Overview: Contemporary artist Daniel Arsham has partnered with The Balvenie to create a sculptural vessel for “The 1931 Collection.” This collaboration centers on the distillery’s oldest release, an Eighty-Eight-Year-Old single malt Scotch whisky limited to only 17 bottles.
The Full Story
The American contemporary artist’s works evoke the intrigue of objects unearthed in a distant future—relics that have traveled backwards through time to meet you in the present. For the distillery’s oldest release, Arsham has created a sculptural form to hold the precious whisky: something that feels both ancient and contemporary, making the passage of time tangible. The sculpture features eight layers of hand-patinated bronze, echoing the oxidation of copper—the metal from which The Balvenie’s stills are made. At the center of the hollowed form, a hand-blown crystal decanter holds the whisky, as if it had been excavated from the heart of the relic.
This effect is enhanced on the sculpture’s reverse, made from 88 layers of oak—an homage to the sherry butt into which the Eighty-Eight-Year-Old spirit was poured on March 5, 1931. A copper disk, crafted from The Balvenie’s decommissioned still, adds another tangible link to the distillery’s history. The packaging of the two expressions also echoes Arsham’s sculpture. The heavily debossed exterior features a verdigris patina from a metallic copper tone, recalling the patina of the sculpture’s bronze layers. Inside, a copper-colored substrate references the materials used at the distillery.
Production & Profile
The release highlights The Balvenie’s 1983 pioneering of cask finishing, the influential practice by which whisky matured in one cask and was transferred to another. This instrumental practice adds layers of complexity and opens a whole new world of flavor for single malt Scotch whisky. The collection pays tribute to The Balvenie’s Five Rare Crafts: homegrown barley, traditional floor malting, on-site coppersmithing, on-site coopering, and malt master intuition.
Brand & Industry History
It pays tribute to a spirit that has been carefully shaped by generations of people who have protected and refined their craft—not to mention to The Balvenie’s Five Rare Crafts, the foundational tenets that form the bedrock of its legacy. These instrumental practices include the use of homegrown barley, traditional floor malting, on-site coppersmithing, on-site coopering, and faith in the intuitive role of the malt master. In 1983, The Balvenie also pioneered cask finishing, the influential practice by which whisky matured in one cask and was transferred to another, adding layers of complexity and opening a whole new world of flavor for single malt Scotch whisky.
What This Means
Throughout the process of collaborating with Arsham, it has been clear that there are so many parallels between Daniel’s work and how the distillery creates its whisky. Kelsey McKechnie, The Balvenie’s malt master, notes that exceptional whisky is never rushed. It is the product of time, craftsmanship, and countless individuals all contributing to the same vision over many decades. In September, as part of the official Frieze Seoul program, the conceptual and material inspirations for Arsham’s artwork were revealed through a performance directed by the artist himself.
Consumer Takeaway
The Eighty-Eight-Year-Old whisky is a perfect expression of The Balvenie’s ethos. The 1931 Collection also features two other limited-edition expressions that capture the distillery’s Five Rare Crafts. Both are stewarded by McKechnie and handcrafted using similar techniques to the Eighty-Eight-Year-Old. The Twelve-Year-Old is made from 100% home-malted barley (available in select markets) and the Fifteen-Year-Old is made with 100% homegrown, home-malted barley (available exclusively in global travel retail outlets). Each is matured in American oak casks and finished in ex-sherry bodega European oak butts from Jerez, Spain.
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