Founded in 2011, Mile High Spirits is one of Denver’s oldest distilleries. It started as a low-key neighborhood joint, giving the RiNo neighborhood one of its favorite hangouts. By the time I came on board as Creative Director almost a decade later, Mile High Spirits was no longer a cozy hole-in-the-wall. The owners had moved the distillery downtown, sporting both a massive warehouse distillery and a popular tasting room. Mile High Spirits was now home to wild weekend parties with live DJs, lines out the door, burly security guards, and regular appearances by big-name music artists. On school nights, Mile High Spirits offered activities for a more laid-back crowd: distillery tours, whiskey flights, and a friendly atmosphere. Their annual block party was legendary. The fireworks display alone was worth the ticket. You could belly up to any bar in Denver and spot at least one of their bottles on the back bar.
The problem? Perception.
Everything to Everyone
Mile High Spirits was at an inflection point, struggling to define who they were. Their flagship product, Fireside Bourbon Whiskey, was well-respected but buried on the shelf by competing bottles. While most distilleries focus on one, two, or maybe three primary products, Mile High Spirits leaned on variety. Between their trusty copper still (aptly named Steamy Wonder) and one of the country’s few remaining glass stills, the distillery team churned out everything from bourbon whiskey to vodka, botanical gin to barrel-aged old fashioneds. Punching Mule, a canned Moscow mule, was a regular sponsor of the Denver music scene. Then there’s the rum, the tequila, the hard seltzers, barrel-shares, and limited-run flavors. If you went out on the street and asked a dozen people what Mile High Spirits was, you’d get a dozen different answers.
“Oh, I know Mile High! They’re that nightclub on 22nd. Haven’t been there since college…”
“My grandpa loves their peated single malt whiskey.”
“Sure. Mile High. The brewery.” (Beer is one of a handful of alcoholic beverages MHS doesn’t produce.)
“I get their bottled old fashioned from the liquor store by my house.”
For as many answers as you might hear, none were wrong (except the beer guy). Mile High Spirits did it all. With 20+ SKUs, this variety lent itself to a long-tail sales strategy, but the messaging fell flat. The MHS packaging and website were outdated. The disconnect between the brown paper labels with old west fonts on the Fireside bottle and the crowds of young twenty-somethings dancing in their tasting room was jarring. So was the gap between the owners’ fun, friendly, often flippant approach to their craft and the award-winning spirits they produced. They needed a bridge — a strategic connection between the competing aspects of the business, a way to balance opposing forces, set future direction, and focus public perception.
Mile High Spirits desperately needed a clear, well-positioned brand.
Small Fish, Big Pond
Step one was research. Get the lay of the land. I quickly discovered we were up against an army of giants. Nationally, Mile High Spirits was going toe-to-toe with time-tested, highly-recognizable names, each with millions in marketing war chests. Fireside Bourbon had to compete with Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker, Woodford Reserve, and Buffalo Trace. Elevate Vodka regularly clashed on the shelf with Tito’s and Smirnoff. Cuidado Tequila could barely keep its head above a torrent of Jose Cuervo, Casamigos, and celebrity-sponsored white labels. Similar issues applied to gin, rum, and everything in between.
Locally, the competition was just as stiff. Denver has long been a hub for craft brewing and distilling, making the “local” label an unremarkable differentiator. “Craft” was a throwaway adjective. No less than a dozen distilleries and their tasting rooms clamored for drinkers’ attention on any given night. To make matters worse, the Denver spirits industry is notoriously cutthroat. Distribution reps and salesmen often struck powerful under-the-table deals with bar owners and restaurateurs, hid competitors’ bottles in liquor stores, and employed cloak-and-dagger tactics to win well contracts.
If Mile High Spirits was going to survive this fight, it wasn't going to be by out-marketing anyone. It was going to be by being unmistakably itself — in strategy, in voice, and on the shelf.
Seriously, Not Solemnly
An internal mantra had been floating around Mile High Spirits since its inception: “We take our spirits seriously, but not ourselves.” I felt this captured who MHS was and where it was headed, so I recommended we bring it out of emails and memos and into the public eye. It became our north star for all branding decisions that followed. I worked with the owners for months to nail down a complicated balance of beliefs, values, and long-term goals. Defining who we weren’t (a hoity-toity hipster bar, for starters) was just as important as defining who we were.
With those roots in place, I moved on to logo and bottle design. The logo idea came to me one afternoon in the tasting room, and it would go on to have a life of its own (more on that in the sidebar at the end of this case study). The labels were their own challenge. The owners wanted to lean into the local craft spirits scene, but so did every other Denver-made whiskey. I felt Colorado, rather than Denver, was the key to success.
The problem? Perception.
