Harrods And The Dalmore Create World’s Rarest Whisky Collection

16 Jul 2013 --- The world’s leading luxury retailer has teamed up with one the world’s finest malt whisky brands to create a truly unique collection of rare whiskies.

The Dalmore Paterson Collection – the only one of its kind in the world – goes on sale and will take pride of place in the newly refurbished Fine Spirits Room at Harrods from 16 July 2013 for £987,500.
One Man’s Lifelong Passion

Consisting of twelve bottles, each rare expression has been individually assessed, nosed, tasted and selected by Richard Paterson, master distiller of The Dalmore, from some of the rarest, oldest and most valuable stock in the world. But he was not alone in this enviable task as Nick Fleming, wine and spirits buyer for Harrods, used his unrivalled expertise to help choose the whiskies.

Richard has chosen to name each of these whiskies, dating from 1926 up to the 1990s, in honour of those people who have influenced and inspired him throughout his career, from his own father and grandfather to the founders of The Dalmore’s parent company, James Whyte and Charles Mackay.

The personality of Richard Paterson has also been imprinted on the Collection through the creation of a personal and unique hand written ledger, spanning more than 200 pages and taking more than 1000 hours to write, capturing Richard’s every thought and step on the way to creating the collection.
Bespoke, Hand Crafted Ledger, Decanters And Cabinet

The ledger has been created by John Watson & Company Ltd, one of Glasgow’s oldest printers and long serving suppliers to the whisky industry. Each of the pages have been hand folded and individually foiled in silver with Richard’s signature before being bound in a bespoke book made of the finest calfskin leather.

Each of the twelve expressions is presented in a hand crafted full lead crystal decanter, produced by Glencairn, one of the world’s leading crystal houses. Luxury jeweller Hamilton & Inches have crafted and hand engraved the silver that adorns each bottle.

The collection itself is housed in a bespoke wooden cabinet, created by one of Britain’s leading cabinet makers, Gavin Robertson through more than 700 hours of design and craft.
The Global Market For Luxury Whisky Thrives

The global market for luxury wine spirits continues to flourish with growth of 12% forecast in 2013. This growth is fuelled by a combination of factors, including the continued rise of the Chinese luxury consumer accounting for one in four purchases of personal luxury goods, and the rise of luxury tourism accounting for 40% of global luxury spending. (Bain & Company “Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study” 2012)

The global market for luxury whisky in particular mirrors this trend, with emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia demonstrating particularly strong demand for rare and vintage expressions. A voracious appetite for single malt is also prevalent across mature markets such as the US, where luxury whisky is one of the most dynamic sectors of the US spirits market with volume sales increasing by 16% in 2012 (CandMResearch, 2013).
Quotes

The Dalmore master distiller Richard Paterson said: “Working alongside Harrods, we have created a collection of whiskies of the very highest quality that can truly lay claim to be the only one of its kind in the world. I personally have invested a huge amount of time ensuring that each of these twelve expressions represent the very best of the incredibly rare and valuable stocks that we nurture up at the distillery in Alness. I’m delighted that we have been able to give this collection the showcase that it deserves, with centre stage in the spirit room of the world’s number one luxury retailer.”

Bruce Langlands, director of food at Harrods, said they have no concerns about finding a buyer for this unique collection. “If we had any doubts at all about selling such an incredible range of whiskies we wouldn’t have spent so much creating them in the first place with The Dalmore. It is the flagship product for our new spirits room, and has pride of place in its bespoke hand crafted cabinet. I’m more concerned that we sell it too quickly and we lose an outstanding talking point and attraction in the spirits room!”

John Beard, chief executive of Whyte & Mackay which owns The Dalmore brand, added: “This is a true partnership between The Dalmore and Harrods, with much time and energy dedicated to creating something very special. Nobody has ever launched a whisky collection such as this before. It represents the lifetimes work of one of the whisky industy’s most dedicated, respected and loved characters – Richard Paterson. Whoever buys this will own a truly unique collection of whiskies as well as a little bit of Richard himself as he has put so much in to the creation of this collection.”