Hunter Luxury has partnered with boundary-pushing whisky brand Monkey Shoulder to create a standout limited-edition gift set, one that doesn’t just hold a bottle but enhances the entire drinking experience. Designed in collaboration with Knockout, this innovative pack blurs the line between packaging and product, fusing function, style, and sustainability for the new generation of whisky lovers.
Inside the embossed metal tin sits a 70cl bottle of Monkey Shoulder’s bold, blended malt Scotch, floral and lightly spiced on the nose, with subtle hints of coconut and leather. On the palate, the whisky reveals a beautifully smooth balance of vanilla, gentle spices, and fruity notes of sultana and orange peel, leading to a rich, subtly chocolaty finish. But it’s the lid of the pack that takes this release to another level: a rose-gold electroplated stainless steel cocktail strainer, precision-engineered to fit neatly over any glass.
This dual-purpose lid is a bar-quality tool in its own right. Crafted from food-safe, rust-resistant stainless steel, it was developed by Knockout to embody Monkey Shoulder’s signature playfulness while delivering genuine utility, a tool to encourage home cocktail making, engineered for easy, spill-free, single-handed use, whether it’s a quiet evening in or a high-energy night of mixing with friends.
The pandemic reshaped how we drink. With bars shuttered and social lives on hold, consumers turned their attention inward, experimenting with new drinks, new tools, and a new appreciation for at-home mixology. What began as improvisation has become habit, sparking demand for products that deliver a bar-level experience in a domestic setting. Monkey Shoulder, a brand known for breaking whisky tradition, was quick to act. Recognising that its “Made for Mixing” ethos had never been more relevant, it challenged its partners to create packaging that empowered whisky fans to recreate the fun and creativity of bar culture at home. The result is a piece of beautifully crafted, functional packaging that supports the ritual of cocktail making, not just the bottle within.
Knockout’s creative team worked closely with Hunter Luxury to translate Monkey Shoulder’s vibrant personality into a physical product with real purpose. The key innovation is a strainer that seamlessly integrates into the packaging itself, offering consumers a tactile, premium piece of reusable barware they will be proud to keep on display. The pack is not just about aesthetics, though it certainly delivers there too, with vibrant chevron prints, layered illustration, and bold typography that make it unmissable on shelf. It is about experience. The rose-gold electroplated strainer, adorned with Monkey Shoulder’s three-monkey emblem, is durable, functional, and engineered to fit a wide range of glassware, with grooves and a rim designed for precision pouring.
Creating packaging that could stand up to daily use as a cocktail tool posed complex technical challenges. Materials needed to be food-safe, non-rusting, robust enough for shipping, and able to hold their aesthetic over time. Every element from metal choice and embossing to electroplating and fit was optimised to deliver on both form and function. Hunter Luxury’s expertise in metalworking, material selection and finishing techniques was crucial to bringing the idea to life. The result is a gift set that feels premium in every sense, while also being designed with sustainability in mind. All components are separable and easily recyclable, and the pack itself is intended to be kept and reused long after the whisky is gone, a meaningful step forward in circular design for spirits packaging.
This is a gift pack made for two kinds of people: the young-at-heart, social drinkers who want to elevate their cocktail rituals with something bold, useful and fun, and the spirited whisky lovers who crave craft and care in every part of their experience, not just the spirit, but the serve. It’s a pack that invites you to get hands-on, to explore, to mix. It turns packaging into participation, an accessory that encourages creativity and joy in every pour.
This project hasn’t just turned heads – it has earned awards. The Monkey Shoulder Strainer Pack has received recognition from some of the most respected names in design, packaging and branding, including a Design Gold at the World Whiskies Awards 2023, Silver at the Transform Awards Europe 2023, and Silver at the World Brand Design Society Awards 2023/24. It also claimed Gold at the Harpers Design Awards 2022, Silver at The Spirits Business Design and Packaging Masters 2022, and a prestigious Red Dot Design Award in 2022.
Each accolade reflects the pack’s success at blending creativity, utility, craftsmanship and sustainability, and stands as proof of how great design can elevate not just the product, but the entire experience.
Monkey Shoulder is a multi-award-winning blended malt Scotch whisky that broke the rules and never looked back. Created with mixing in mind, it was designed to challenge old-school perceptions and invite a new generation to enjoy whisky their own way. This spirit of playful disruption is what made the partnership with Hunter Luxury such a natural fit, a collaboration rooted in creativity, craft and a shared belief that premium doesn’t have to mean predictable.
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.
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