Sobo

The client approached with the idea of creating a buckwheat shochu, in honour of their most recent experiences in Japan. It would be manufactured in the traditional ‘honkaku’ style, and so would attempt to embrace these particularJapanese methods of distillation. 

In establishing parameters for the project, it was decided to take inspiration from a traditional ink and brush method of Japanese writing. As english is not usually written in this fashion, it was important to keep the design work relevant - both culturally and visually. 

Sobo (a Japanese word itself, and already in romanised lettering) was transcribed onto a physical page with brush and ink. This created the organic flow of ink onto paper, authentically generating the ‘brushed’ aesthetic of the lettering. In this manner, the brand (in its own way) was able to pay homage to the country of origin that it took its inspiration from.

The ink and brush work was again channeled with the illustration of two flowering buckwheat stems. This directly speaks to the key ingredient of the shochu itself, and pairs nicely alongside the Sobo brushwork.

Yet to be formally released; this shochu will be maniufactured in the Adelaide Hills by an emerging distiller working in the local food and beverage industry.