Grain & Barrel Spirits has given its Chicken Cock American whiskey lineup a long-overdue visual overhaul, rolling out new label designs across all five of its core expressions to mark a major milestone — the brand's 170th anniversary.
The redesign keeps what made the bottles recognizable in the first place while cleaning things up for a new era of whiskey drinkers.
Five Roosters, Five Whiskeys
The most eye-catching part of the refresh is the decision to give each bottle its own rooster character. Rather than using a single generic bird across the board, the brand's creative team developed five distinct characters — Remy, Ricky, Riley, Russell and Rocco — each one tied to a specific expression in the lineup.
Remy, Ricky, Riley, Russell and Rocco are meant to "represent the distinct character" of the five core SKUs: the Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon, the Straight Bourbon, the Straight Rye Whiskey, the Straight Small Batch Bourbon and the Double Oak ten-year-old. It's a subtle but smart move. Instead of the bottles all looking like variations of the same thing on the shelf, each one now has its own personality.
The new designs have been rolled out across the United States and are already making their way into the brand's seven international export markets, starting with the Straight Rye Whiskey. The Straight Bourbon is set to follow in those markets soon after.
What Actually Changed — and What Didn't
Grain & Barrel Spirits was deliberate about what they held onto through the redesign process. The honeycomb glass bottle — one of the most distinctive features of Chicken Cock and a nod to the brand's origins as a medicinal whiskey — stays exactly as it was. That's not an accident. The bottle shape is part of what makes Chicken Cock stand out on a back bar or retail shelf, and changing it would have meant throwing away a lot of built-up recognition.
What did change is the label itself. The company described the refresh as an effort to "simplify the aesthetic for better shelf recognition while highlighting the craftsmanship of the liquid inside." The Famous Old Brand rooster emblem — a signature piece of the brand identity — has been elevated rather than replaced.
In practical terms, the old labels were doing a lot of things at once. The new ones pull back a bit, letting the bottle's shape and the rooster characters do more of the heavy lifting.
A Brand With Real History Behind It
Chicken Cock isn't a new brand dressed up to look old. The 170-year history is the real thing. The brand was originally founded in the 1800s and built a reputation long before modern bourbon culture made American whiskey the international phenomenon it is today.
Grain & Barrel Spirits, based out of Charleston, South Carolina, acquired and revived Chicken Cock back in 2012 — a period when a number of dormant American whiskey brands were being brought back to life as the category started its current boom. The company has since built it into a legitimate presence in the premium whiskey space.
Chicken Cock sits alongside a range of other brands in the Grain & Barrel portfolio, including Dixie Vodka, High Goal gin, EG Booz whiskey and Eterno Verano tequila.
What the Bottles Cost and What Else Is in the Lineup
The five core expressions carry price tags ranging from $57.99 on the lower end up to $95.99 for the top-shelf options — putting them squarely in the premium tier without crossing into the ultra-premium territory that can make some buyers hesitate.
Beyond the everyday lineup, Chicken Cock also puts out a limited-edition annual release that comes packaged in a collectible tin. Past releases have included the Mizunara expression, which ran $249.99, and the Red Stave, priced at $199.99. Those releases tend to draw interest from collectors as well as drinkers, given both the packaging and the more experimental nature of the liquid inside.
The brand also runs a collaborative distillation program with Bardstown Bourbon Co., one of the most respected names in contract and collaborative whiskey production. That partnership adds another dimension to what Chicken Cock offers beyond its core range.
Why the Timing Makes Sense
Hitting 170 years is no small thing in any industry, but in whiskey it carries particular weight. The category rewards heritage. Drinkers who are serious about what they put in the glass tend to care about where a brand comes from, how long it's been around and whether the people running it today respect what came before.
The label refresh walks that line carefully. It updates the look without pretending the history doesn't exist. The honeycomb bottle stays. The rooster stays. The "Famous Old Brand" language stays. What changes is enough to feel fresh on a shelf crowded with competition, but not so much that longtime customers feel like they're looking at something they don't recognize.
For a brand that spent decades dormant and has now been building momentum for more than a decade since its revival, the 170th anniversary feels like the right moment to make a statement. The new labels are that statement — confident, cleaned up and ready for the next chapter.
