Ninkasi | Ready to Drink Cocktails

Deliverables:

Branding
Illustration
Packaging

Ninkasi and renowned mixologist, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, teamed up to create next-level canned cocktails. Known for award-winning beer, Ninkasi Brewing of Eugene, OR takes on the canned cocktail with help from Morgenthaler.

Creative Director: Andrew Bolton
3-D Image Renders: Marc Girouard
Photos: Ninkasi
Two men standing behind a bar counter with colorful packaging of drinks on the counter, smiling at the camera. The background features a retro patterned wall and bar equipment. 
Discovery Phase

Known for award-winning beer, Ninkasi Brewing of Eugene, OR takes on the canned cocktail with help from Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

Happy Hour, Anywhere

Three cans of Jeffrey Morgenthaler cocktail mixers with colorful, illustrated labels featuring citrus fruits, set against a teal background. The flavors are gin Rickey, bourbon renewal, and agave Paloma. 
Discovery Phase

With canned cocktails growing in popularity, Ninkasi wanted to elevate the game by setting a high bar in both taste and design. We sought to create canned cocktails that looked both fun and inviting. Each flavor design became a delicious and psychedelic-inspired work-of-art.

A colorful can of Agave Paloma cocktail with a pink background featuring illustrations of oranges, grapefruit slices, and a chili pepper, alongside text indicating it is a grapefruit-flavored drink made with agave spirits and 9.0% alcohol.
A can of agave paloma cocktail with grapefruit and jalapeno, surrounded by grapefruit slices on a pink background.
Pattern with various illustrated citrus fruits including oranges, grapefruits, and lemons, with some slices and a pink background.
Three cans of Bourbon Renewal cocktail made with bourbon whiskey, lemon slices, and berries, with vibrant graphic design on a dark background featuring orange lines and dots.
A brightly colored box and a soda can. The box has text that says 'Bourbon Renewal' and 'Let's skip the long lines and forgotten bar tabs,' with lemon and berry illustrations. The can, matching the box design with lemon and leaf graphics, features a quote about making cocktails and mentions Eugene, Oregon. 
Branding

After years of success in beer, Ninkasi Brewing decided to branch out into the world of spirits. They chose to collaborate with local Portland celeb, Jeffrey Morenthaler, to produce high-end cocktails that would work in the convenience of a can.

With canned cocktails growing in popularity, Ninkasi wanted to elevate the game by setting a high bar in both taste and design.

Three cans of Agave Paloma cocktail with pink and orange citrus illustrations, placed on a pink background with abstract black line and dot art.
Three cans of Gin Rickey cocktail with lemon and lime illustrations on a turquoise background with dark blue abstract line and dot patterns. 
Branding

The aim was to craft canned cocktails that felt both playful and inviting. Ninkasi’s new cocktails needed bold vibrancy to stand out on the shelf.

The goal was to be colorful and bold, bright and stylish. We harnessed 1970’s illustration styles with a psychedelic bend to capture flavor in a fun and nostalgic way. Each flavor design became a delicious and psychedelic-inspired work-of-art.

Three groups of four cans each, with colorful citrus-themed designs, displaying different flavors of alcoholic beverages against a teal background.
Multiple cans of beverage with colorful, tropical design, featuring citrus fruit illustrations, and promotional flyers for Jeffery Morgenthaler drinks with the slogan, "Let's skip the long lines and forgotten bar tabs."
Three colorful boxes of alcoholic drinks stacked in a pyramid against a teal background.
Two men with gray hair and beards, one standing and one sitting, are smiling and talking in a modern, colorful bar or lounge with patterned walls. The standing man is handing a beverage to the seated man. There are cans and packages of drinks on the bar counter.
Stacked colorful beverage cans and boxes on a metallic surface with a retro patterned wallpaper in the background.
Packaging of Jeffrey Morgenthaler Happy Hour Party Pack containing 9 cans with flavors Guava Squeeze, Grapefruit Refresher, and Ginger Honey Press, on a teal background.
Six cans of flavored alcoholic beverages from Jeffrey Morgenthaler, each with vibrant, tropical-themed designs, including flavors like grapefruit refresher, spiced ginger mule, vodka smash, rum punch, guava squeeze, and guava squeeze with lime, lined up on a light background.
A colorful food truck with lemon and lime graphic designs and bold text advertising happy hour anywhere, parked outside a modern building under a cloudy sky. 
Bus Decal Created by Client
Two people standing in front of a colorful mobile bar with promotional graphics, smiling at the camera.