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07/12/2011 by Ashley (comments: 0)

Recently while browsing packaging designs, Stacy came across the label for Kraken Black Spiced Rum. What she loved about the rum label was the simplistic design of the label art printed in only black inks on a white background. Void of any fancy embossing or foil paper that is common with spirits today, the spiced rum label stands out for its classic design and beautiful artwork of what appears to be a giant octopus. However, once I started to research this spiced rum I found a hidden legendary tale behind the seemingly simplistic label.

Owned by Proximo Spirits, a privately owned spirits company out of New Jersey, the Caribbean Kraken Rum was named after the legendary sea monster the kraken. The German word kraken translates to the English word for octopus which explains the creature’s familiar bulb shaped head and long winding tentacles. However, the kraken sea monster is said to be of extraordinary size far beyond a normal octopus and is said to have provided fantastic fishing conditions for fisherman dared to fish over the kraken. In fact, the tale says that when a fisherman came home with a lot of fish others would say, “You must have fished on Kraken." The sea monster known for discharging black ink, similar to regular octopuses, was also known for its brutal attacks on ships. Most famously the legend says that the kraken took down the largest shipment of black spiced rum that sailed from the Caribbean. I think it is clever of the designers to use only black ink when designing the spiced rum label to mirror the trademark black ink of the kraken. Whether you believe the legend or not is up to you, but this particular rum label certainly has an interesting story.
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