Bowmore teams up with Aston Martin
Beam Suntory-owned Bowmore has partnered with Aston Martin to release a 52-year-old single malt in a limited edition ‘futuristic vessel’.
Made in collaboration with luxury British brand Aston Martin, Bowmore ARC-52 has matured for 52 years in a marriage of two cask styles: 50% in American Oak Hogshead and 50% in a European Oak Butt. This single malt promises ‘unquestionable complexity’, and is one of the oldest whiskies to be released by the Islay-based distillery to date. The liquid offers creamy and fruity notes of custard cream and vanilla on the nose, and flavours of green grapes, peach melba, clementine and lime zest, as well nuttier notes of almonds and hazelnuts. It also offers a lightly peated and buttery character on the palate. Ron Welsh, Bowmore’s master blender, said: “A Bowmore as exquisite and complex as this 52-year-old is testament to the skills of our distillery team and their commitment to optimising the time spent in cask to create such an incredible spirit. “With ARC-52 the complexity of this single malt is unquestionable and to achieve such perfect balance not only defines its physical form but unites beautifully in every drop of this stunning whisky. “Working with Aston Martin remains hugely rewarding and fascinating for me. It continues to inspire and show us a different way of working, with absolute precision, and has allowed us to create what, in my opinion, is the best Bowmore over 50 years old that I’ve ever tasted.” Designed by the visionaries at Aston Martin, the decanter is a futuristic take on whisky vessel design and is limited to a run of 100. Its design has drawn parallels with Aston Martin’s car production, merging natural and man-made contours in a ‘provocative’ form, causing it to effectively balance on two points in a bid to make it appear almost weightless. It is presented in a box opened by a magnetic key. “ARC–52 sits at the apex of our partnership, truly showing the depth of what we can create collaboratively,” commented Marek Reichman, chief creative officer, Aston Martin. “We set out to produce something which hasn’t been seen before, capturing our un-compromised design principles and also the magnificence of the whisky. I believe that what we have created is truly a piece of sculpture. “Taking balance as the most important factor, as we do in designing Aston Martin cars, we’ve harnessed heritage and innovation in perfect balance. For me there is just so much to discover with this whisky as it embodies so much hidden knowledge, even the colour looks like it’s been created by time.” The first 50 bottles of ARC-52 will be available to purchase from late summer 2022, with the remaining 50 released in early 2023 to ensure the highest quality and craftsmanship of each vessel. It will be available in key global markets including UK, Germany, Netherlands, USA, Canada, China, Singapore, and global travel retail at an RRP of US$75,000. Aston Martin first partnered with Bowmore in 2019. Since then, the companies have created three travel retail-exclusive whiskies, and a £50,000 (US$66,000) whisky, called Black Bowmore DB5 1964.
