How The Glen Grant honours the late Queen Elizabeth II with its oldest release to date

As Malcolm poured each of us a tasting sample of the Devotion 70-year-old, I noticed its deep chestnut hue, a result of the distillate spending seven whole decades in the single French oak butt seasoned with Oloroso Sherry. With more than enough time to soak in its colours and flavour profiles, it was indeed mature and deeply complex. I took a whiff of the whisky and let the aromas of barley sugar, ripe peach and honey envelop my olfactory senses. I slowly took a sip and waited for the taste to bloom on my palate. Exquisite and rich, it bore the luscious characters of dried fruit, dry spice, and oak, and possessed a lasting finish with just a touch of smoke.

With a special and limited release like this (there are only seven bottles available worldwide), Malcolm and his team worked with award-winning craftsman John Galvin of John Galvin Design Studio and hot glass master Brodie Nairn of bespoke glass maker Glasstrom to create a decanter worthy of the Queen. Galvin, who joined us for the distillery visit, worked closely with Nairn to come up with a concept for the packaging. He recalled that when they first saw the whisky’s ruby red colour, Nairn knew he wanted to create a decanter that looked “almost like a jewel”.  

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That's how the seven hand-blown decanters came to be shaped like jewels, each representing a different decade of the late queen’s rule. Each one is adorned with a striking silver capsule engraved with its own unique floral design to commemorate the late majesty’s favourite flowers—the lily of the valley and the Scottish thistle. The bottles are packaged with intricate wooden sculptures—made by Galvin using a fallen elm tree found in the distillery’s gardens—that feature forms and shapes evoking the spirit of nature. 

Decanter One, engraved in gold with the Queen Elizabeth rose, is scheduled to be the first release. To emphasise its coveted nature, it will be sold in partnership with Sotheby’s via a global online auction between September 11 to 22 . Decanters Two to Seven will subsequently be available to private clientele and collectors across the globe, with the Orchid reserved for Singapore. The Orchid was a fitting choice as the decanter is adorned with orchids—the national flower of Singapore, which coincidentally, were also the blooms used in Queen Elizabeth II's bridal bouquet when she wedded the then-Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. The rest of the decanters, embellished with daffodils, daisies and clematis, begonias, and stephanotis, will be available across Asia Pacific (4) and the USA (2).

While the Devotion 70-year-old is the oldest expression released by The Glen Grant to date, Malcolm was quick to point out that this was just the beginning of more to come. “Glen Grant is always moving forward,” he said. And with access to thousands of whisky casks maturing in the warehouse, he teased that whisky enthusiasts can look forward to even more special releases in future.

The Glen Grant Devotion 70-year-old is sold via private clientele networks only. For readers with an interest in luxury spirits, you may contact Campari Group’s Rare Division’s sales executive, Cathy Sun at Cathy.Sun@campari.com (Singapore) or regional commercial manager, Simon Yeung at Simon.yeung@campari.com (Hong Kong).

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