When founder Thomas Aitken established the Victoria Parade Brewery in Melbourne in 1854, pest control was a massive headache.
By 1862, the complex housed a massive malthouse that attracted thousands of ravenous rats.
To combat this, a local journalist reported that the brewery maintained an unofficial “security squad” of nearly 1,000 cats to guard the ingredients.
I’ll be back. Am off to get a cat.
For years, Cougar Bourbon was affectionately (and sometimes not so affectionately) viewed by Aussies as a “cheap, entry-level mixer”.
Basically it was designed as a bar brand for mixing.
However, in 2014, the whiskey world was stunned when world-renowned whiskey critic Jim Murray published his Whisky Bible.
He gave Cougar Bourbon an astonishing 95 out of 100 points.
Plus, this rated the budget Aussie favorite higher than global heavyweights like Jim Beam, Jack Daniel’s, Wild Turkey, and Maker’s Mark.
Budget drinkers can take pride that their ‘go-to’ technically holds world-class critical acclaim.
Back when Brookvale Union first launched, they wanted a vibrant, eye-catching design to reflect that ginger is an Asian ingredient.
They cobbled together a chaotic, psychedelic illustration featuring an elephant’s head on a person’s body alongside tigers and monkeys.
Unintentionally, the graphic closely resembled a mashup of the revered Hindu deities Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi.
The global Hindu community understandably pointed out that putting sacred deities on a commercial beer can was highly inappropriate.
Brookvale Union immediately responded with a classic Aussie retraction:
“We’re lovers, not fighters. We want to make it right!”
They offered a public invitation for graphic designers to help them give the can a “nip and tuck,” citing Salvador Dalí as inspiration.
Before the brewery could pull the stock to change it, Aussie craft beer nerds sprinted to local bottle shops to hoard the original cans.
They turned a major marketing mistake into a highly sought-after, rare piece of Australian alcohol memorabilia.
If you look at a bottle of Willow Bridge wine, you’ll spot a prominent dragonfly logo.
This elegant branding traces back to a neighborly request.
Years ago, a neighboring landowner asked the founders, Jeff and Vicki Dewar, if he could stock their winery property dam with trout.
They agreed, but the influx of fish triggered an unexpected ecological chain reaction.
During the calm, warm autumn days of the grape harvest, the surfacing trout attracted massive swarms of metallic-blue dragonflies.
Watching the air above the water come alive in a vibrant “blue haze” of hovering insects became an iconic, stunning spectacle for the family.
They put the insect on their bottles and named their vibrant, accessible Dragonfly series in its honor.
Liquor Licenses
Withers
Ref No 6030021477
Type: LIQ-Liquor Store
Premises: Condello’s Liquor Store
Licensee: CLS Pty Ltd
Waterloo
Ref No 6030018846
Type: LIQ-Liquor Store
Premises: Condello’s Liquor Store
Licensee: CLS Pty Ltd