Ballantine's
Flavour Notes
Showcasing Ballantine's Finest & 7 year old
2025
— Every whisky has a unique flavour profile, yet those nuances are rarely understood before the first sip.
Ballantine’s has a broad whisky portfolio, including Ballantine’s Finest and 7 Year Old. I was tasked with showcasing the flavour profiles of these flagship products. Using 3D, we translated tasting notes into dynamic visual moments for the website and social channels. The films went on to achieve 1+ million views online.
SERVICES
Approach
Environment research and early storyboard ideation
The project began by creating accurate digital twins of the bottles from reference material, which then informed the design of bespoke 3D environments that reflected each product's personality.
Modelling the bottle was one of the biggest challenges due to its rectangular shape with unique curved edges, embossings, and signature glass details. I dedicated a large portion of the project to perfecting this build, working closely with the Ballantine’s team to ensure the bottle was represented accurately and faithfully within the films. The environments were designed to reflect each whisky’s personality. The Finest evokes a relaxed house-party vibe for enjoying with friends, while the 7 Year Old suits a cool, industrial-style bar with dimmed lighting. I began by gathering reference images of these spaces, identifying the features and details that captured the mood I wanted. From there, I combined these elements into bespoke 3D environments, with careful attention to lighting and material choices to enhance realism and atmosphere.
Process
This project involved extensive research and development, including my first exploration of fluid simulations in Cinema 4D. Building the scenes was more straightforward, but achieving realism required careful study of real bar environments to guide the design, materials, and lighting.
Designing how the whisky simulation interacted with both the bottle and the flavour notes was a key challenge. I wanted the movement to feel dynamic and envelop the bottle while still keeping its key details clearly visible. Another consideration was the origin of the liquid. Rather than appearing from an arbitrary point, it needed to emerge naturally without distracting from the bottle or the flavour notes. The solution was a spiral motion, allowing both the flavour notes and the whisky to swirl dynamically around the centred bottle. Through the use of dynamic camera angles, I was able to build tension by gradually revealing the bottle and flavour notes before the final reveal in the closing shot.
Final Design
