the story of how Pope’s grandfather ran a woodburning still in the basement caught Arnold’s imagination and he decided to get in touch to see if he could try some samples.

Pope was thrilled with the idea of exporting to Europe and sent over a full range of Missouri Ridge Distillery samples. Arnold and his team recognised the quality of the samples instantly and realised there was a great opportunity for Coastal Distillery to introduce Missouri Ridge Bourbon on the European market.

Richard Arnold says: “Greg and I have a common love of whiskey and the industry, and that’s the basis for what will be a great partnership. After a few more emails and phone calls, we’d set up the necessary paperwork and certification, and now this fantastic bourbon is on sale in the UK.”

Coastal Distillery knew the spirit needed an individual appearance to stand out on a crowded craft liquor shelf. The company turned to label specialist Tom Lane of Ginger Monkey Design to design the packaging. His handcrafted typography and illustrations reflect the attention to detail that goes into the bourbon itself, from the use of all-natural ingredients through to aging in charred oak barrels.

The copper foil outlining on the lettering echoes the finely honed copper still system M Gregory Pope designed to make his mellow-tasting bourbon. Meanwhile, the deep green of the background was inspired by the copper sulphate/carbonate patina that appears on old copper roofs.

From the hand-illustrated image of a wood stove, which traces M Gregory Pope’s family history in distilling, through to the moonshiner quotation in the smoke rising from the cabin on the side of the bottle, the design evokes the atmosphere of the Ozark Mountains where Missouri Ridge Bourbon is made as well as its slightly smoky flavour.

As a final touch, the label outline is disrupted by a small red seal in the shape of Missouri. When Prohibition ended, alcohol producers were required to pay duty on each bottle they shipped and would prove they’d paid it with a seal, often in the shape of their home state. Lane has turned this device into the master distiller’s seal of quality by including M Gregory Pope’s signature.

• 47% ABV
• Available in 70cl