Blanton's Bourbon Display
Designed around one bottle — built to hold eight
"Given a single bottle and a concept — design a display for the full set of eight. Each bottle has a different stopper that tells part of a story. The piece had to show all of them clearly while holding each bottle securely in its own space."
The client collected Blanton’s bourbon — specifically the complete set of eight stopper variants. Each horse-and-jockey figure is different, and together they tell a story. The brief was: show all eight the way they deserve to be seen.
I was given one bottle. No drawings, no dimensions on a napkin. Just the bottle, a concept, and the expectation that the finished piece would make the whole collection look like it was always meant to be displayed together.
The Lip
The first design decision was the front. Bottles needed their own space — a pocket deep enough to hold each one in position, with a lip at the front that keeps them level and prevents tipping. That lip isn’t just functional. It frames each bottle from the front, makes the spacing look intentional, and gives the whole piece a clean horizontal line even when the bottles are in.
Carrying the Detail Through
The sides of the display have a faceted profile. Once that detail was in the design, the question was whether to let it stop at the corners or carry it into the lip. The answer was obvious — carry it through. The faceting runs from the sides into the lip as one continuous feature. Same angle, same proportion, same language. It’s what makes the piece look designed rather than assembled.
One Piece Off the CNC
The base — pockets, lip, and all — was CNC-machined as a single component. No separate grain piece glued on afterward, no joinery line across the lip. The pocket geometry and the lip geometry came off the same toolpath. The sides and back were CNC-cut as well, which made assembly fast and left nothing to sand or fill.
The Night It Was Delivered
The client received the display as a gift. It went out the same night — shown to everyone at the gathering. They said the whiskey had a price, but the display was priceless as a whole. That’s the brief in one sentence.
- Designed from a single bottle reference — no off-the-shelf option existed for this set
- Front lip holds each bottle in its own pocket, keeps them level and prevents tipping
- Faceting on the sides continues into the lip — one consistent design language across the piece
- CNC pocketed the base as a single piece — the lip is integrated, not added on
- Sides and back CNC-cut for clean, fast assembly with no visible seams
- Client showed it off to everyone the night they received it