O-I limited edition bottle with Colombian spirit

By Rachel Arthur

- Last updated on GMT

Ron Maestro Gabo Special Reserve
Ron Maestro Gabo Special Reserve
Glass manufacturer Owens-Illinois (O-I) wants to collaborate with more artists in the future, after its second arts partnership with Colombian rum producer Fabrica de Licores de Antioquia (FLA).

Covet, a collection of luxury glass packaging from O-I, has created a glass bottle to honour the Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez, also known as 'Gabo’. The bottle is for the ’Ron Maestro Gabo Special Reserve’ from FLA.

Juan Giraldo, new product development manager, Covet Colombia, told BeverageDaily.com the bottle celebrates Gabo, arts and literature, and the Colombian identity.

Signed by Gabo

The product features Gabo’s signature in raised glass on its front, so that each one is ‘signed’ in the same way a work of art would be.

The bottle was developed specifically for this project. We worked with FLA and creative agencies to get the design. We wanted a refined shape, a bottle that was different, but has some semblance with what you see with premium rums,​” he said.

The label features an artist’s sketch of Gabo’s face, surrounded by the titles of his various literary works. There are a number of colourful butterflies, a reference to a character from Gabo’s work ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude.’

Iconic yellow butterflies

As well as complementing the shade of the rum, the warm colour scheme reflects the colours and life of Colombia, Giraldo said.

Everyone likes the yellow butterflies, it’s like a signature of Gabo. We see people buying it as a souvenir gift, the appreciation of a person​,” he said.

Giraldo calls the finished product an ‘ambassador of Colombia.’ The bottle was designed and manufactured in the country, for a Colombian product, in recognition of a national icon.

The Maestro Gabo Special Reserve follows O-I Covet’s first collaboration with FLA on Ron Maestro Botero. 150,000 bottles of Ron Maestro Gabo Special Reserve have been produced for sale in Colombia.

O-I Covet produces glass packaging products for premium brands, with custom glass design and decoration. 

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