Perro Desterrado Gin

Client: Perro Desterrado, Mexico
Scope: Packaging Design · Brand Illustration · Visual Identity

Context

Perro Desterrado is a Mexican craft gin made with local botanicals, including marigold, lime, juniper, and coriander.

The challenge was to create a label that immediately reads as a premium gin while expressing its Mexican origin without relying on the visual clichés often associated with the category. The client wanted a clean, vintage-inspired identity featuring the Xoloitzcuintli — Mexico’s iconic native dog.

Approach

I built the identity around the Xolo, treating it as the visual heart of the brand rather than just another illustration.

To reinforce its cultural roots, I introduced subtle pre-Hispanic references by framing the dog’s head with a stylized feather headdress. The illustration became the brand’s defining symbol, while the arched Perro Desterrado wordmark naturally frames the character and strengthens its presence.

The rest of the design remains intentionally restrained: classic gin typography, generous negative space, and a balanced layout allow the bottle to feel premium first, while its Mexican identity reveals itself through carefully chosen details instead of decoration.

Result

The final identity balances two seemingly opposite qualities: it feels unmistakably like a classic premium gin while remaining unmistakably Mexican.

The illustration became the brand’s recognizable visual signature and was later adopted by the client as the foundation of the brand identity beyond the packaging itself.