Everything to Everyone
Mile High Spirits was at an inflection point, struggling to define who they were. Their flagship product, Fireside Bourbon Whiskey, was well-respected but buried on the shelf by competing bottles. While most distilleries focus on one, two, or maybe three primary products, Mile High Spirits leaned on variety. Between their trusty copper still (aptly named Steamy Wonder) and one of the country’s few remaining glass stills, the distillery team churned out everything from bourbon whiskey to vodka, botanical gin to barrel-aged old fashioneds. Punching Mule, a canned Moscow mule, was a regular sponsor of the Denver music scene. Then there’s the rum, the tequila, the hard seltzers, barrel-shares, and limited-run flavors. If you went out on the street and asked a dozen people what Mile High Spirits was, you’d get a dozen different answers.
“Oh, I know Mile High! They’re that nightclub on 22nd. Haven’t been there since college…”
“My grandpa loves their peated single malt whiskey.”
“Sure. Mile High. The brewery.” (Beer is one of a handful of alcoholic beverages MHS doesn’t produce.)
“I get their bottled old fashioned from the liquor store by my house.”
For as many answers as you might hear, none were wrong (except the beer guy). Mile High Spirits did it all. With 20+ SKUs, this variety lent itself to a long-tail sales strategy, but the messaging fell flat. The MHS packaging and website were outdated. The disconnect between the brown paper labels with old west fonts on the Fireside bottle and the crowds of young twenty-somethings dancing in their tasting room was jarring. So was the gap between the owners’ fun, friendly, often flippant approach to their craft and the award-winning spirits they produced. They needed a bridge — a strategic connection between the competing aspects of the business, a way to balance opposing forces, set future direction, and focus public perception.
Mile High Spirits desperately needed a clear, well-positioned brand.
Small Fish, Big Pond
Step one was research. Get the lay of the land. I quickly discovered we were up against an army of giants. Nationally, Mile High Spirits was going toe-to-toe with time-tested, highly-recognizable names, each with millions in marketing war chests. Fireside Bourbon had to compete with Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker, Woodford Reserve, and Buffalo Trace. Elevate Vodka regularly clashed on the shelf with Tito’s and Smirnoff. Cuidado Tequila could barely keep its head above a torrent of Jose Cuervo, Casamigos, and celebrity-sponsored white labels. Similar issues applied to gin, rum, and everything in between.
Locally, the competition was just as stiff. Denver has long been a hub for craft brewing and distilling, making the “local” label an unremarkable differentiator. “Craft” was a throwaway adjective. No less than a dozen distilleries and their tasting rooms clamored for drinkers’ attention on any given night. To make matters worse, the Denver spirits industry is notoriously cutthroat. Distribution reps and salesmen often struck powerful under-the-table deals with bar owners and restaurateurs, hid competitors’ bottles in liquor stores, and employed cloak-and-dagger tactics to win well contracts.
If Mile High Spirits was going to survive this fight, it wasn't going to be by out-marketing anyone. It was going to be by being unmistakably itself — in strategy, in voice, and on the shelf.
Seriously, Not Solemnly
An internal mantra had been floating around Mile High Spirits since its inception: “We take our spirits seriously, but not ourselves.” I felt this captured who MHS was and where it was headed, so I recommended we bring it out of emails and memos and into the public eye. It became our north star for all branding decisions that followed. I worked with the owners for months to nail down a complicated balance of beliefs, values, and long-term goals. Defining who we weren’t (a hoity-toity hipster bar, for starters) was just as important as defining who we were.
With those roots in place, I moved on to logo and bottle design. The logo idea came to me one afternoon in the tasting room, and it would go on to have a life of its own (more on that in the sidebar at the end of this case study). The labels were their own challenge. The owners wanted to lean into the local craft spirits scene, but so did every other Denver-made whiskey. I felt Colorado, rather than Denver, was the key to success.
The Scrapbook Strategy
Colorado is an affinity state; those who live here love it. People move from all across the country to enjoy the state’s skiing, hiking and 300+ days of sunshine. With this in mind, I created a packaging system based on illustrated scenes from an adventurous Rocky Mountain lifestyle. The family of polaroid-esque labels came together to form a vibrant Colorado scrapbook, each label tailored to the spirit it contained.
The style of the illustration was equally important. I wanted a look and feel that was own-able, distinctly Mile High Spirits, and set apart from the brown-paper aesthetic popular with so many craft brands. A colorful, 2D travel-poster style served this purpose well.
Colorado is an affinity state; those who live here love it. People move from all across the country to enjoy the state’s skiing, hiking and 300+ days of sunshine. With this in mind, I created a packaging system based on illustrated scenes from an adventurous Rocky Mountain lifestyle. The family of polaroid-esque labels came together to form a vibrant Colorado scrapbook, each label tailored to the spirit it contained.
The style of the illustration was equally important. I wanted a look and feel that was own-able, distinctly Mile High Spirits, and set apart from the brown-paper aesthetic popular with so many craft brands. A colorful, 2D travel-poster style served this purpose well.
