The second in The Luminary Series from Highland Distillery, The Dalmore, was unveiled in March to much acclaim from attendees spanning the worlds of whisky, art, design and luxury.

The Dalmore Luminary Series is a unique three-part partnership between The Dalmore and V&A Dundee, which celebrates the worlds of whisky mastery and architectural design. Melodie Leung, director at Zaha Hadid Architects is the esteemed talent and creative collaborator behind Luminary No.2.

Each edition of The Luminary Series offers two entirely different whiskies. Firstly, ‘The Rare’, which will be offered for auction by Sotheby’s London and comprises a 49 Year Old Highland Single Malt, one of only three bottles to be made, uniquely housed in a striking glass sculpture, designed by Leung.

The sculpture is made of one continuous piece of glass, which swirls and loops, inspired by and depicting the layers of age and the interactions of flavour found in the whisky making process and the whisky itself.

The creation of this sculpture has been incredibly high-risk and has taken hundreds of hours of work. When commissioning the glass work, only a handful of artisan markers across the world had the necessary experience and vision to manipulate the glass to deliver the desired form.

Fiaz Elson from The Glass Foundry combined modern techniques with centuries-old craft to create the sculpture, placing it in kiln in a handmade mould, taking the glass to temperature before lowering one degree at a time across a tense 12 week period.  Weighing a substantial 80kg, the sculpture’s liquid-like texture and gloss finish comes from over 500 hours of hand polishing.  

‘The Rare’ whisky itself, was created in further true collaboration between Leung and The Dalmore’s master makers Gregg Glass and Richard Paterson OBE, as together they explored flavour and form, with inspiration ranging from childhood memories, to travel, food and music.

This 49 Year Old Single Malt has been matured in American white oak ex-Bourbon casks and finished in an assemblage, encompassing a rare Port Colheita 1963, an exceptionally rare 30YO Apostoles Sherry and select Bourbon. The whisky has been further finished in a unique 1951 / Virgin Oak hybrid cask, air dried at The Dalmore and bespoke toasted by Gregg Glass himself.

Only three bottles and two sculptures have and will ever be created. One set will be offered at auction In London via Sotheby’s online, as part of a Finest and Rarest Whisky sale, open May 14-31. This auction will be presented as part of ‘The Luxury Edit’, a series of sales at Sotheby’s in London, showcasing watches, jewellery, spirits, wine and pop culture.

The Dalmore Luminary No.2 ‘The Rare’, is expected to reach six-figures at auction, with The Dalmore donating all proceeds to V&A Dundee. Both the sculpture and decanter will be on display in Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries from 24th-29th May, alongside an array of items, also featured in the luxury auctions.

The second set will be displayed at The Dalmore distillery in the Highlands, with the third bottle released as part of a compendium of the series, in years to come. A designer proof of the sculpture will be on permanent display at V&A Dundee, joining the designers’ proof from Luminary No1, released in 2022.

This auction marks the second milestone in The Dalmore and V&A Dundee’s Luminary Series, which celebrates the relentless pursuit of excellence through compelling collaborations between luminaries from the worlds of whisky making mastery and architectural design.

Alongside ‘The Rare’, the second whisky available as part of The Dalmore Luminary Series 2024, is ‘The Collectible’. Strictly limited to 20,000 bottles worldwide, ‘The Collectible’ is a 16 Year Old Single Malt and draws inspiration from both ‘The Rare’ whisky and sculpture. This release offers whisky enthusiasts the opportunity to be part of The Dalmore Luminary Series and is selling rapidly via Global Travel retail and the finest luxury retailers worldwide at an RRP of £275.