Whiskey JYPSI
Whiskey JYPSI
Photographing a New Bourbon for the Everyday Drinker
Photographing a New Bourbon for the Everyday Drinker
Overview
Overview
Overview
"I also love that you're kind of thinking outside the box from what we typically have, which is what our brand is about."
Carina Sanchez
,
Whiskey JYPSI
"I also love that you're kind of thinking outside the box from what we typically have, which is what our brand is about."
Carina Sanchez
,
Whiskey JYPSI
"I also love that you're kind of thinking outside the box from what we typically have, which is what our brand is about."
Carina Sanchez
,
Whiskey JYPSI
Whiskey JYPSI needed photography for Tribute, a new $40 bourbon built for cocktails and casual drinking. Their existing content was almost entirely bottle shots, and they were launching a product that required a completely different visual identity. Chalant developed the creative direction, shot 13 lifestyle photos in a single day, and delivered brand application mockups showing how those images could work across social media, out-of-home advertising, print, and merchandise.
Whiskey JYPSI needed photography for Tribute, a new $40 bourbon built for cocktails and casual drinking. Their existing content was almost entirely bottle shots, and they were launching a product that required a completely different visual identity. Chalant developed the creative direction, shot 13 lifestyle photos in a single day, and delivered brand application mockups showing how those images could work across social media, out-of-home advertising, print, and merchandise.
Client:
Client:
Whiskey JYPSI
Whiskey JYPSI
Industry:
Industry:
Spirits / Bourbon
Spirits / Bourbon
Agency
Agency
Direct to Client
Direct to Client
Production Company
Production Company
Chalant
Chalant
Project Type
Project Type
Product Photography + Brand Application Design
Product Photography + Brand Application Design
Timeline:
Timeline:
January 2025 to July 2025
January 2025 to July 2025
Location
Location
📍 Orlando, FL
📍 Orlando, FL
Deliverables
Deliverables
Lifestyle photos + Brand application mockups (social media, OOH, print, merchandise)
Lifestyle photos + Brand application mockups (social media, OOH, print, merchandise)
Before We Got Involved
Before We Got Involved
Before We Got Involved
Whiskey JYPSI is a premium bourbon brand backed by Outsider Spirits. Their lineup includes Legacy, a special occasion bottle, and Explorer, a mid-range option.
The brand had built a following around craftsmanship and quality. People who tried it were consistently impressed.
"Even the little tastings that I have done, that really is the reaction," Joanne Sepetjian from the Whiskey JYPSI team said. "They're always surprised and you don't get a negative reaction."
The challenge was Tribute. A $40 double barreled bourbon designed for cocktails and everyday drinking. It was the brand's first product aimed at a broader audience, people in their late 20s to early 40s who wanted something better than what was already on their shelf.
Whiskey JYPSI's social feed told one kind of story: bottle shots. "We are working to try and get away from just bottle shots 24/7," Carina Sanchez, who leads marketing for the brand, said during the project kick-off. "Content is our biggest struggle."
The product was good. The visual identity hadn't caught up yet.
Whiskey JYPSI is a premium bourbon brand backed by Outsider Spirits. Their lineup includes Legacy, a special occasion bottle, and Explorer, a mid-range option.
The brand had built a following around craftsmanship and quality. People who tried it were consistently impressed.
"Even the little tastings that I have done, that really is the reaction," Joanne Sepetjian from the Whiskey JYPSI team said. "They're always surprised and you don't get a negative reaction."
The challenge was Tribute. A $40 double barreled bourbon designed for cocktails and everyday drinking. It was the brand's first product aimed at a broader audience, people in their late 20s to early 40s who wanted something better than what was already on their shelf.
Whiskey JYPSI's social feed told one kind of story: bottle shots. "We are working to try and get away from just bottle shots 24/7," Carina Sanchez, who leads marketing for the brand, said during the project kick-off. "Content is our biggest struggle."
The product was good. The visual identity hadn't caught up yet.
Whiskey JYPSI is a premium bourbon brand backed by Outsider Spirits. Their lineup includes Legacy, a special occasion bottle, and Explorer, a mid-range option.
