Most bottles are closed with cork or metal. TUFF is closed with a piece of Armenian volcanic stone. That idea came from the Yerevan agency Backbone Branding, and in 2024 it earned the bottle a Red Dot Award and two Pentawards, silver and bronze.
Fire and stone
The design starts from a simple contrast. Inside the bottle is brandy the colour of molten magma, and the cubic glass is cut to show that glow. On top sits tuff, which is magma that cooled and hardened thousands of years ago. The cap follows the shape of the bottle, and its surface is cold and firm against the warm colour underneath.
Tuff was not chosen for looks alone. It is the stone of Armenian churches, of Yerevan's pink and ochre facades and of the old cities of the highlands. Read more about Armenian tuff
Why the cap was hard to make
Tuff is soft and porous, and it crumbles easily. For the cap to survive transport and years on a shelf, the stone is taken from deep layers where it is denser. A master stone carver then worked out a way to smooth the surface so that each cap could be made by hand, one after another, without losing its edges.
The team first tried to set the stone directly into the glass. In the end they chose a fixing that holds the cap firmly on the bottle and still lets you lift it off.
A cap that stays
When the brandy is finished, the cap remains. People keep it on the desk as a pen holder or simply as a piece of Armenia. For Armenians abroad it is often the most valued part of the gift, because it is the same stone their family's town was built from.
TUFF Heritage takes the idea further. Its caps are carved after the reliefs of Armenia's great monuments, and each edition is tied to a historic place, such as Ani. How TUFF is made
Awards and press
- Red Dot Award 2024, Brands & Communication Design, beverage packaging. Project page on red-dot.org
- Pentawards 2024, Silver and Bronze.
- Paris Packaging Week, October 2024: a feature on how the stone cap was developed. Read the article
- Backbone Branding, the full design case. See the case
Questions and answers
Who designed the TUFF bottle?
The Yerevan branding agency Backbone Branding. The cap is cut by hand by a master stone carver.
What awards has TUFF received?
The TUFF packaging won a Red Dot Award in 2024 and two Pentawards the same year, silver and bronze.
What is the TUFF cap made of?
Armenian volcanic tuff, the same stone used in Armenian churches and in Yerevan's buildings. It comes off the bottle and can be kept as a pen holder or keepsake.
The TUFF collection · TUFF XO or TUFF Heritage · Armenian brandy guide
Read next: Armenian brandy as a gift: how to choose · Armenian Brandy for Collectors: Provenance, Craft, and Meaning
