Luxury packaging specialist Hunter Luxury has secured double Gold at the 2026 MUSE Design Awards for the Jack Daniel’s x McLaren Halo MK1 Limited Edition, earning international recognition for both the extraordinary brand collaboration behind the project and the design and engineering of the limited edition itself.
Following evaluation by the MUSE Design Awards’ international judging panel, Halo MK1 was named a Gold winner in Packaging Design – Brand Partnership / Collaborations and Packaging Design – Limited Edition.
The double victory recognises two qualities that sit at the heart of the project: the translation of two globally recognised brands into one compelling physical experience, and the technical achievement required to turn an ambitious creative concept into a limited edition that could be manufactured consistently at scale.
Developed for Brown-Forman as part of the Jack Daniel’s partnership with the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, Halo MK1 transforms the presentation of a bottle into a piece of theatre inspired by the precision, performance and engineering of Formula 1.
More than 50 custom components, spanning eight materials and eight manufacturing processes, come together within an intricate mechanical system engineered by Hunter Luxury. At the press of a concealed button, a controlled, damped movement reveals the bottle, while the considerable engineering behind the interaction remains hidden from view.
The result is an experience designed to feel remarkably simple, despite the complexity required to deliver that movement precisely and repeatedly.
Finished in electrophoresis matte black with McLaren Papaya accents, Halo combines the visual identities of its two partners with details drawn from their respective histories. The number 58 honours the racing number used by Bruce McLaren, while the number 7 references Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7.
Paul Hamilton, Head of Sales & Marketing at Hunter Luxury, said: “The challenge with Halo wasn’t simply to make the mechanism work. It was to translate an extraordinary creative idea into something that could be manufactured consistently at scale, while preserving the simplicity and elegance of the original concept.
“More than 50 components have to work together precisely, yet the person interacting with Halo should never see that complexity. They press the button and the experience simply unfolds.
“That takes an enormous amount of collaboration, engineering and attention to detail, so to receive two MUSE Gold awards, recognising both the limited-edition design and the brand collaboration behind it, is particularly special. We’re grateful to Brown-Forman and McLaren for trusting us to help turn such an ambitious idea into reality.”
The MUSE Design Awards is an international programme recognising excellence across architecture, interior, product, lighting, packaging and conceptual design. Its international jury brings together senior creative and design professionals from across the world, including figures from major global brands and design businesses spanning beauty, luxury, consumer goods, industrial design, branding and packaging.
The double Gold further strengthens Halo MK1’s growing international awards record. The project has already received Gold at the London Design Awards, Gold and Silver at the Tokyo Design Awards and an AmeriStar Design Excellence Award, as well as Bronze at the International Spirits Challenge. It has also been shortlisted at the 2026 Pentawards and named a finalist in both the London Packaging Week Innovation Awards and UK Packaging Awards.
Halo follows another highly decorated Hunter Luxury limited edition, the Hendrick’s Whimsical Watering Can, which has received 14 international honours, including victory at the PLD Innovation Awards in Paris and Limited Edition Packaging of the Year at the UK Packaging Awards.
The growing collection of international recognition reflects Hunter Luxury’s expertise in technically complex, value-added packaging, combining creative ambition, structural design, engineering and manufacturing to turn packaging into a memorable part of the brand experience.
Our team of packaging experts works with the world’s largest brands. Drop us a line at info@hunterluxury.com, we’d love to talk through your project brief with you.