The brand had built a following around craftsmanship and quality. People who tried it were consistently impressed.
"Even the little tastings that I have done, that really is the reaction," Joanne Sepetjian from the Whiskey JYPSI team said. "They're always surprised and you don't get a negative reaction."
The challenge was Tribute. A $40 double barreled bourbon designed for cocktails and everyday drinking. It was the brand's first product aimed at a broader audience, people in their late 20s to early 40s who wanted something better than what was already on their shelf.
Whiskey JYPSI's social feed told one kind of story: bottle shots. "We are working to try and get away from just bottle shots 24/7," Carina Sanchez, who leads marketing for the brand, said during the project kick-off. "Content is our biggest struggle."
The product was good. The visual identity hadn't caught up yet.
What We Did Differently
What We Did Differently
What We Did Differently
Creative Direction Before the Camera Came Out
Chalant spent a full week studying the Whiskey JYPSI brand before presenting anything. McClain brought in our creative director Valentim to build a creative deck with two mood board options: a flash photography concept that captured candid, in-the-moment energy, and a softer, 70s-inspired aesthetic with warm tones, intentional shadows, and lifestyle compositions.
The team presented both directions on the kick-off call. Carina gravitated toward the second option. It felt closer to where the brand was now while still pushing the visual identity forward.
"I like that you're taking this kind of step away from what we already have," she said. "It's still premium. It still looks premium enough that a Legacy person would totally like it."
Joanne noticed something none of us had explicitly called out. "We tend to go towards the darker colors," she said. "So you bringing in the light, the cream colors, it's almost like we're a little bit lighter. And with Tribute, it's capturing that without me even realizing."
Carina agreed: "It's more approachable because Tribute is about the grain and grains are lighter. I think it sets itself apart but still fits within our lineup."
The lighter palette wasn't just an aesthetic choice. It was a positioning decision.
A 5-Category Shot List for a 1-Day Shoot
Our team built a detailed shot list organized into 5 categories. Product close-ups with macro label details. Handling shots showing the bottle in casual, real-life moments. Pouring and cocktail-making sequences. Hand shots capturing end-of-day relaxation. Table display compositions with minimalist backdrops.
Outsider Spirits sent over Tribute and Explorer bottles, rocks glasses, and bar mats. Our photographer Patrick Michael Chin shot everything on location in a single day. The shot list was ambitious, but the team captured what they needed.
Beyond the Photos: Showing How the Work Could Live
Chalant didn't stop at photos. Valentim took those 13 final images and built a full set of brand application mockups. Social media posts and stories with branded text overlays. Billboard and street-level OOH concepts. Storefront displays. Print materials. Merchandise like coasters, aprons, and canvas bags.
The idea was simple: show the client exactly how those photos could work across every channel they'd need to fill.
This is the part most production companies skip. The photos are the product. The applications are the proof that you were thinking about the client's business, not just the shoot.
Creative Direction Before the Camera Came Out
Chalant spent a full week studying the Whiskey JYPSI brand before presenting anything. McClain brought in our creative director Valentim to build a creative deck with two mood board options: a flash photography concept that captured candid, in-the-moment energy, and a softer, 70s-inspired aesthetic with warm tones, intentional shadows, and lifestyle compositions.
The team presented both directions on the kick-off call. Carina gravitated toward the second option. It felt closer to where the brand was now while still pushing the visual identity forward.
"I like that you're taking this kind of step away from what we already have," she said. "It's still premium. It still looks premium enough that a Legacy person would totally like it."
Joanne noticed something none of us had explicitly called out. "We tend to go towards the darker colors," she said. "So you bringing in the light, the cream colors, it's almost like we're a little bit lighter. And with Tribute, it's capturing that without me even realizing."
Carina agreed: "It's more approachable because Tribute is about the grain and grains are lighter. I think it sets itself apart but still fits within our lineup."
The lighter palette wasn't just an aesthetic choice. It was a positioning decision.
A 5-Category Shot List for a 1-Day Shoot
Our team built a detailed shot list organized into 5 categories. Product close-ups with macro label details. Handling shots showing the bottle in casual, real-life moments. Pouring and cocktail-making sequences. Hand shots capturing end-of-day relaxation. Table display compositions with minimalist backdrops.