Summit Gin depicted a backcountry skier signaling a helicopter with a bright red flare. Fireside Bourbon Whiskey showed a camper on a cliff overlooking a mountain lake, relaxing by a crackling campfire. (We rendered the label in black and white with gold foil overlay for our most distinguished releases). Peg Leg Rum featured a one-legged hiker and his dog gazing over a high desert valley. Some labels required more imagination, adhering to the illustrative style while leaving Colorado behind.
The distillery’s famous bottled old fashioned sported a 1920s flapper on a speakeasy stage. A sombrero-wearing farmer sitting off-kilter on his steed in an agave field adorned the Cuidado tequila bottles. One or two illustrations came home to roost. The sunset skyline of Colorado’s capital that graced the Denver Dry Gin bottle was a personal favorite. As a cherry on top, I designed a shrink wrap bottle topper inspired by the Colorado Flag. The topper would crown every Mile High Spirits bottle sent out into the world, eliminating any questions about where the spirit was made.
The distillery’s famous bottled old fashioned sported a 1920s flapper on a speakeasy stage. A sombrero-wearing farmer sitting off-kilter on his steed in an agave field adorned the Cuidado tequila bottles. One or two illustrations came home to roost. The sunset skyline of Colorado’s capital that graced the Denver Dry Gin bottle was a personal favorite. As a cherry on top, I designed a shrink wrap bottle topper inspired by the Colorado Flag. The topper would crown every Mile High Spirits bottle sent out into the world, eliminating any questions about where the spirit was made.
With the bottle illustrations complete, I moved to copywriting. Part knowledgeable distillery guide, part snarky bartender, the voice of Mile High Spirits had to embody the business’s motto. The tone, flow and word choice needed to take the product seriously, but not itself. I accomplished this by opening the back bottle copy with humor—poking fun at industry norms or painting a zany scene. Then the text transitioned to a legitimate product explanation before throwing in one final joke or jab at the close. This style could be replicated across the website and packaging. All that was left was confirming our new brand connected with our customer base.
Let the Buckets Decide
For months I talked to customers in the distillery’s bustling tasting room. I spread my net wide, chatting with bachelorette parties, whiskey aficionados and longtime barflies, anyone who would share their thoughts. I mocked up printer paper labels and glued them to actual bottles. I showed these bottles to my tasting room focus groups, then deployed them with our sales reps to get opinions from actual accounts and prospects.
The results were overwhelming. Everyone loved the new labels. Several new accounts opened on the premise of the upcoming designs alone. Still, I was suspicious of my sample size. I didn’t want people telling us what they thought we wanted to hear. I needed opinions from a wider group in a more anonymous setting. Luckily, the annual Mile High Spirits block party was just around the corner. I worked with our event staff to set up an eye-catching booth near the entrance. On one side of the table, I displayed bottles, packaging, and merch with the current Mile High Spirits branding. The other side featured the new brand. Buckets sat beneath the table where the bartender couldn’t see them. In exchange for a free shot, participants got tickets and dropped them in the bucket for whichever brand they liked better. At the end of the night, we dumped hundreds of tickets out on the office floor and began to count.
The new brand won by a ratio of 4:1.
It took the better part of a year to transition the Mile High Spirits brand from what it was to what it is. The distillery production line had to be overhauled to fit the new labels. Vendors needed approval and contracts, signatures. I designed and developed a new Mile High website, including a digital storefront to sell bottles for delivery and a ticketing system for tasting room events. When the new bottles finally hit distribution, Mile High Spirits saw a 30% increase in sales as a direct result of my strategic rebrand.
Let the Buckets Decide
For months I talked to customers in the distillery’s bustling tasting room. I spread my net wide, chatting with bachelorette parties, whiskey aficionados and longtime barflies, anyone who would share their thoughts. I mocked up printer paper labels and glued them to actual bottles. I showed these bottles to my tasting room focus groups, then deployed them with our sales reps to get opinions from actual accounts and prospects.
The results were overwhelming. Everyone loved the new labels. Several new accounts opened on the premise of the upcoming designs alone. Still, I was suspicious of my sample size. I didn’t want people telling us what they thought we wanted to hear. I needed opinions from a wider group in a more anonymous setting. Luckily, the annual Mile High Spirits block party was just around the corner. I worked with our event staff to set up an eye-catching booth near the entrance. On one side of the table, I displayed bottles, packaging, and merch with the current Mile High Spirits branding. The other side featured the new brand. Buckets sat beneath the table where the bartender couldn’t see them. In exchange for a free shot, participants got tickets and dropped them in the bucket for whichever brand they liked better. At the end of the night, we dumped hundreds of tickets out on the office floor and began to count.
The new brand won by a ratio of 4:1.
It took the better part of a year to transition the Mile High Spirits brand from what it was to what it is. The distillery production line had to be overhauled to fit the new labels. Vendors needed approval and contracts, signatures. I designed and developed a new Mile High website, including a digital storefront to sell bottles for delivery and a ticketing system for tasting room events. When the new bottles finally hit distribution, Mile High Spirits saw a 30% increase in sales as a direct result of my strategic rebrand.
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