Celebrity Life

One of the rarest bottlings of this limited-edition Scotch can be yours through Bonhams this January.

A half-century is a milestone worthy of celebration on any occasion; in a world of ephemera, it's a marker of of quality. Of things that endure. Of things created to last. In love, 50 years is the Golden Anniversary; in Scotch, the continuation of a legacy, like for Highland Park, whose new 50 Year Old single malt celebrates the Orkney distillery's 223 years of excellence.

A style with rich, sherried dried fruit and sweet toffee, Highland Park 50 Year Old single malt Scotch Whisky comes in a limited-edition run of 274 bottles, each signed by Master Whisky Maker, Gordon Motion. And for serious Scotch lovers, the first of these bottles is hitting the Bonhams auction block on 21 January 2022, with an estimated worth of HK$210,000 to HK$250,000.

"This 50 Year old whisky is one of our oldest and rarest releases and I’m very proud to have been part of its journey," says Motion. "When I sampled it, it has absorbed the rich sherried flavours of dried fruit and sweet toffee from its final first-fill cask maturation, but still retained all the delicate fragrance and flavours driven by the original refill casks.”

Highland Park's third 50 Year Old single malt

Just the third 50 Year Old bottling in Highland Park history, every step of its creation has been intricately considered and measured to present the utmost delicate and rich flavours that a great whisky can offer. Created using a traditional solera system — a way of maturing sherry — the Scotch delivers richness and maturity of flavours both old and new.

For those unfamiliar with the solera system, the process borrows a small quantity of whisky produced from a previous batch, blending it with the new expression to capture flavours within a flavour — legacies within a legacy. Highland Park’s new 50 Year Old edition marries together a careful selection from nine refill casks from 1968, re-racked into fine first-fill sherry seasoned oak casks. After 12 years of maturation, one limited cask was chosen and blended with a minute portion of the previous 50 Year Old release by the distillery.

"I introduced a small quantity of this cask to some of our 2018 batch of 50 Year Old, to create a further layer of depth and complexity," adds Motion. "As the 2018 50 Year Old contains some of our 2010 batch, this approach allows me to maintain the core DNA of our oldest Highland park whisky through each extremely limited batch release."

The whisky auction market remains robust

Despite the impact of the pandemic, the whisky auction market has remained strong and has even engendered a following among young collectors, according to Daniel Lam, Specialist for Fine Wine & Whiskies at Bonhams.

"[Whisky] has become a mainstream category in almost all international auction houses," says Lam. "For Scotch, Japanese whisky and US bourbon, the market has nourished a group of very young collectors, which is a positive sign for the future of whisky auctions."

For Lam, Highland Park's 50 Year Old single malt Scotch Whisky makes an appealing auction piece for its legacy and presentation, as well as exclusivity of only 274 bottles.

"Each whisky distillery has it own unique premium bottling, and Highland Park, situated as the most northern distillery in Scotland, its style is very distinctive," says Lam. "I personally adore the packaging, the craftsmanship and the golden hand-crafted decanter."

Making green the new black

The upcoming charity auction is in support of Green Power, a renowned green group NGO addressing the diverse environmental issues in local communities such as climate change, waste reduction and biodiversity. All net proceeds from the auction will be donated to the organisation in support of their environmental education and sustainability projects.

"Bonhams plays a part in society, we value corporate social responsibility. Therefore, we would like to support Green Power for their good causes in addressing and mitigating environmental issues especially here in Hong Kong," says Lam, noting the importance of sustainable development for the future of whisky.

"There is a saying, 'green is the new black'; we ought to address the importance of sustainability to whisky distillers for long term development of the whisky industry," adds Lam. "Partnering with Green Power could bring awareness of 'being green' to whisky distillers."

A collector's piece

Not only is the whisky a time capsule of historical flavours, it comes in as l'objet d'art of its own: the heavyweight glass bottle is embossed with a design inspired by the Norse heritage of Orkney island, dating back over 1,200 years, coming packaged in a hand-made wooden box crafted by Scottish Master Craftsman John Galvin.

One of its exclusive 274 bottles is set to go up for auction on 21 January 2022, with an estimated worth of HK$210,000 to HK$250,000.

For more information, visit highlandparkwhisky.com.