Outsider Spirits sent over Tribute and Explorer bottles, rocks glasses, and bar mats. Our photographer Patrick Michael Chin shot everything on location in a single day. The shot list was ambitious, but the team captured what they needed.
Beyond the Photos: Showing How the Work Could Live
Chalant didn't stop at photos. Valentim took those 13 final images and built a full set of brand application mockups. Social media posts and stories with branded text overlays. Billboard and street-level OOH concepts. Storefront displays. Print materials. Merchandise like coasters, aprons, and canvas bags.
The idea was simple: show the client exactly how those photos could work across every channel they'd need to fill.
This is the part most production companies skip. The photos are the product. The applications are the proof that you were thinking about the client's business, not just the shoot.
Creative Direction Before the Camera Came Out
Chalant spent a full week studying the Whiskey JYPSI brand before presenting anything. McClain brought in our creative director Valentim to build a creative deck with two mood board options: a flash photography concept that captured candid, in-the-moment energy, and a softer, 70s-inspired aesthetic with warm tones, intentional shadows, and lifestyle compositions.
The team presented both directions on the kick-off call. Carina gravitated toward the second option. It felt closer to where the brand was now while still pushing the visual identity forward.
"I like that you're taking this kind of step away from what we already have," she said. "It's still premium. It still looks premium enough that a Legacy person would totally like it."
Joanne noticed something none of us had explicitly called out. "We tend to go towards the darker colors," she said. "So you bringing in the light, the cream colors, it's almost like we're a little bit lighter. And with Tribute, it's capturing that without me even realizing."
Carina agreed: "It's more approachable because Tribute is about the grain and grains are lighter. I think it sets itself apart but still fits within our lineup."
The lighter palette wasn't just an aesthetic choice. It was a positioning decision.
A 5-Category Shot List for a 1-Day Shoot
Our team built a detailed shot list organized into 5 categories. Product close-ups with macro label details. Handling shots showing the bottle in casual, real-life moments. Pouring and cocktail-making sequences. Hand shots capturing end-of-day relaxation. Table display compositions with minimalist backdrops.
Outsider Spirits sent over Tribute and Explorer bottles, rocks glasses, and bar mats. Our photographer Patrick Michael Chin shot everything on location in a single day. The shot list was ambitious, but the team captured what they needed.
Beyond the Photos: Showing How the Work Could Live
Chalant didn't stop at photos. Valentim took those 13 final images and built a full set of brand application mockups. Social media posts and stories with branded text overlays. Billboard and street-level OOH concepts. Storefront displays. Print materials. Merchandise like coasters, aprons, and canvas bags.
The idea was simple: show the client exactly how those photos could work across every channel they'd need to fill.
This is the part most production companies skip. The photos are the product. The applications are the proof that you were thinking about the client's business, not just the shoot.
Results
Results
Results
Chalant delivered 13 lifestyle photos and a complete set of brand application mockups for Whiskey JYPSI's Tribute launch. This was the brand's first engagement with Chalant. The relationship started through Gray Richards on the Outsider Spirits team, and the scope grew naturally from a photoshoot into creative direction, brand application design, and strategic recommendations for experiential marketing and social content. "Right now you're doing us a solid because content is the thing breaking us out of the mold that we have right now," Carina said. The photos gave Whiskey JYPSI a library of lifestyle content that replaced bottle shots with something that actually told a story. The application mockups gave them a roadmap for deploying those images across social, OOH, print, and merchandise. Carina's first response to the delivered work: "I'm loving these. What would be the next steps for using these?"
Chalant delivered 13 lifestyle photos and a complete set of brand application mockups for Whiskey JYPSI's Tribute launch. This was the brand's first engagement with Chalant. The relationship started through Gray Richards on the Outsider Spirits team, and the scope grew naturally from a photoshoot into creative direction, brand application design, and strategic recommendations for experiential marketing and social content. "Right now you're doing us a solid because content is the thing breaking us out of the mold that we have right now," Carina said. The photos gave Whiskey JYPSI a library of lifestyle content that replaced bottle shots with something that actually told a story. The application mockups gave them a roadmap for deploying those images across social, OOH, print, and merchandise. Carina's first response to the delivered work: "I'm loving these. What would be the next steps for using these?"
