How hard can it be to make really good gin? With the right attitude, all it takes is low expectations, a basement distillery, Swedish tap water, and a healthy dose of hubris. Summing up the punky spirit of Cliff Barnes – a legendary, cult-favourite restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden.
It all started with Cliff Barnes approaching us with crazy many ideas on how to expand their restaurant brand. What they needed was a creative vent for their restless energy. The team’s immediate response to the idea of turning their basement into a gin distillery was as we’d expected: “Why not. We’ll probably fail the first batch and make the next one even worse. If we’re lucky, maybe slightly better. How hard can it be? Let’s do it.”
Their contagious humour had to shine through the design. A dry-cleaner inspired tag as a label proved the perfect canvas for capturing their personality and innumerable gin ideas. The tag itself carrying contrasting cues of clean and dirty – while also being tailor-made for customisation. The labels, printed as stickers in various colours, stay true to the dry-cleaner aesthetics. Each one is handwritten and brutally applied onto a brown bottle. Some neatly put, others haphazard. The result is an odd gin collection as charming as the team behind it, unified by the simplicity of a consistent dry-cleaner inspired template.
The first batch carried the disclaimer: “Don’t try this. The next batch will probably taste better.” It became a conversation piece and favourite among Stockholm restaurateurs, as did every batch that followed. Now, they’ve even earned a spot on the shelves of Sweden’s notoriously bureaucratic liquor stores. Without heritage story, gimmicks or an exaggerated craft vocabulary, the gin stands out – and sells better than competitors. Proving that passion and personality beat perfection – authentic, offbeat, and a success for everyone involved.
