Ever since day one we've had the best ice breaker around. First of all, how the hell do you pronounce Ägräs and second of all what does it mean?

1. It's pronounced with short Ä:s, similar to the a-sound in the English word "at". ÄGRÄS!
2. Ägräs is an ancient god of vegetation, written down by Mikael Agricola back in the good old days of 1551. He wrote it down as Egres. However, our ancestors pronounced it Äkräs, with the same sounds as we run in our name. So our name became Ägräs.

Never stand still, always evolve

Although teaching and preaching about what Ägräs is or means doesn't tire us at all, we noticed that Ägräs Akvavit and Ägräs Gin weren't the most visible bottles out there. So we started to rethink the core. We focus on the product and want to keep it in the limelight, so a total remake with everything new was not an option. A sit down with our partner PACKLAB took place and things started developing. We had to start from somewhere.

We wanted to be less apologetic, and more bold as we're everyday at the distillery doing our own stuff according to our beliefs. Yet simplicity was still key as is with the products as well. The Ä from Ägräs had been used here and there. Hmm.. Maybe we're on to something here.

Testing by launching

The launch of Ägräs Long Drink Nordic Nettle was the first product where Ä from Ägräs got the main role. With a little wink. Turned out the drink became a block buster - you either love it or hate it and this usually makes waves.

After this we came out with a limited edition Ägräs Abloom Gin, again integrating the big Ä and modernly illustrating Fiskars Village around it. The limited edition sold so well, that it achieved the ranks of standard selection of the spirits monopoly. Testing done right and a proof of concept enough for us to jump away from the safe and sound. We got bold and brave.

New designs for Ägräs Gin and Ägräs Akvavit

And this is it! Keeping the transparency, but making the design pop out a little bit more than before. Along with the renewal, a few details have been added. The text of the products on the side of the bottle has been revisited alongside with a plough stating "Crafted by Finnish Mother Nature". The plough reminds us that we're based in an old plough factory (prior to it being a knife factory). The font of Ägräs Distillery is also inspired from one of the ploughs that were manufactured in the premises back in the day. The necklabel is now also the same for both products, saying Ägräs Distillery.

And that's not all, folks. The stoppers (corks) were renewed into oak stoppers with a synthetic bottom. With this we also integrated the Ä on top of the stopper. So when it's lost and somebody finds it, well, the person can make a necklace from it for example.

The renewal takes us further internationally

The quite holistic renewal of the core products have helped us getting abroad. The first deliveries to Norway and Denmark has been made. The Baltics are getting their fair share as well, the UK has also placed their first order and we're in the middle of closing deals in Asia. The next shipment to Germany will also be with the new look. For all of you Germans, the old ones are still available through Lieferello.de right now.

We're working hard on getting ourselves across the globe, one bottle at a time, organically through interest, through the product itself, making all the errors, learning from them, trying again and enjoying good spirits while doing so.

Soon our first brand video will also be out! Very exciting about that too.