The Dalmore Luminary 2025 Edition comprises The Rare – aged for 52 years in American oak ex-bourbon casks and finished in a combination of calvados, Colheita port, tawny port, Pedro Ximénez and red wine barriques.
The second whisky, The Collectible, is aged for 17 years in American oak and finished in a combination of seven casks, including both vintage and aged calvados, Matusalem and Apostoles sherry, Bordeaux red wine casks and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Whisky makers Gregg Glass and Richard Paterson worked with Dobbin, of Foster + Partners, to curate the whiskies while Dobbin also created the presentation sculpture for The Rare, all in partnership with V&A Dundee.
"One unusual element of this release for The Dalmore is that we’ve used Vintage Calvados casks that Richard had the foresight to lay down more than two decades ago, before they were an official sanctioned cask type for finishing whisky,” said Glass.
The presentation of The Rare was unveiled at a showcase event in Venice on 7 May, and describing the sculpture, Dobbin said: “It had to represent the rolling topography of the Scottish Highlands, the engineered precision of the nearby bridges, and the flow of the water that leads down to the distillery.
“I wanted the sculpture to have great technicality and integrity as a structure, and for people to look at it from many different angles, to take a closer look at the micro compositions within it and enjoy the details.”
The Rare is offered at auction by Sotheby's, closing 16 May, with all proceeds going to V&A Dundee, Scotland’s Design Museum.
