Babicka was born whilst Arran Russell and his business partner Alex Clarke travelled the Czech Republic. Inspired by tales of the mystical wormwood plant and the Babickas who harvested it for use in their incantations. In the mystic history of Czechoslovakia, a Babicka was the term used to identify a group of 16th century grandmothers with an inclination for witchcraft. The wormwood plant is known for its slight hallucinogenic and highly creative properties and was often used in the Babickas love brews, giving them a reputation for dabbling in the black arts. This inspired the unique wormwood infused Vodka, which replicates a 500-year-old recipe. This recipe was known for producing a sense of wellbeing and increasing creative capability. After meeting with an eccentric distiller with an interest in ancient recipes, they brought the legend of the Babickas back to life in the modern day. Dedicated to translate the rich story behind the magical Vodka, the Babicka brand was created.
Arran was Creative Director, managing design, development and product creation, as well as communication, Alex Clarke managed the key business and distribution components. Over a period of 2 years with several trips to the distillery we developed this award winning Vodka.
The vodka industry is a very saturated market place, and we were passionate about developing a vodka with a difference. We had witnessed the success of Cannabis vodkas in Europe and I wanted to follow the lead on adding a key ingredient. I took 4 herbs and wormwood which is the active ingredient and included these in the production of the vodka during the distillation process.
The branding is designed to replicate a Babicka home made recipe, a bottle with a strip of tape that she would hand write the ingredients on. We were inspired by modernizing this concept through the design.
