Uwe Ehinger, founder of the gin, Ehinger Kraftrad is a motorcycle collector. For decades, he has been searching the world for antique motorbikes, and saving them for dealing or as core pieces for designing his own models.
This has earned him the nickname, The Archaeologist.
That gave his agency, Serviceplan Group, an idea for a promotional campaign.
Ehinger, Serviceplan and Hamburg designers, Studio Oeding, are paying tribute to some of the greatest legends in motorcycle history with a special edition of Uke Ehunger gin. The Archaeologist is the first gin that contains engine parts. Each bottle of the premium gin contains original engine parts of legendary Harley-Davidson bikes that Ehinger has discovered all over the world. There’s a 1939 Flathead camshafts from the Mexican desert, 1947 Knucklehead screw-nuts from Chile and 1962 Panhead rocker arms from South Korea, for example.
The parts of the motorbikes are specially cleaned and sealed with a tin alloy to make it safe for them to be used in a drink. They are then soldered onto a steel structure and encased in a handcrafted bottle.
The entire look and feel recreates the original packing of the antique engine parts – using authentic materials and historic techniques. Packages are made using selected pieces of cardboard and colours, and printed on an original Heidelberg Tiegel printing press from 1931. Waxed wrapping paper tells the story of how each part was found.
The product is completed with hand-stamped, tamper-proof seals and clenched hang-tags, each bearing the unique serial number of the engine part in its respective bottle. Every bottle of The Archaeologist is unique.
The first edition of The Archaeologist was reserved for Ehinger’s most loyal customers and only served in Ehinger’s garage. A limited number were distributed via the website’s online shop and sold out within hours.
Credits:
Creative agency: Serviceplan
Chief creative officer: Alex Schill
Executive creative director: Christoph Everke
Group creative director: Timm Hanebeck
Creative directors: Katrin Oeding, Basma Attalla; Franz Röppischer & Lorenz Langgartner
Art directors: Sung-Hi Leem, Javier Fernandez & Pedro Gropo
Account management: Frederike Enk &Johanna Bähner
Packaging design: Studio Oeding
Production company: Pfefferminzfilm GmbH
Producer: Romey von Malottky @ AWF München
Illustrator: Thomas Ardelt
Photographer: Bernd Westphal
Sound design: The Picturebook
