A Sculpture for 65-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Distilled in 1958, and aged in one single French oak cask until last year, The Glen Grant’s recently released 65-Year-Old single malt scotch whisky is housed in a swirling vessel of hand-blown glass, hand-engraved, rose gold-plated brass, and cherry wood. As custodian of the spirit, Greig Stables, the master distiller at The Glen Grant, knew that an ultra-age-statement whisky deserved a decanter that could convey its rarity and express its own artistic merit. Stables turned to Glasgow artist and designer John Galvin, and the Tain, Scotland-based contemporary glass studio Glasstorm, founded by Brodie Nairn and Nichola Burns.

“At this level it cannot just be about aesthetics. It has to be about storytelling,” Galvin told Surface at a launch event aligned with Art Basel Hong Kong. To uncover the story, Galvin, Nairn, and Burns joined Stables at The Glen Grant distillery in the Scottish Highlands. There, they toured a plot of land known as the “Garden of Splendours,” a meticulously maintained plot of exotic plants collected by the brand’s founder, James “The Major” Grant, on his international travels in the early 1900s.

Blossoming between mid-May and early June each year, the Himalayan blue poppies caught their attention—and nourished an idea. “We wanted to create a piece of contemporary sculptural art to represent the Major’s travels, and what he brought home to the Garden of Splendours, which is now a hidden world behind the distillery,” Galvin shared. “We went micro, looking right inside some of the plants, and macro, observing the garden as a whole.”

The poppy flower turned into a motif, and its seed inspired the form of the decanter. “The shape of the wooden form that encloses it is a Mobius strip, almost like an infinity loop,” Galvin continues. For Galvin and Glasstorm, this represents the cycle of venturing outward and returning home. Cherry wood was selected because it’s one of the species of trees found inside the garden. Further, it worked harmoniously with the palette, engaging with the rich mahogany color of the liquid. 

“It’s quite a dark whisky so we didn’t want to enclose it,” Nairn tells Surface.  Negative space in and around the decanter was important to the collaborators. “That is part of the sculpture,” Galvin adds. “When you cast light in a certain way, you have the dark shadow of the sculpture and the amber glow of the liquid in harmony. It’s almost like a stained glass window.

To transform this abundance of ideas into a functional piece took 18 months of developments and iterations. Roughly 70 hours of work goes into the brass and cherry wood components. It takes more than four days for the glass to be hand-blown and polished. “It’s like a jewel,” Nairn says, “so it has to be finished like one.”

Inside, of course, is a very rare liquid that Stables selected as the introduction to The Glen Grant’s new Splendours series. “Part of my role is to look after our casks and understand when each one peaks and when each is ready to bring to market,” he shares. “I decided that this one had peaked and I transferred it from the wood into glass last year to stop it from maturing. We kept it there because I couldn’t imagine this liquid getting any better than it is now.”

65 years imparted a decadence upon the liquid. “When you are looking at whiskies of this vintage, there’s a depth to them. There is a lot going on,” Stables explains of his path toward tasting notes. “To pull out what form the fruit notes are in after the age is the key. On the nose, it’s sweet dark fruits, and it’s dark cherries when you’re tasting it. Of a vintage from this time, there’s always going to be smoke there, as well.” Sweet and punchy, there’s a roundedness from nose to finish.

Art Basel Hong Kong was carefully selected as a launch point, and The Glen Grant’s commission of Random International—the London-based experiential artist duo many will recall rose to fame with their Rain Room installation, which traveled from the Barbican to MoMA and beyond—follows their previous art commission of Lachlan Turczan for the debut of their Glasshouse Collection. Galvin and Nairn were present with Stables to reveal The Glen Grant 65-Year-Old, which retails for $50,000.