Hasta La Ideas

We’ve seen many an unusual piece of packaging at CR towers – but Scotch Whisky brand J&B’s latest range of bottles may be the strangest yet.

The brand recently released 25 bottles of its finest blend wrapped in a fleshy latex skin. Each ‘skin’ was delicately tattooed by SM Bousille, owner of Paris tattoo parlour Le Sphinx.

The concept was devised by French design studio Button Button as an unusual way to commemorate J&B’s heritage. The product was launched in the mid eighteenth century by London wine merchant Justerini & Brooks, at a time when tattoos were becoming popular with UK sailors, says the agency. In 1862, the Prince of Wales became the first monarch to receive one and the trend for tattoos spread throughout Europe.

It took Bousille around 20 hours to tattoo each bottle, and each one features the same design. The latex skins used had to be slim enough to respect the bottle’s shape yet strong enough to withstand being hit with Bousille’s needle. A flesh colour was chosen for added authenticity and intrigue, says Button Button.

Bottles were packaged in a black silk screened box and sold at Paris’ Publicis Drugstore and L’eclaireur rue Herold. Priced at 150 Euros each, they sold out within a week.

There’s something a little unsettling about these eerily realistic skins, but it’s certainly a novel approach to packaging. Button Button says there are no immediate plans to release any more, but the company is interested in collaborating with a different tattoo artist in another country. And in case you’re still intrigued, here’s a video on how it was done: