Glenmorangie has partnered with Japanese botanical artist Azuma Makoto for its latest limited-edition release.
The new 23-year-old Highland single malt is a collaboration between Azuma and Glenmorangie's director of whisky creation, Dr Bill Lumsden, designed to “celebrate nature in all its forms” — a concept known in Japanese as 'shinra bansho'.
To create the whisky, Lumsden took spirit that had been long-aged in bourbon barrels and finished it in casks that had former held Chardonnay white wine from the Meursault appellation in Burgundy. According to the distillery, this finishing period has added notes of rain-soaked moss and earthy hints to Glenmorangie's classic floral and citrus notes.
Using the flavour profile of the whisky as his inspiration, Tokyo-based Azuma created an botanical sculpture (entitled Shinra Bansho) which features orchids, roses, and wildflowers woven through tree bark, roots, and moss. The sculpture is showcased on the expression's packaging.
Lumsden said: “Our collaboration with Azuma Makoto is a delicious celebration of nature’s wonder. Including our first whisky finished in Chardonnay casks from Burgundy, this 23-year-old single malt encapsulates nature in all its forms, through notes of lemon balsam, poached pears, and cocoa powder layered on the oaky, earthy tones of the forest floor. Azuma-san’s stunning sculpture, featured on the whisky’s packaging, evokes the fragrant scents and elemental depths of this extraordinarily rare whisky — a gift from nature itself.”
Azuma said: “I was honoured to partner with Dr Bill for this special celebration of shinra bansho. My sculpture is a response to my view of Earth’s blessings, my sense of gratitude for nature, and for the flavour of the Highlands, expressed deliciously in Dr Bill’s whisky.”
Glenmorangie Dr Bill Lumsden x Azuma Makoto 23 Years Old will be available at select retailers in the UK, China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and the USA, at the Glenmorangie boutique at London Heathrow Terminal 2, and online at glenmorangie.com.
This is not Glenmorangie's first Japan-inspired release; 2023's A Tale of Tokyo was matured in mizunara oak and featured a label design from Japanese artist Yamaguchi Akira. It is the distillery's second partnership with Azuma, following an 18-year-old limited-edition single malt released in 2021.
