Independent brand design agency Vault49 shared details of the latest work from its New York studio: an illustration-led design for a new range of canned cocktails by Angry Orchard.

Identifying an opportunity in the ready-to-drink (RTD) category for a new product with an apple wine base, established U.S. hard cider brand Angry Orchard developed a range of boldly flavored canned cocktails aimed at those who break the rules, it says.

“We’ve always enjoyed collaborating with brands from parent company Boston Beer Co.’s portfolio, so we jumped at the chance to collaborate once more and design packaging for this new offering from Angry Orchard,” said Sam Wilkes, Creative Director of Vault49’s New York studio. “As a brand, Angry Orchard already had a distinctive attitude. With a maverick mascot in its tree character and a stylized illustrative approach to design, we had the ideal creative playground to work in. The challenge was to balance the rebellious spirit of the master brand with the more refined world of cocktails. As a creative team who value taking a strategic approach, this was right up our street and gave us an opportunity to really have fun with the brand.”

Taking an invitational approach, Vault49 redrew and crafted the iconic tree, placing it front and center on pack. Creating bespoke illustrated cocktail serves for his gnarly outreached hand, each one comes in unique glassware to complement the flavors of the drink inside, the company says.

Maintaining brand equity was important, so Vault49 also incorporated the iconic hanging apple above the crafted wordmark, with the branches acting as a framing device. It’s Angry Orchard, but with a new twist.

The team’s bold approach to the color palette took inspiration from the cocktail serves and existing category cues, simultaneously complementing Angry Orchard’s broader portfolio, it notes. Whether seen as individual cans or boxed up in multipacks, the result helps these drinks stand out on the RTD cocktail shelf.