Glenfiddich Time Re:Imagined Balances Delicateness And Intensity Flawlessly
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Take one glance in the direction of Glenfiddich's Time Re:Imagined bottle, designed by Here Design, and you'll instantly be inspired. The complex ribboned packaging system paired with earthy textures and tones creates a robust design. Because the whiskey is known for its complex layers, the packaging system cleverly reflects it without being too on the nose. This packaging design balances a sense of delicacy and intensity in ways spirit brands should look to for inspiration.
In Time Re:Imagined, three incredibly rare whiskies, the Glenfiddich 50, 40, and 30 Year Old single malts are uniquely presented as bespoke art, conceptually designed and created by Here Design. Each expression links back to an individual liquid story and technical truth by representing different types of time; Simultaneous, Cumulative and Suspended.
The first and rarest in the collection is the 50 Year Old, Simultaneous Time. The liquid itself brings together whiskies from three different American Oak refill casks, which are then married and finished in an American oak refill cask for two years. All coming together for a total of 18,250 days of maturation. As casks age, air pressure, temperature and humidity (factors that are unique to that time and day, and can never be replicated) all affect the liquid. This, in combination with the development of the oak character gives the whisky its unique taste.
Inspired by this unrepeatable cause and effect, the outer casing takes shape as an artistic representation of all that climatic data. By decrypting this data and transforming it into an algorithm, computational architect Manuel Jiménez García, has generated a physical design language, which has in turn, built the structure’s bespoke form. Thus, beautifully visualising every moment of every day, of every month, of every year of fifty years that has gone into creating this extraordinary whisky. Next, the 40 Year Old Single Malt, which artfully represents the layers of Cumulative Time.
And with layers comes complexity, something Glenfiddich knows all too well. Pioneering the process of remnant vatting, in which the Malt Master carries one batch over, time and again, and marries it with the casks selected for each subsequent release. Just as time is accumulated in layers, so richness, complexity and flavour build in this extraordinary expression. This is brought to life in a stunning sculptural container and stopper made from jesmonite, a material with individual characteristics that render every piece completely unique. Featuring dramatic grooves carved into this innovative stone-like material that expose the intertwining veins which flow through it, each totally random and different from any other, the result is a spectacular vessel which truly embodies the evolution of one thing becoming another. The result is time, age, and experience accumulated.
Physical. Tangible. Layer upon layer of maverick thinking, made manifest. Rounding off the collection is the 30 Year Old Single Malt, Suspended Time, which depicts one moment three decades ago, perfectly preserved. That very moment that Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich’s Malt Master, suspends the whisky’s maturation to bottle it, capturing at the precise moment in time, for all eternity. The outer packaging design evokes this through moving ribbons, each one frozen in time to form elegant cut-out windows, revealing the regal decanter inside. With the moment of maturation captured in all its splendour, the dynamic lines and complex structure create an illusion that the bottle is effortlessly suspended mid-air, and in time. Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich Malt Master, says: “In whisky production, we often talk about the role of Malt Masters and it is our responsibility to find the delicate balance between the taste of the whisky and the intensity of the oak cask.
But we don’t always acknowledge how 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 Glenfiddich’s Time Re:Imagined pays homage to this process and the exquisite liquid it helps to create.” Sunny Manan, Project Director at Here Design added: “The process to reimagine time was as maverick as the outcome. Our thinkers, designers, writers and makers pushed boundaries to redefine the luxury whisky category. Overseeing new crafts, technology & materials, and breaking away from conventional processes required relentless passion and drive, agility and resourcefulness”.
“Having worked with Glenfiddich to solidify the brand throughout their extensive portfolio, Time Re:Imagined became the pinnacle of our conceptual thinking”, continued Design Associate, Harry Bingham. “A unique opportunity for us to build on the tangible truths of these exceptional and rare whiskies, to deliver bold fantasies that challenge and inspire the drinker”. Claudia Falcone, Glenfiddich Global Brand Director, says: “William Grant, the visionary founder of Glenfiddich, had a dream to create the best dram in the valley. These three expressions are the perfect illustration of that aspiration. The Time Re:Imagined collection bottles that maverick spirit and captures a fleeting moment in time which bridges the past with the present.
The quality of these liquids has inspired the distinctive packaging, each a fitting tribute to the unpredictable nature of time itself. Here are always original and always have our luxury credentials in mind – these exquisitely crafted pieces of art are as original conceptually as they are beautiful.
