Artists Capture the Spirit of the Horse

Lunar New Year is a big opportunity for limited-edition merchandise and collaborative marketing campaigns. Global marketers, in particular, often launch initiatives aimed at consumers in China and the rest of Asia, as well as worldwide, with many property types and product categories involved. One active segment this year — as in most years — consists of the big global spirits marketers pairing with artists of Chinese or Asian descent to create limited-edition packaging designed for their collectors, gift-givers, and luxury consumers who are fans of the artists. 

Here are some of the iniatives celebrating the Year of the Horse, which begins this coming Tuesday, February 17: 

• Cognac purveyor Rémy Martin worked with China-born artist Xue Song to create a limited-edition gift set centered on its X.O. (Extra Old) cognac. The design, which covers the box and carries over into the bottle, celebrates the Year of the Horse by integrating a reimagining of the brand’s centaur (half horse, half human) logo. The centaur is pictured as the leader of a herd of five horses in a stylized, red-dominated landscape created with collage and Chinese ink; the artist is known for his collages combining traditional Chinese artwork techniques with Western pop culture references. The product launched on December 2 in anticipation of Lunar New Year 2026 and retails for $209.99. 

• Another cognac brand, Hennessy, partnered with Chinese contemporary artist Xu Zhen for a limited-edition collection of two Hennessy blends, Hennessy V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) and Hennessy X.O. (Extra Old). The V.S.O.P. bottle is tinted red, with gold and red details, and comes in a red and ivory box, while the X.O. has a clear bottle with modern gold and red highlights, in an ivory and gold box. Both boxes include a large image of a horse designed by Xu Zhen. The products combine traditional Chinese symbolism with modern minimalism, the company said. 

• Lark Distillery’s 2026 Lunar New Year limited Fire Horse Edition whiskey features artwork on the bottle and carton from Sydney-based Asian-Australian artist Chris Yee. Yee’s image, which covers the box and appears in full on the bottle as well, combines elements of Asian and Australian culture. It depicts a fire horse formed from water and fire, among chrysanthemums, peonies, and peach blossoms, in front of a backdrop of Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain, all in hues of deep blue, teal, and various shades of red and pink. 

• Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch whisky paired with Hong Kong-born, London-based haute couture designer Robert Wun for its 2026 limited edition. The blue bottle and box, the latter with purple and red accents, prominently features the image of a galloping blue horse that symbolizes strength, optimism, and freedom, according to the company. 

• One of French cognac maker Maison Martell’s two Lunar New Year editions for 2026 featured the art of Hunan, China-born, U.S.-based contemporary artist He Datian. The Year of the Horse is significant for the company. Founder Jean Martell explored the Cognac region of France on horseback in the early 1700s; meanwhile, Ma, the first character in the company’s name when translated into Chinese characters (as it is on the bottle), means horse. The Cordon Blue Lunar New Year limited edition highlights He Datian’s calligraphic artwork showing a horse emerging from the characters spelling the brand name.  

• Gold Bar Whiskey’s 2026 Lunar New Year design also features a fire horse, along with plum blossoms, in a color palette of ivory, red, blue, and gold, created in collaboration with Jilin, China-born, San Francisco-based artist and educator Deyi (Robin) Zhao, who explores both traditional and digital arts in her work. The various elements in the design combine to capture the spirits of strength, elegance, fortune, loyalty, hope, peace, luck, success, and happiness. 

• Louis XIII, a luxury cognac brand from Rémy Cointreau, created a $4,600 limited-edition decanter set celebrating good fortune and prosperity with Chinese papercut artist Liu Lihong. The set, containing a cognac-filled decanter and two glasses, comes in a red carton with traditional papercut-designed Hippeastrum flowers and a horse created with traditional Chinese stamping techniques. The offering is available only through the Louis XIII Society, a network of private client directors. Liu Lihong has worked with the company on its Lunar New Year designs for four years. 

These alcohol collaborations represent just a small fraction of Lunar New Year initiatives each year, of course, with fashion designers, luxury brands, entertainment studios, artists, gift manufacturers, bakeries, hotels, sports organizations, and many other players involved in a variety of products and promotions aimed at consumers in Asia and around the world. 

RaugustReports will not be posting this coming Monday, February 16, 2026, which is the U.S. Presidents Day holiday. We’ll be back to our twice-weekly posts on Thursday. In the meantime, our monthly e-newsletter will come out on Tuesday, February 17. The Licensing Topic of the Month will examine how new ownership or leadership at a licensor — an increasingly frequent situation — can affect existing licensing programs. The Datapoint research spotlight will look at the current licensing scene in the toy industry. If you are not yet a subscriber to this free publication, you can sign up here.