PostModern Spirits: A Decade of Craft Distillery Branding, Packaging & Digital Growth

In March of 2018, I redesigned a whiskey label.

That project turned into nearly eight years of distillery branding, spirits packaging design, website development, photography, video production, tasting room graphics, event campaigns, and hundreds of creative deliverables for PostModern Spirits.

This is the story of building a craft distillery brand system from early-stage startup to a recognized Tennessee spirits brand — and saying goodbye when the chapter closed in January 2026.

The Beginning

I met two of the founders years before PostModern existed. What started as conversations over good beer eventually became a serious conversation about building something new in Knoxville: a distillery committed to artistry, chemistry, and challenging stale traditions in mainstream spirits.

When I came on board in 2018, PostModern had been open only a few months. The foundation was there — but the brand system wasn’t.

The first assignment: design the flagship single malt whiskey label.

That label became the beginning of a long-term partnership built on trust, collaboration, and a shared belief that craft doesn’t mean small, it means intentional.

Building a Cohesive Distillery Brand System

The original logo existed in a basic form. Everything else was rebuilt. Together, we defined brand positioning, voice, tone, color systems, and a typography framework that would scale across dozens of SKUs.

PostModern’s philosophy was simple:
Redefine tradition. Challenge the status quo. Use real ingredients. Create something original.

Every design decision reinforced that mindset.

From packaging to web to tasting room menus, every touchpoint felt like a piece of PostModern art — unique, expressive, but always built within a system.

Spirits Packaging Design at Scale

Over the years, I designed packaging for the entire PostModern lineup — including whiskeys, gins, amari, liqueurs, limited releases, anniversary bottles, and collaborative brewer series.

Core offerings included:

• Hi(Rye) Whiskey
• Straight Malt Whiskey
• (Up)Root Gin
• Empirical Dry Gin
• Giniferous Gin
• Kore Vodka
• A rotating collection of Amari and specialty liqueurs

Limited releases and anniversary expressions introduced premium materials including craft paper stocks, gold foil finishes, and specialty neck hangtags to differentiate barrel selections and small-batch runs.

Alcohol Label Compliance & Production Coordination

Craft distillery packaging is not just about aesthetics — it requires deep understanding of alcohol label compliance.

Working closely with the distiller, I developed strong familiarity with TTB requirements, mandatory copy blocks, proof placement, ABV disclosures, and regulatory structure. Labels were designed to minimize revision cycles and streamline approvals.

I created custom dielines, coordinated directly with printers, managed production files, and ensured consistency across 750ml tapered round bottles (whiskeys & spirits) and long-neck bottles (liqueurs).

The result: a growing SKU catalog that always felt cohesive on shelf while allowing each release to stand on its own.

Distillery Website Design & Digital Infrastructure

I rebuilt the original website from the ground up.

The new system included:

• Age gate compliance
• Distributor locator functionality
• Event ticketing for tours
• Seasonal cocktail recipe blog
• Video integrations featuring bartenders creating featured drinks

Over time, traffic steadily increased year-over-year as the content library expanded with photography and video assets. The site was built as a scalable marketing platform, not just a brochure.

If you're looking for hospitality-focused website design or a scalable digital foundation for a growing beverage brand, this is the level of system thinking I bring to the table.

Photography, Video & Visual Direction

I art directed and photographed product and lifestyle imagery throughout the partnership.

Product photography was captured in studio. Lifestyle imagery was shot in the tasting room using seasonal cocktail menus as creative direction.

We built a visual language that elevated the brand across:

• Social media campaigns
• Distributor sells sheets
• In-market promotional materials
• Trade show graphics
• Tasting room signage and merchandise displays

Every image reinforced the brand system. Color, typography, tone, and atmosphere working together.

Tasting Room Branding & Environmental Graphics

Beyond packaging and digital, the tasting room became a fully integrated brand experience.

• Seasonal cocktail menus
• Event graphics
• Merchandise displays
• Sales collateral
• Trade show booth graphics

The goal was simple: whether someone encountered the brand on a liquor store shelf in Nashville, a cocktail bar in Chattanooga, or inside the Old City tasting room in Knoxville – the experience felt unmistakably PostModern.

Growth & Market Presence

When I began working with PostModern, they were a newly opened distillery finding their footing.

Over the next several years, the brand expanded distribution across major Tennessee markets including Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga.

The SKU catalog grew significantly, spanning flagship spirits, experimental releases, barrel selections, anniversary editions, and brewer collaborations.

Across hundreds of creative deliverables, the brand remained cohesive, intentional, and adaptable.

What Nearly a Decade of Distillery Work Teaches You

Working with a craft distillery isn’t a logo project.

It’s packaging systems, regulatory knowledge, shelf differentiation, photography, tasting room atmosphere, digital infrastructure, distributor materials, and long-term brand stewardship.

It requires understanding production realities, lean startup constraints, and how to scale visual systems without losing character.

If you’re building or refining a craft spirits brand in the Southeast — or anywhere nationally — and need support in brand systems and packaging design, this is the depth of experience I bring.

A Farewell

In January 2026, PostModern Spirits closed its doors.

Like many small businesses, the environment changed. The chapter ended. But what remains is nearly a decade of trust, collaboration, and creative risk-taking. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to build something meaningful alongside passionate founders, a talented team, and a loyal community.

Some brands are projects. Some are partnerships.

This one was personal.

Looking Forward

I continue to work with craft distilleries, beverage startups, and hospitality brands who believe that packaging, digital systems, and visual identity should work together — not compete.

If you’re launching or refining a distillery brand and need expertise in spirits packaging design, alcohol label compliance, distillery website development, or tasting room branding, let’s talk.

The right system can support growth for years. I’ve seen it firsthand.