The Dalmore have sold an ultra-rare 49 year old whisky for £93,750 at auction. Sothebys held the auction towards the end of May.
The Dalmore Luminary No.2 ‘The Rare’ is the second chapter in a three-part collaboration between the V&A Dundee and the Whyte and Mackay owned distillery. All proceeds from the £75,000 hammer price will be donated to the design museum.
While the 49 year old age statement and the impressive hammer price are headline grabbing in their own right, what truly sets ‘The Rare’ apart from other premium whiskies is its stunning presentation.
A hand-crafted amber glass sculpture houses the bottle. The bespoke sculpture was crafted from one continuous piece of glass and weighs 80kg. Over 500 hours of hand polishing went into finishing the sculpture.
Melodie Leung, director of Zaha Hadid Architects, and Faiz Elson, from The Glass Foundry, co-created the sculpture.
The whisky itself lives up to its eye-catching appearance. Initial aging in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks was followed by maturation in an assemblage of casks, that included a rare Port Colheita Pipe 1963, an exceptionally rare 30 Year Old Apostoles Sherry Cask and Select Bourbon Barrels. Finally, the liquid was finished in a 1951/virgin oak hybrid cask that had been air dried at The Dalmore and hand-toasted by master whisky maker Gregg Glass.
In the spirit of the collaboration, Leung was also involved in the whisky selection process along side Glass and Richard Patterson OBE.
Only three bottles of ‘The Rare’ have been produced, and only two of the accompanying sculptures crafted. The second complete set will be held at Dalmore’s archive while the third decanter will be included in a future Luminary Series Compendium.
Speaking of the sale, global head of spirits at Sotheby’s Jonny Fowle said: “This is a thoroughly deserved result for a true collector’s piece that combines to brilliant effect a highly aged liquid, a high concept design and a worthy cause. The Dalmore is an icon of the whisky world and this second iteration in their Luminary series encapsulates all the key elements collectors are looking for in today’s premium whisky market.”
Dalmore previously worked with internationally acclaimed architect Kengo Kuma on the inaugural instalment of the Luminary Series. Kuma had designed the Olympic stadium in Tokyo and the V&A Dundee. In a similar fashion to the recent release, a limited, three bottle ‘The Rare’ outturn of Luminary No.1 was sold at auction.
Both editions of The Luminary range are complemented by ‘The Collectible’ variations. These expressions eschew the jaw-dropping display pieces and mouth-watering age statements for more modest pricing and presentation.
Nevertheless, they are still intriguing whiskies. The Luminary No.2 was released earlier this year and is a 16 year old single malt matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in a combination of Graham’s Tawny Port pipes and Apostoles Sherry Casks.
The Dalmore has never been a brand to shy away from releases that verge on the ostentatious side of impressive. Even though ‘The Rare’ editions of The Luminary series could certainly be accused of matching that description, the collaboration with leading designers and architects is undoubtedly leading to impressive results.
As Steven Pearson, chief marketing officer at Whyte and Mackay, said: “The Luminary series offers The Dalmore the unique opportunity to not only support our long-standing partner V&A Dundee, but to collaborate with leading architectural figures to combine the art of whisky making and design, resulting in the creation of both a whisky and sculpture, that is not only exceptionally rare, but interesting and rich in story.”
Two seemingly disparate worlds such as architecture and Scotch coming together to create something that exceeds the sum of their parts is always refreshing to see, even if it involves a brand known for its luxury offerings such as Dalmore.
Or possibly it’s yet another example of the premiumisation that many would argue the industry is suffering from. More headline grabbing whisky never destined to be drunk. You decide.
