A gin brand infused with graphic activism

Washington DC – In response to the recent wave of anti-protest bills passed in the US, women-owned distillery Republic Restoratives is releasing a gin that borrows from the visual language of protest.

Designed by brand agency Midday, Assembly Gin takes its name from the ‘freedom to assemble’, a direct reference to the individual right to peaceful protest. The typeface on the bottle is inspired by the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike, the event in which Martin Luther King proclaimed: ‘The masses of people are rising up.’ Other protest posters, including the historic I Am A Man sign from the same strike, also informed the designs.

The company's emphasis on assembly is also a reference to the distilling process, where ingredients come together to create something that’s stronger than the sum of its parts. With an unusually savoury taste profile, including notes of tomato leaf, olive leaf, fennel and oregano, the gin has been designed to ‘leave a bitter taste in the mouth of discrimination’.

Blending protest with alcohol, Assembly Gin demonstrates how drinks companies can use packaging design and branding to accelerate political action.