When whisky meets design: Zaha Hadid Architects, The Dalmore and the story behind this bespoke piece

Named The Dalmore Luminary 2024 No 2—The Rare Edition, the sculpture and the whisky are together a one-of-a-kind creation that, at the time of writing, is expected to fetch six figures in sterling via a Sotheby’s online auction that will take place from May 14 to 31. This collaboration is the second edition of The Dalmore Luminary Series, a partnership between the distillery and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) Dundee, which brings together luminaries in architecture and whisky, and showcases the coveted spirits in bespoke designs. The auction’s proceeds will go to the V&A Dundee. A second creation, The Dalmore Luminary No 2—The Collectible, which is sold in a copper case that is inspired by the sculpture and holds a 16-year-old Dalmore Highland single-malt, is available at select retailers around the world, including at Harrods, Bao-Shu Chained Liquor in Shenzhen and 9 City in Taiwan. The first of The Dalmore Luminary Series in 2022 saw Japanese architect Kengo Kuma create an oak and metal sculpture that housed a 48-year-old single-malt whisky. Named The Dalmore Luminary No 1 Collectible, it sold via auction at Sotheby’s for £118,000.

Plenty of ink has been spilt on distilleries that famed designers have built, but the worlds of architecture and the drink itself don’t typically collide in such a manner. While the whisky’s roasted chestnut notes are inspired by Leung’s visits to Hong Kong as a child—she remembered the aromas of the beloved street food snack on the streets of Mong Kok, where one side of her family lived—when it came to the sculpture, “I had no idea what this project would be like when we first heard about it,” she told Tatler over breakfast at The Gleneagles Hotel, the luxury spa and golf resort in Scotland, after a V&A Dundee event that saw the sculpture unveiled at the end of March. “For us, it’s normal to design an object like a sculpture—we’ve done that many times. Three minutes after the [first] conversation … I realised there was so much more.”

The close bonds the architect formed while working with The Dalmore’s master whisky maker Gregg Glass and master distiller Richard Paterson are evident both in our conversation and in a panel discussion in which the three took part on the day of the sculpture’s unveiling. “When we had our first meeting … Gregg, who is absolutely brilliant and almost like a mad scientist in the way he works, started describing [what it is like to] experience flavour in a three-dimensional way. I started thinking about the three-dimensional sequence that happens inside when you taste and smell,” says Leung.

That discussion changed the way she “understood time and experience”. Creating the right balance in the design then took on special meaning. “I spent a lot of time explaining to my team: this has to be not too big or too small; so that you can feel the pull between the heavy part and the lighter part of the sculpture. There are larger layers, and you look closer and there are smaller ripples. Then there is a really sharp crease; it comes around, and then it becomes the part that cradles the decanter.”

A complex piece with literal twists and turns, the sculpture is the perfect demonstration of the whisky’s layered flavoured profile. Leung says she is excited about the results, but perhaps it is Glass who summarises it best for those who are not just fans of design but also looking to get a taste of the spirit: “The sculpture reflects what Scotch whisky is all about—the swirl around the glass, followed by distilling it and blending it the right way. [Here] we have that perfection we’re looking for.”

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