Whiskey CGI photography — Hankey Bannister, all by hand
This whiskey CGI photography piece is a full 3D rendering of a Hankey Bannister whiskey bottle — liquid poured into a glass with ice cubes, built entirely by hand in the virtual space. No AI. No shortcuts. Creating a realistic whiskey bottle with liquid and glass in CGI is a demanding job. Every shader has to be set up perfectly. The light must be convincing, and the overall composition needs to evoke thirst and desire. This is our result.
Whiskey CGI photography — shaders, light, and liquid
The technical challenge is the combination of glass and liquid — two materials that refract and reflect light in complex, interdependent ways. Therefore, we built each shader from scratch. We iterated the lighting until the amber glow of the whiskey, the clarity of the ice, and the surface reflections on the glass all worked together. Furthermore, we built this rendering at a time when no AI existed to refine the image. As a result, every decision — every light bounce, every surface imperfection — we made deliberately and crafted carefully in the virtual realm. We use Blender for all high-end product rendering at this level.
Why premium spirits demand CGI production
Premium spirits are notoriously difficult to photograph consistently. Glass refracts unpredictably. Liquid behaves differently under each light source. The gap between a mediocre shot and a campaign-ready image requires enormous studio effort. CGI, however, gives complete control from the first render. Our piece on CGI vs product photography covers this argument directly. For more beverage CGI work, see our Eden Whiskey CGI visualisation. Our deep-dive on photorealistic beer condensation in 3D covers the same techniques — they apply equally to whiskey and spirits.
More whiskey and spirits CGI work
Do you have a beverage product that deserves a great visual? Let’s talk.
