The grandmother's bottle is the second most common gift order, after the in-laws bottle. The order is usually placed by the eldest granddaughter, in late October or early November, in anticipation of the holidays. The bottle goes on the grandmother's table, where it stays for several weeks, gets opened at Christmas, and is replaced the following year by its successor.
The brand line
The brand line is the grandmother's family name. Often this is her maiden name, which she has lived with the longest. The renderer appends RESERVE in foil. Some families add a small SINCE 1942 in foil under the brand line, the year of the grandmother's birth, or the year of the grandmother's marriage. Either reads as appropriate. Both together reads as cluttered.
The crest
Soft ornamental forms work well. A wheat sheaf, an olive branch, a small vine, a circular family monogram. The grandmother's bottle is the design that benefits most from delicate line work and the lightest foil treatment we offer. Aggressive heraldic shields read as severe; the bottle should read as tender.
The script
Cormorant Garamond Italic carries the grandmother's bottle better than any other italic in our type library. The back-label dedication and the quote line both want this typeface. Resist the temptation to use multiple display fonts; the bottle should read as if a single hand designed it.
The quote line
Use a phrase the grandmother has been saying for sixty years. The phrase does not need to be deep. The phrase needs to be hers. The granddaughter recognizes it on the bottle as a quotation of the grandmother quoting herself, which is the highest compliment a designed object can pay.