Alfred Chua on the Glenfiddich Time Re:Imagined collection and his love for luxury time pieces

The managing director of The Wok People ruminates on his life’s milestones and his passion for watches and aged single malts

For rare whiskies such as those in the Glenfiddich Time Re:Imagined collection decades are poured into the creation of the fine golden liquid. Time itself is a crucial ingredient in the exclusive collection, which comprises remarkable 30‑, 40‑ and 50‑year‑old single malt whiskies of exceptional richness and character that is the height of Glenfiddich’s signature distillery style.

These prized aged whiskies are the cumulative fruits of generational wisdom and experience. Since the 1960s, precious casks of Scotch have been patiently tended to by the whisky maker’s dedicated Malt Masters as they mature. Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich’s current long‑serving Malt Master, explains that “each cask, each bottle, is absolutely unique because of the time it has spent maturing. Both nature and time play huge roles in making whisky taste like it does and the Time Re:Imagined collection pays homage to this process and the exquisite liquid it helps to create.”

The Time Re:Imagined bottles are housed in bespoke artwork casings by computational designer Manuel Jiménez García, who articulated the passage of time through avant‑garde sculptural forms. The Glenfiddich 30 Year Old Suspended Time, for example, embodies its titular concept by seemingly floating in its case, whereas the jesmonite case in which the Glenfiddich 40 Year Old Cumulative Time sits features bold grooves that expose the marbling within, evoking geological metamorphosis.

Entrepreneur, whisky lover and luxury watch collector Alfred Chua has both in his home’s private whisky bar, and his eye now lingers on the alluring Glenfiddich 50 Year Old Simultaneous Time. Ensconced in William Grant & Sons’ Distillers Library, the invite‑only space housing the award-winning distiller’s ultra‑rare and collectible whiskies, he considers the three expressions in the Time Re:Imagined collection and the different facets of time each captures. Drawing a parallel to haute horology, his other passion, he shares that what he looks for in luxury timepieces changes with the passing of time, much like how age alters the character of whiskies. “We establish goals, but perspectives change, goals change,” he muses. “Every young man aspires to a Rolex—it was the first watch I myself aspired to own and I acquired a second‑hand one after my first two pay cheques—but through the years, I learnt more about watches and realised that the watchmaking history of the company is very important. The movement is important, but at the end of the day, it’s how [the brand] appeals to me. AP (Audemars Piguet) appeals to me. You want the experiences that follow the watch, and AP is very into hospitality and events. In fact, I’ve been to the factory twice. The distinctive octagonal shape of the Royal Oak—the first timepiece I got after I really started getting into watches in 2005, when I sold my business—appeals to me. The Royal Oak Offshore is classic and sporty; it’s quite versatile.”

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Above Glenfiddich Time Re:Imagined collection

Glenfiddich Time Re:Imagined collection

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Chewing over the concept of suspended time, as encapsulated by the Glenfiddich 30 Year Old, Chua brings up his and his wife’s 10th year anniversary, and the pair of rose gold Patek Philippe men’s and ladies’ watches he bought to commemorate the special occasion. “Unlike the whisky, [they’ll] always be with us,” he quips with a chuckle.

Mulling on the Glenfiddich 40 Year Old, representative of cumulative time, Chua likens the whisky, which has rich layers of flavours courtesy of the remnant vatting process Glenfiddich pioneered, to “a journey of my work, my career”. He expounds: “I stayed in a rented house and my mum had to work three jobs to get me through school. I finished only my polytechnic [education] because continuing would’ve put a lot of pressure on her. So I got my diploma and went on to do many jobs.” He shilled boxes of Versace and Police sunglasses to optical shops, sold container space as well as carpets, and even worked as a door‑to‑door salesman. In 1998, he ventured into F&B and, despite his engineering diploma and lack of experience, built a successful business that he sold to a Danish company. In 2009, he founded The Wok People, which netted him the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014. “It ended up being a really big milestone,” he says. “It changed my life because once [I won that], bankers, investors and government agencies [came to me]. It was a really big change. Sometimes, I [still] can’t believe it, because it’s just so much for someone who was just trying to make ends meet with a small business.”

And what of the Glenfiddich 50 Year Old Simultaneous Time? The rarest expression in the series with only 220 bottles worldwide, the highly sought‑after collector’s item is a blend of whiskies from three different American oak refill casks, all matured in the same warehouse before being married and finished in an American oak refill cask for two years. Chua ponders for a moment. “I feel it’s [reflective] of starting my family and my business career, taking stock of what I’m happy with and looking forward to the next chapter,” he says. “I’m 47. My kids are young, so what’s next for me, especially now that I’ve sold my company? How can I create a legacy? I thought whisky and watches are quite symbolic, because I also want what I’ve built to last.”

Find out more about the Glenfiddich Time Re:Imagined collection at since1887.sg.