House of Hazelwood has collaborated with wine and spirits retailer Hedonism Wines to create a whisky inspired by the meaning of ‘hedonism’. The result is The Pursuit of Pleasure, a 52-year-old blended Scotch whisky that will be a Hedonism Wines-exclusive expression.
William Grant & Sons’ House of Hazelwood brand is the outlet for the Gordon family’s private whisky collection. High-aged, rare whiskies are blended and bottled under the luxury brand, which recently made it way onto the cover of Whisky Magazine (issue 33).
To create The Pursuit of Pleasure, Hedonism Wines worked with blender Eilidh Muir and the House of Hazelwood team to sample, select, and blend liquids from House of Hazelwood’s stocks. The final blend comprised of whisky matured in American white oak and European sherry casks, with an age statement of 52 Years Old.
Tom Olive, assistant spirit buyer for Hedonism, explained: “Our aim was simple: to produce a blend of pure indulgence. The result is a whisky that can be described as ‘decadence decanted’.”
Sharing his tasting notes for The Pursuit of Pleasure, Olive continued: “This whisky is dense on the nose, with sticky jam sweetness, offset against leathery tannins and orange zest. The smoking charcoal balances the sweetness, with a barley sugar character making its way through.”
To celebrate the launch, the two brands held a tasting dinner at the Michelin-starred HIDE restaurant, a part of the Hedonism Group. Each course of the menu created by chef Ollie Dabbous was paired with a complementary House of Hazelwood whisky. The event was the first of a new partnership between House of Hazelwood and the restaurant.
Just 72 bottles of The Pursuit of Pleasure have been made available exclusive to Hedonism Wines, available for pre-order now. The release is bottled at 45% ABV and has an RRP of £4,000.
