Bottle design for New Deal Distillery’s newest release — Spiced Pear Liqueur.

New Deal Distillery, Portland’s longest-running craft distillery, was releasing a new spirit and looking for an illustrated label design for their bottle.

Spiced Pear Liqueur is a sister spirit to New Deal’s beloved Pear Brandy, which features Greek Goddess Demeter on the label, the provider of bountiful harvest and nourishment. For their newest release, New Deal was looking for another feminine icon to be featured on the spirit label, but with a more wild and adventurous identity to represent the spices and extra kick of their Spiced Pear Liqueur.

I came up with an idea of a femme hunter, along the lines of Greek Goddess Artemis. In the spirit of the ancient tradition of fermenting fruit in clay pottery, I illustrated the strong warrior on a fermentation vessel, surrounded by pears and spices. It was also of high priority that the product name be bold and legible from a distance, so a customer can easily read what the product is from behind the bar.

Designing for both style and function—including stringent regulatory copy requirements—was also part of my role as designer, including test printing and setting up final files for print production.

Photo by Jill Wait