Bowmore have unveiled the latest whisky in their ongoing partnership with luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin - and it’ll set you back £71k for a bottle.
The ARC-54 is the second and final release in the pair’s Arc series and follows the ARC-52. Released in 2022, the ARC-52 was a 52 year old single malt that went on to attract a hammer price of over £220k at auction.
This latest edition was distilled in 1968, before spending 54 years in a combination of second-fill European oak sherry casks and and third-fill American oak hogsheads. In fact, the final makeup is inspired by the ‘golden ratio’, with the liquid comprising 61.8% European oak-aged spirit and 38.2% American oak-aged spirit.
Dr Calum Fraser, chief blender at Bowmore, described the ARC-54 “exquisite and complex” and claimed “this 54-year-old is a testament to the skills of our distillery team, but also the very embodiment of what can be achieved simply by slowing down, standing still and letting things unfold as they are destined to.”
He continued: “this rare creation truly demonstrates just how Bowmore ages exceptionally over time, with unmatched precision and clarity. As guardians of this spirit, we strive to harness the power of the past in every drop we create – while constantly reimagining Bowmore for the next generation that will experience our whiskies.”
Bottled at 44.3% ABV, the nose is dominated by sweet vanilla, soft butterscotch and tropical mango before notes of green apple, lime juice and salted caramel come to the fore on the palate. The finish is long and sweet a whisper of herbal peat smoke.
As is often the case with such headline grabbing new releases, the whisky itself is somewhat secondary to the overall gimmick being presented.
Bowmore’s ARC-54 is presented in an eye-catching, handblown decanter inspired by the aerodynamic designs of Aston Martin’s Valkyrie hypercar. According to the distillery, the decanter’s curves are designed to create a ‘striking sense of flow’ and reflect ‘the natural fluid forms of the terroir of Islay.’
Speaking on the ARC-54 and the wider partnership with Bowmore, Aston Martin’s executive vice president and chief creative officer Marek Reichman added: “Bowmore ARC-54 continues the cutting-edge, technology-based collaboration between two exceptional brands that are steeped in heritage and tradition. It embodies the innovative thinking we apply to Valkyrie and Valhalla, our mid-engined sports cars.
“Both of these cars push the boundaries of the ARC-54 decanter; similar principles of materiality and fluid dynamics are employed, replacing air flow for liquid movement to create a uniquely formed shape generated by the pure movement of Bowmore whisky. A truly creative collaboration.”
Bowmore enjoys a reputation for having released some of the most iconic, well-aged whiskies the world has ever seen. The Bowmore Black is the stuff of legend among both drinkers and collectors, and almost any Bowmore with an impressive vintage or lofty age-statement will attract a lot of attention at auction.
Any 50+ year old whisky is an intriguing and mouthwatering prospect, let alone one from such a well regarded distillery. The question then, is just how much does a 54 year old Bowmore need the Aston Martin-inspired decanter?
Of course, this question comes from the position of having more interest in whisky than ostentatious glassware. If I had the money I would be just as happy with the bottle coming in a standard 70cl bottle as I would with the ARC-series decanters.
That said, I don’t have a spare seventy-odd grand burning a hole in my pocket, so this hypothetical situation I’ve put together has little to no basis in reality.
The people spending this type of money on whisky clearly do expect more than just well-aged liquid in a plain bottle. Otherwise, Bowmore wouldn’t have released the first ARC whisky, never mind follow up with a second, older expression in an equally elaborate holding vessel.
There’s clearly demand for impressively aged whiskies presented in equally impressive/utterly ridiculous decanters. Bowmore aren’t the only brand cashing on this demand: Macallan have collaborated with Bentley on a unique horizontal bottle; and last year, Ardbeg released The Abyss - a 1989 vintage presented in a “space capsule meets diving chamber.”
(For more information on that Ardbeg, check out our previous article “Staring into The Abyss: Ardbeg & The 'Point' of Premium Whisky”).
So once again I find myself at the end of a discussion about an exciting, new whisky and its presentation and packaging coming to the realisation that I’m probably missing the point and that this whisky just isn’t meant for me.
And that’s fine; I can always pour myself a delicious dram from a normal bottle and life will be grand.
