Bowmore Tasting Cask
Beam Suntory
Beam Suntory, a global leader in premium spirits, and their strategy partners Create Future, approached us to craft a high-end whisky tasting experience for Global Travel Retail (GTR) environments. The goal was to create a space where customers could embark on their own journey of discovery — exploring the depths of whisky on their own.
Our Work
- Product Design
- Industrial Design
- Robotics
- Mechatronics Engineering
- Manufacturing
PROBLEM TO SOLVE
In airports, travel retailers fight for attention, from an audience that have little to give back. Product trials used to be the most effective method for customer acquisition, but people are becoming more hesitant to interact with brand ambassadors directly.
BOLD IDEA
A fully autonomous whiskey tasting machine that turns a product trial into a novel and high-touch experience. The tasting cask guides users through an immersive experience to determine their unique flavour profile, and pour them the perfect glass of whiskey.
Designing the immersive tasting journey
BeamSuntory chose Bowmore, one of their premium Islay whisky brands, as the centerpiece for the experience.
Bowmore’s brand line, “The Art of Time,” emphasises the meticulous craft and process involved in creating their exceptional whisky.
We developed several iterations of an experiential whisky tasting machine, drawing inspiration from elements like mash tuns, spirit safes, and raw materials such as charred hardwood and granite. To ensure the interactivity remained tactile and immersive, we avoided touch screens — instead opting for controls inspired by the start buttons of luxury cars.
The final design is a monolithic cylinder — simple in form but intricate in detail. Our goal was to make every interaction feel magical. Create Future also designed a tasting journey questionnaire, linking flavour profiles with environmental cues to enhance the experience.
Building a symphony of light and liquid
The user interface is unconventional, featuring a commercial LG transparent OLED display to visualise the questionnaire and deliver the UI. Large glass cylinders contain the liquids for dispensing, while a motorised cylindrical ring moves the cylinders, creating the sensation that the machine is ‘thinking’ about serving the best product for you. By adjusting the interior lighting’s brightness, we crafted the illusion of the screen disappearing after each answered question.
At the end of the tasting experience, users are invited to open the entire front of the machine, reach inside, and sample a dram of Bowmore whisky that has been specially selected for them.
The tasting cask is currently located at Heathrow Terminal 5. It will tour various locations around the world over the next few years.
