Shay VSOP: A Luxurious Cognac Experience

Blending Classic Heritage with Contemporary Design

Shay VSOP's design draws inspiration from the iconic bell-shaped cognac bottles, resulting in a vessel that features a large bulb with a stepped ice that elevates the vessel and the liquid into higher, floating aesthetics. The long, narrow neck of the bottle maximises the control of the cognac flow. The packaging, on the other hand, takes a geometric approach, contrasting the organic flow of the bottle. The black wooden box adopts the same minimalist approach as the bottle, with small silver accents on top of the black stained wood.

The design of Shay VSOP is all about contrasts that elevate the cognac's shades and presence. The organic bottle has minor silver metallic detailing, contrasting with the dark obsidian. Similarly, the black box exterior is inverted by a floating off-white suede inside, wrapping the bottle and elevating it as a light backdrop where all the colours burst as light is received inside the opening of the luxurious box.

The vessel's top, finished with a knurled neck and black embossed print, sets a silver accent just below the black obsidian closure, with a bespoke illustration at the very top. Inside, a light grey suede clads the deep foam socket that houses the bottle, with the exact same material finishing the inside of the door, where visual elements are printed in a dark tone, contrasting with the light fabric that provides a neutral luxurious hint to the dark box.

Shay VSOP was created with the aim to take the American market by storm, and rapidly becoming one of the most exclusive and sought-after cognacs in the US. Its promotion, associated with former-NFL superstar Shannon Sharpe and all of the history of Mary Porter, have granted a notorious relevance to this product, making it steadily expand and become available in a total of 47 different states in the last year alone.

Shay VSOP is a product of differentiation, of perfectionism and heritage. The early development stages were entirely focused on the history of Shannon Sharpe and Mary Porter, whilst redirecting such important historical connotation towards a product that can become an outstanding presence on the American market. Colours, materials and the concept of a cognac bottle had to be re-thought in order to develop a product truly disruptive.

In a market densely populated by ranges of cognac products, the main challenge in the design and development of Shay VSOP was to achieve a product that, as it represents a new brand and its inaugural release, could enter the market associating a quality product with a differentiating design that highlights and evolves the concept of cognac. Marking a statement approach, Shay VSOP merges a large vessel with fine detailing, embedded into a luxurious box that elevates the cognac inside.

Crafted with Shannon Sharpe's input and inspired by Mary Porter's heritage, Shay Vsop enters the market as a product that is bold yet elegant, disruptive, a true statement piece for cognac lovers and connoisseurs. The strong, dark shapes contrast with delicate light detailing, creating a product full of contrast and raising all attentions towards the long vessel, topped by a black obsidian closure and silver detailing, where a collectible item is placed: with each batch, a different letter of the word Le Portier is foiled onto the closure, allowing collectors to procure all different batches.

This Design was awarded Silver in A' Packaging Design Award in 2023. Silver A' Design Award : Rewarded to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.