The post Headed to Auction: Highland Park’s 50 Year Old Single Malt Captures Time in a Bottle appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

There’s no doubt Alex Lam inherited his musical talent from his parents, his father being Cantopop legend George Lam Chi-Cheung, and his mother, Sally Yeh. Still, the singer-songwriter and actor hasn’t let privilege get to his head — he’s not afraid to explore other paths, from a stint in Los Angeles to discover yoga and becoming a yoga teacher, to dipping his toes in fashion.

Lam met Hiro Yoshikawa, founder and designer of Washi Jeans, a Japanese denim brand, a couple years back and was intrigued by the designer’s backstory. Now based in Hong Kong, Yoshikawa is the 18^th generation of a revered sake maker in Okayama, Japan, and the first to leave the family business to pursue his own passion in denim-making. By chance, Yoshikawa had found an old document that charted out his family’s history, written on washi paper. Inspired by this, he developed and patented the Washi No. 6 paper yarn, which he utilizes in his first solo collection launching this month.

Lam, who has always had an eye for detail, quickly became an ambassador and muse for Yoshikawa, and took it upon himself to bring the recognition Yoshikawa deserves by helping him stage his upcoming solo debut.

We sit down with Alex Lam and Hiro Yoshikawa at Washi Jean's studio to talk about style and the upcoming debut of Yoshikawa's solo collection Life on Earth.

Can you describe your style? What are your wardrobe essentials?

AL: My style has always been inspired by musicians. I grew up watching some of my favourite bands like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and today, I'm inspired by singers like Drake. For me, my summer essentials include a sleeveless vest, a good multi-functional blazer and a pair of high-quality designer jeans.

Have you always been passionate about fashion and did you want to work in fashion?

AL: I have always cared about how I look and my outfits since I was a kid. I remember there was one time when the collar of my t-shirt wasn't right and I wouldn’t wear it out until my parents fixed it for me. Having friends who are in the fashion industry allows me to execute and experiment my ideas during workshops, like the ‘marshmallow’ colourway of the t-shirt I’m wearing right now. 

How did the both of you meet?

AL: I met Hiro-san thought some of our mutual friends.

HY: have been making jeans for other brands for the past 30 years and it has always been my dream to have my own denim brand. I have always hung out with people from the fashion industry, and meeting Alex from the music and acting world has made my life more fun and exciting.

Can you tell us a bit about your project with Hiro-san?

AL: I was hanging out with a group of producers and we often talk about fashion shows, designer brands’ videos, installation art and music. Once we found out Hiro-san wanted to launch his own denim brand this year, we decided to catch this opportunity and put our ideas together. We are organising a VIP launch event with a fashion show on June 11, 2021.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome with this project?

AL: I think the rules of the game changed after Covid started last year. We looked at online fashion shows last year, without the tradition styles, and we knew our team needed to do it in a cleverer way. The restriction for event gathering is 30 persons at the moment, so we were not able to invite too many friends and make the event as big as before. Plus the campaign and fashion show video shoot all in one day, that’s the biggest challenge in this project.

HY:  We have been staying in our studio almost every day is the past few months, meeting different parties like our PR team, models, videographers and producers.

What else are you up to this year that you can share with us?

AL: I have released a new song and I just finished a music video for another song. I have also been working on my YouTube channel and created a few series, but it’s been slightly slowed down because I was focusing in this project.

Has the pandemic affected the way you work or changed your priorities?

AL: Before Covid, I was busy working with clients, who often prepared everything. With changes and restrictions during this period, I am able to organise and create more content by myself.

What are you currently inspired by?

AL: There are many indie musicians and young kids out there who are doing their music in their unique styles. I admire them a lot as they can release songs as long as they think it sounds good. I used think good music requires the best studio and recording equipment, but turned out a lot of indie musicians are producing high quality songs just by working at home.

You have a YouTube channel, you're into fashion, music as well as classic cars. How did you get into each of those passions and how do you balance it all?

AL: Project by project. I’m now focusing more on quantity over quality and I'll keep learning from the progress and mistakes.

Do you have a motto you live by?

Stay healthy. As I was a yoga teacher, I still practice yoga for two to three hours each day. It’s a good way to reflect on myself and find peace.

The post Highland Park Introduces its Third-Ever 50 Year Old Whisky appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.