The Glenlivet teams up with a computational architect to create the oldest whisky in its 200-year history.
You know how it goes: we like our days sunny, our cars fast, our women young and our single-malts old, which is just as well as The Glenlivet has launched The Glenlivet Eternal Collection, First Edition, at 55 years the highest age statement ever to be released by the distillery.
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A masterpiece that celebrates excellence in whisky craftsmanship and design, and one embodying the originality that has made the distillery a household name since its inception in 1824, The Glenlivet Eternal Collection, First Edition, 55 Year Old has been crafted in partnership with a rather unlikely collaborator: computational architect Michael Hansmeyer.
A true rarity, The Glenlivet’s oldest and most ambitious expression to date comprises just 100 beautifully crafted bottles, making it a must for collectors. Crafted from a seasoned sherry cask and carefully matured over more than five decades, this precious single malt offers whisky lovers of all persuasions a complex flavour profile that’s guaranteed to last longer than you do.
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Hansmeyer, who utilises algorithmic architecture techniques, generative art mentalities, and CAD software to generate complex structures, has tuned his creative streak to craft a strikingly beautiful sculpture that lovingly cradles the spherical decanter of the new release, and which takes its inspiration from the eternal essence and flow of the River Livet, which is located deep in the Spey Valley, the distillery’s birthplace. For the new project, Hansmeyer has brought his unique expertise in computational architecture to create a highly original art piece in hand-sculpted jesmonite with rose-gold plating.
Kevin Balmforth, The Glenlivet Cask Master who was responsible for directing the final maturation years of the 55 Year Old whisky, describes the taste experience as “a medley of autumn fruits, sun-drenched Seville oranges and sticky dates enveloped by the spiced warmth of cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose, alongside the sweet, warming flavours of homemade blackcurrant jam and vanilla fudge, balanced with zesty citrus notes on the palate.” Sounds good to us.
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This exceptional 55 Year Old single malt (which fetches a hefty price tag of GBP50,000) is the First Edition of The Glenlivet Eternal Collection – a new range of highly collectable precious whiskies released annually. All future releases, each taken from a single, extraordinary cask, will be aged for one additional year and will be accompanied by an original art form crafted by a new visionary artist.
Together, this will create a collection to admire and covet.
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