Whisky Business: The Dalmore Luminary concludes with Apple-inspired third edition
Whisky Business: City AM’s monthly look at the world of whisky.
Dalmore launched its Luminary Series in 2022 and has just released its third and final Edition. Created in partnership with V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum, the series set out to showcase the best of design and Scotch whisky from around the world.
Launched in 2022, the Luminary No1. 2022 Edition set the tone.
Created by The Dalmore’s Master Whisky Maker Gregg Glass, in partnership with Maurizio Mucciola of renowned architectural studio Kengo Kuma Associates, the whisky started its life in American white oak casks and was finished in hand-selected Italian Amarone red wine casks and bespoke ‘Kintsugi’ casks.
These innovative casks, a first in Scotch Whisky, were created specifically for this Limited Edition from a mix of Scottish Tay Oak, Japanese Mizunara Oak, and American White Oak, a nod to the heritage of each of the Luminary designers earmarked for the series.
The Dalmore Luminary Series (No.2)
Luminary No.2 was launched in 2024. For this edition, the distillery worked with Melodie Leung, associate director at the internationally acclaimed design studio, Zaha Hadid Architects.
The whiksy was created by The Dalmore’s master distiller, Gregg Glass, who, inspired by Melodie’s childhood memories of chestnuts, created a unique whisky, unlocking new flavours hand-toasting one of the finishing casks and using a small proportion of exceptionally rare peated Dalmore to add a whisper of sweet herbal woodsmoke to the flagship release of the series, Luminary No.2 The Rare, a 49-year-old single malt.
To complement the release, Melodie Leung created a glass sculpture to encase The Rare.
Luminary Series (No.3)
The third and final release in the Luminary Series (No.3) was co-created with Scotch fan and architect Ben Dobbin, who first learnt his design craft from Norman Foster. Dobbin is head of Foster + Partners’ San Francisco office and was the visionary behind Apple Park in Cupertino.
The calvados-finished 17-year-old highland single malt whisky. which underpins the No.3 release, was first unveiled at the Biennale of Architecture in Venice last month.
There are three versions of the release: The Collectable, priced at £299, The 2025 Edition, and Luminary Series: No. 3 The Rare, housed in a striking asymmetric bronze sculpture by Dobbin. The Rare No.3 sculpture will join those from the other releases at V&A Dundee. The single malt in the release is matured in American White Oak ex-Bourbon barrels and finished.
In an intricate combination of seven cask types, including vintage and aged Calvados, designed to act as a ‘playful nod’ to Dobbin’s collaboration with Steve Jobs and Jony Ive for Apple Park and inspired by Dobbin’s love of his mother’s apple crumble and Calvados-finished gammon.
The Collectable is housed in a fold-out presentation case designed as a graphic representation of Dobbin’s architectural style with dramatic waves and smooth curves.