Pinhook Bourbon
Branding & Identity
Design | Art Direction | Creative Direction
Pinhook Bourbon is a whiskey inspired by wine-making, where they release a new vintage every year based on the best blend they get out of the barrels that year. With this variability, their branding is a unique creative challenge in that we change our labels year to year to reflect the new vintage release.
As Lead Creative at Pinhook Bourbon, I oversee the full creative output of the brand — from packaging design and art direction to photography, apparel, digital, and social. I direct and shoot campaign photography, manage the visual identity across every touchpoint, and drive the expansion of the brand system into new categories. Every release, every campaign, every execution starts here.
Pinhook’s design changes every year with the whiskey. Labels shift in geometry, color, and horse while keeping the same structure. Inspired by jockey silks and living thoroughbreds, the system never repeats. It’s a brand that embraces change as its signature, proving that originality isn’t a deviation, it’s the point.
Pinhook releases whiskey in annual vintages, each one a specific moment in flavor that will never be replicated. The Vertical Series takes that further, tracking a single set of barrels from 4 to 16 years, one of the only programs of its kind in whiskey. Every year I photograph a new set of tasting note imagery to capture each vintage's unique palate—a sensibility shaped by having a former sommelier as our Master Blender—and design the tasting kits sent to press and influencers to let the liquid speak for itself.
The website.
To continue our goal in elevating the brand, I collaborated with Decimal Studios to redesign Pinhook's website, emphasizing storytelling to connect with our audience and enhance the visual experience. The new site showcases our products' history and breadth, deepening visitor engagement and making the Pinhook experience more immersive and memorable. Visit pinhookbourbon.com to see the full site.
2025 Webby Award Honoree for Best of the Internet in the Food & Drink category.