Chalant delivered 13 lifestyle photos and a complete set of brand application mockups for Whiskey JYPSI's Tribute launch. This was the brand's first engagement with Chalant. The relationship started through Gray Richards on the Outsider Spirits team, and the scope grew naturally from a photoshoot into creative direction, brand application design, and strategic recommendations for experiential marketing and social content. "Right now you're doing us a solid because content is the thing breaking us out of the mold that we have right now," Carina said. The photos gave Whiskey JYPSI a library of lifestyle content that replaced bottle shots with something that actually told a story. The application mockups gave them a roadmap for deploying those images across social, OOH, print, and merchandise. Carina's first response to the delivered work: "I'm loving these. What would be the next steps for using these?"
What We Learned
What We Learned
What We Learned
Creative direction does more heavy lifting than most people give it credit for. The lighter color palette wasn't something Whiskey JYPSI asked for. It came out of studying the brand, understanding where Tribute sat in the lineup, and making a positioning call that the visuals needed to feel different from Legacy and Explorer without losing the premium thread. When Joanne said the lighter tones "captured" Tribute's identity "without me even realizing," that confirmed something we already believed: the best creative direction doesn't feel like a departure. It feels like what was always supposed to be there. The other takeaway is about scope. Delivering photos is a commodity. Delivering photos plus a full set of brand applications that show the client how to use them across every platform, that's what turns a one-time shoot into a creative partnership.
Creative direction does more heavy lifting than most people give it credit for. The lighter color palette wasn't something Whiskey JYPSI asked for. It came out of studying the brand, understanding where Tribute sat in the lineup, and making a positioning call that the visuals needed to feel different from Legacy and Explorer without losing the premium thread. When Joanne said the lighter tones "captured" Tribute's identity "without me even realizing," that confirmed something we already believed: the best creative direction doesn't feel like a departure. It feels like what was always supposed to be there. The other takeaway is about scope. Delivering photos is a commodity. Delivering photos plus a full set of brand applications that show the client how to use them across every platform, that's what turns a one-time shoot into a creative partnership.
Creative direction does more heavy lifting than most people give it credit for. The lighter color palette wasn't something Whiskey JYPSI asked for. It came out of studying the brand, understanding where Tribute sat in the lineup, and making a positioning call that the visuals needed to feel different from Legacy and Explorer without losing the premium thread. When Joanne said the lighter tones "captured" Tribute's identity "without me even realizing," that confirmed something we already believed: the best creative direction doesn't feel like a departure. It feels like what was always supposed to be there. The other takeaway is about scope. Delivering photos is a commodity. Delivering photos plus a full set of brand applications that show the client how to use them across every platform, that's what turns a one-time shoot into a creative partnership.
Client feedback
Client feedback
"I love the initiative. I love the brainstorming and just wanting to help us be better."
Carina Sanchez
,
Whiskey JYPSI
"I love the initiative. I love the brainstorming and just wanting to help us be better."
Carina Sanchez
,
Whiskey JYPSI
"I love the initiative. I love the brainstorming and just wanting to help us be better."
Carina Sanchez
,
Whiskey JYPSI
If you're launching a new product and need photography that comes with a point of view, not just a camera, we should talk.
If you're launching a new product and need photography that comes with a point of view, not just a camera, we should talk.
If you're launching a new product and need photography that comes with a point of view, not just a camera, we should talk.
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Start the conversation today
Let’s make something that feels good to create
— and good to share.
Do you prefer email?
hello@chalant.us
Copied
How do we connect?
We reply within 24 hours
Direct access to our team — no bots.
We ask smart questions fast.
Team leader
Start the conversation today
Let’s make something that feels good to create
— and good to share.
Do you prefer email?
hello@chalant.us
Copied
How do we connect?
We reply within 24 hours
Direct access to our team — no bots.
We ask smart questions fast.
Team leader