The acclaimed British designer Bethan Gray has been asked to collaborate with Glenlivet on their limited edition 50-year old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, dubbed as the Winchester Collection Vintage 1967. Luxury craftsmanship and elegance is what this collaboration is all about, making the bottle more of a collector’s item rather than something you would drink on a casual Sunday afternnon.
The master glassblower Brodie Nairn has hand blown each of the collection’s bottle to the right size and thickness and hand-cut them to create a wonderful shadow color effect that imitates the aging of the whiskey inside. The bottles have been then engraved and painted by hand, each of them with a unique pattern.
As you might expect, this process is difficult and meticulous, and only one eight of the bottles crafted end up being used. The collection actually honors Glenlivet’s famed distiller Alan Winchester. The case lid of each of the bottles comes with a mother of pearl from the fresh water mussels of River Spey.
The color of the cases is a cool gray, echoing the barrels in which the whiskey was stored. The maple case is hand crafted by artisans, made with solid copper overlays reflecting Glenlivet’s charred barrels and copper stills. The technique used to overlay the copper was invented specifically for the making of these cases.
They come with a Dhow pattern, a motif that speaks of Gray’s design, used on the furniture and ceramics. The Vintage 1967 collection portrays the pinnacle of over 40 years of mastery, passion and dedication of the brand’s Master Distiller Alan Winchester.
There will only be 150 bottles of the Winchester Collection Vintage 1967 available around the world, with a price tag of $25,000.
