The luxury goods Lalique Group now owns a 50 percent stake in Scotland’s Glenturret distillery, paying £15.5m for it. To celebrate, the historic Crieff distillery has launched a limited edition £9,800/$13,325 French crystal decanter of single malt, “The Glenturret Provenance”.
The decanter was designed by Marc Larminaux, Lalique’s artistic and creative director.
The whisky m crafted by whisky maker Bob Dalgarno is drawn from three casks filled in 1987 and was bottled on 4 December 2020, celebrating its 33rd birthday. It is bottled at a cask strength of 43.7% ABV, is natural in color, and non-chill filtered.
Marc Larminaux comments: “Highest-quality barley is the starting point for The Glenturret. Fields of barley slowing swaying in the soft breeze and the early morning light are truly a beautiful, mesmerizing sight. The barley is represented through a glittering clear and frosted finish on the motif, hand-carved into the crystal by Lalique craftsmen.”
Provenance will be the first in The Glenturret by Lalique series, followed by Prowess and Passion – the three pillars which govern the distillery’s operations, known as ‘The Glenturret Trinity’. The collaborative project – the idea of Silvio Denz, chairman and CEO of Lalique, T is designed to represent the coming together of the two brands, both of which have long-standing heritage and passion for their craft.
John Laurie, managing director at The Glenturret, says: “2020 has been a challenging year for all, but also a very exciting year for us. We recently introduced a fresh visual brand identity as well as six new expressions, hand-crafted by our incredible team at the distillery in Crieff. Adding The Glenturret Provenance is an important milestone for us – this is a whisky to be savored slowly, which fits in perfectly with our distillation process as we still do everything here by hand.”
In creating the new expression, The Glenturret took inspiration from three historical figures: Rene Lalique, Elizabeth Philips, owner of ‘Hosh Mill’ (later to be renamed The Glenturret) and probably the first female distiller; and James Farlie, who brought The Glenturret back into production in 1957 after it had lain dormant for over 30 years.
The Glenturret, Scotland’s oldest still-functioning distillery, traces its history back to 1763 while Lalique dates to 1888. Adds Laurie: “The Glenturret Provenance is all about reflecting on time, memories of a place and people have gone before.
