Revisiting my Whisk(e)y Kit February 29 2024

I launched my original Whisk(e)y Tasting Set way back in 2014. It was a big deal for me at the time - receiving a pallet of my favorite Glencairn whisky glasses all the way from Scotland. I think the freight driver was a little surprised when I met him at the end of my residential driveway with a pallet jack, the goods destined for my near-bursting two-car garage.

Above: My original Whisk(e)y Tasting set. Blank boxes with custom laser-cut inserts, all hand-printed by yours truly.

At the time, I'd just figured out that I could silkscreen blank boxes, and then laser-cut flat sheets of cardboard to make a custom insert. I could silkscreen the inserts, too! I designed the box to resemble a bourbon barrel (used for aging Scotch, too): woodgrain pattern on the outside of the box, and a charred pattern on the inside of the box.

Well, it didn't take me too many hundreds of hand-printed (in my home office) boxes to figure out that I needed to find a way to scale this kit up. My friend Tim (aka Captain Corrugated) helped me out with a professionally-printed corrugated box that added two more pallets to my storage woes: one for the box itself, and another for the inserts. It was a huge investment for me; the print plates and cutting dies set me back thousands of dollars, but it also required me to start moving 33 Books Co. out of my house. And that was a good thing!

Above: The ActiveSpace that was my business' first home outside my home. I was there for about a year before I moved into my first "real" studio.

It was an investment in the business' success, and one that did pay off. The more polished kits found their way into some major retailers, and under the Christmas trees of thousands of whisk(e)y lovers.

Above: Pallets of Whisk(e)y Tasting Sets Ready for Pickup ... in my home's driveway!

Now, 10 years and as many new kits later, a reprint of the boxes offered me a chance to revisit the kit. Its price point is a big part of its success, so I couldn't add too much to the box, but I do have a new whisk(e)y book that I thought would be a nice addition.

The updated kit includes not one, not two, but THREE journals. One for Scotch, one for Bourbon, and my original journal, 33 Glasses of Whiskey, which works for everything else (even Canadian). The same tried and tested Glencairn glass, and a slightly upgraded, but still made in the USA, bespoke click pen. All for $25. It's a great value, and a great gift that I hope will be here for another 10 years.