The Glenlivet’s 55 Year Old marks brand’s oldest ever whisky
The Glenlivet’s 55 Year Old marks brand’s oldest ever whisky
Article by Katie Nichol published in Formes de Luxe on 12/03/2024.
Pernod Ricard’s Scotch whisky business Chivas Brothers has unveiled a 55 Year Old expression for The Glenlivet. The highest age ever released by the distillery, it is available as a limited bottling, and as a one-of-a-kind edition that sold at auction for £52,500 in winter 2024. Both variants are presented in sculptures dreamed up by computational architect and programmer Michael Hansmeyer and brought to life by Zone Creations.
Released as Scotch whisky purveyor The Glenlivet celebrates 200 years of business in 2024, The Glenlivet Eternal Collection, First Edition, 55 Year Old is its oldest expression to date. Available in a run of just 100 pieces, the spirit is housed in a custom, spherical and manually polished decanter (Waltersperger) decorated via sandblasting and gold infill (Verre Créations). Both the decanter and glass plinth on which it rests are produced via semi-automatic production.
The bottle’s silver cowl was formed, plated and enameled by UK-based company Fox Silver. The supplier also produced the stopper head with an inlaid and enameled sterling silver embossed coin that depicts the silhouette of George Smith, Founder of The Glenlivet. Both the stopper and cowl are plated in rose gold.
Packaging agency JDO designed the decanter and its decorative elements, including the stopper and cowl. It is enclosed in a sculpture made in collaboration with Michael Hansmeyer, a computational programmer who explores algorithms to generate new architectural forms; the piece takes its design cues from the environs of The Glenlivet distillery, in particular the river Livet. UK-based Zone Creations, which manufactures at its workshop in South London, brought the sculpture to life in a multi-step process. Working from a digital model of the outer shell generated by Hansmeyer, Zone Creations produced the piece in Jesmonite, a mineral-based resin. Its white hue, which resembles stone, contrasts with the rose-gold-plated internal sculpture. Hand-finished, the interior part is produced by 3D printing a bio-based polymer. Each of the sculptures is presented in a custom flight case.
Brazilian emerald quartzite & 24-carat-gold for a one-of-one
The Glenlivet 55 Year Old, 200th Year Anniversary Edition, 1 of 1 comes in the same decanter as The Exceptional Collection. A different shade of gold is used notably for the engraving, and the vessel is embellished with 37 pavé set peridots on a pure silver collar plated in 24-carat gold.
For this sculpture Zone Creations used Brazilian emerald quartzite, which was selected by Hansmeyer from Italian stone suppliers Bruno Lucchetti, who milled the dish design. Ensuring that the 3D printed sculpture would sit securely into the curved surface was a challenge. It features a high-polish, 24 carat-gold finish.
The Glenlivet 55 Year Old, 200th Year Anniversary Edition, One-of-One, was auctioned by Sotheby’s in November 2024, as part of its Finest & Rarest Whisky Sale, selling for £52,500.