glenfiddich 365

A DAY IS CHOPSTICKSA YEAR IS CHOPIN

GLENFIDDICHEVERY YEAR COUNTS

SKILFULLY CRAFTED. ENJOY RESPONSIBLY.

Gle

nfi dd

ich® S

ingle M

alt Sco

tch Whisky is a re

giste

red

trade

mark o

f William

Grant &

So

ns Ltd.


WGS0201_GF_x3_FP_AW.indd 1 22/9/08 10:30:41 am

The great white northBreaking through the Arctic

GLENFIDDICH EVERY YEAR COUNTS

The Mars space race In search of the Red Planet

Street art From the ghetto to the drawing room

Seasons of satisfaction A year-long discovery of food

Skilfully C

rafted

. enjo

y reSpon

Sibly.365 M

ag

azin

e


A DAY IS A STEPA YEAR IS A TANGO


Gle

nfi dd

ich® S

ingle M

alt Sco

tch Whisky is a re

giste

red

trade

mark o

f William

Grant &

So

ns Ltd.


WGS0201_GF_TANGO_DPS_AW.indd 1 22/9/08 10:18:43 am

Skilfully Crafted. enjoy reSponSibly. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons ltd2 3

THE GLENFIDDICH MAGAZINE ISSUE ONE SPRING 2008

Nose Flavour Finish04 Food food for all seasons

08 Adventure the northwest passage

12 Whisky culture the greatest whisky bars

16 Science the Mars space race

20 Art urban art goes uptown

24 Craftsmanship Why every year Counts

28 Design the world's tallest buildings

33 Meet the family

34 a long year

44 Vintage and rare collection

46 a taste of the future

48 robbie dhu spring

365the Glenfiddich magazine

published on behalf of William Grant & Sons by:

Alma Media International, London UKT +44 (0)20 8944 1155www.almamedia.co.uk

Editor: dominic bliss [email protected]: tony richardson [email protected]: deep.co.ukPhotography: Getty, Corbis, abi Singmin, dominic james

for Glenfiddich Global brand team:

Kate [email protected] +44 (0)20 8332 1188

© alma Media international ltd 2009all material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. reproduction in whole or in part without the written permissionof alma Media international is strictly forbidden. the greatestcare has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at the time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. the views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of alma Media international or William Grant & Sons ltd.

SkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd

FoodFoR

ALL SEASoNS

4 5

GLENFIDDICH 365 FOOD

This bizarre-looking sea snail, much prized on the west coast of the United States, has been eaten so prolifically that some species are now endangered. As a result harvesting is kept to specimens only of a certain size.

Abalone produces the most succulent and subtle of seafood flavours and is also popular in the Far East, South Africa, Polynesia and New Zealand. The meat is very delicate though, so cooking must be gentle and quick – the Japanese simmer it with sake.

In its tributaries, rivers, loughs and the cool attentions of the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland finds the resources to produce some of the world’s greatest seafood. Eels, sea trout and salmon abound in its waters, but singing louder than any of these are its famous oysters.

Plump and memorably described as evoking “the shock of freshness”, one shucks them and swallows them straight from the shell.

Ap

ril

Ab

Alo

ne

, USA

It’s a signature of all great natural products that they don’t require much preparation – no glut of added ingredients or fancy cooking techniques. The princely asparagus is no different, although aficionados might argue over whether to serve with a fried egg or just some parmesan shavings. Sometimes it’s best simply cooked in olive oil with a bit of garlic.

All over southern Spain asparagus shoots up in the wild, and every spring the good folk there go on ritual picking sprees. Followed by ritual eating sprees.

The hills of Umbria and Tuscany are alive every autumn with the sound of truffle-hunters, and occasionally their pigs. But for the best results, connoisseurs advise those searching for these mysterious fungi to wait until January when they have properly matured.

Perhaps even longer in the case of a monster truffle that was unearthed in 2007 by an Italian chap called Cristiano Savini and his dog Rocco. It weighed 1.5kgs and was eventually sold at auction for $330,000 to a Macau casino mogul.

JAN

UA

rY

TR

UFF

leS,

ITA

lY

Illus

tratio

n: a

lice

tait

Fe

br

UA

rY

oY

STeR

S, IR

elA

nd

MA

rC

HA

SPA

RA

GU

S, S

PAIn

It makes sense to eat food when It’s In

prIme season and at Its freshest. But In

dIfferent parts of the world local food

matures at very dIfferent tImes. food

wrIter Charles howgego pIcks a dIsh

and a regIon for every month of the year.

SkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd6


7


The migratory habits of the salmon are the stuff of legend. In Scotland, some youngsters swim from mountain pools, down river, across the North Atlantic to Greenland, before repeating the journey as adults in reverse. They can rack up nearly 10,000km in all.

On their journey they attempt to avoid the trawlers, the seals, the killer whales and the dolphins out to hunt them before, with any luck, ending up on the end a fly fisherman’s rod and eventually on your dinner table.

Try smoked salmon cured with Glenfiddich 15 year old whisky. With its sherry, marzipan, cinnamon and ginger flavours, the combination creates the most magnificent of Scottish twists.

The Caspian Beluga sturgeon is an incredible creature, with a lifespan up to 120 years, a body length up to 20 feet, and the ability to produce some of the creamiest, most delicious caviar in the world. For this reason we have over-fished it and now there are bans on the export of its roe.

The next best thing, however, is lumpfish caviar from Iceland, which pops with flavour in your mouth and is best “served naked”, as they say.

MA

YSA

lmo

n, S

coT

lAn

d

JUN

ecA

vIA

R, I

celA

nd

These indigenous bivalve molluscs are a stock food of the Hawaiian islands and a much-coveted natural resource. In fact scallops opihis (that’s marinated in lime juice, served with soured cream) is virtually a national dish.

The Chinese, the Irish, the Scandinavians and the French all have a love affair with these humble but magical little shellfish. Try them pan-fried with ginger and Shaoxing rice wine or maybe wrapped in prosciutto ham, served bistro-style.JU

lYSc

All

oP

S, H

Aw

AII

Perhaps the most surprising thing about foie gras is its versatility. Try using it in apple tarte tatin, or a wine-soused terrine, or poached in a consommé, or seared with steak, or in a salad, or on toast, or slavered all over a beef Wellington.

It remains one of the most sensuous of foods and the French gobble it up at the end of the year, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

No

ve

Mb

er

FoIe

GR

AS,

FR

An

ce

The crayfish is a figure of lore in Sweden, celebrated with lengthy summer feasts continuing late into the night. Like most foods, the farmed variety ensures they are available all year round, but the Swedes like to remain seasonal by waiting until August. Then they overdose on the animal, washing thousands of them down with schnapps. A

Ug

Us

tcR

AYFI

SH, S

wed

en

Rather like the opposite sex, Stilton cheese is something you avoid like the plague when you are very young but find yourself irresistibly drawn to as you mature.

The origins of this unique and very English blue cheese are in the small village of Stilton in Cambridgeshire. What was simply a staging post for London in the 1800s quickly made a name for itself in the capital’s cheese markets. One style of cheese emerged dominant and eventually the brand went global.

So why do the Brits eat it at Christmas? There’s no real reason, but does it matter when it tastes so good?D

eC

eM

be

rST

IlTo

n, U

K

Everyone knows saffron is the world’s most expensive spice, costing more by the ounce than gold. Few are aware, however, that the finest saffron in the world, Mogra Cream, comes from crocus flowers growing in the troubled region of Kashmir.

Saffron derives from the crocus’s stigma and is notoriously labour intensive to harvest – one acre produces just five pounds of the spice. In November make yourself a warming bouillabaisse in which to use the spice. Then comfort yourself in the knowledge that the effort, the wait and the expense were all worth it.

Every once in a while a certain food becomes extremely fashionable. Right now it seems the spotlight is on Tasmanian grain-fed lamb, as tender a meat as you’re ever likely to nibble on. It’s most fresh in springtime, of course – September to November Down Under.

Tasmania has become very well known for its speciality food items of late: craft cheeses, wines and organic meats have all become de rigueur in Australian cuisine.

se

pt

eM

be

rlA

mb,

TA

SmA

nIA

oC

to

be

rSA

FFR

on

, KA

SHm

IR

Drink glenfiddich 12 year old with:Spicy samosas, anchovy toasts, sardines, chorizo and potato tortilla, smoked duck, seared scallops with celeriac purée and pancetta, duck and potato curry.

Drink glenfiddich 15 year old with: fried sardine fillets and tabbouleh, pheasant consommé with cabbage, tuna tataki with foie gras and orange, pistachio ice cream with orange and date salad, fruitcake, christmas pudding, white chocolate nougat.

Drink glenfiddich 18 year old with: Scottish oysters, Chinese pork sausage, tomato and radicchio bruschetta, smoked trout with lime muffins and wasabi caviar, sautéed wild mushrooms, white truffles, various Chinese dim sum, minted aubergine salad, lamb tajine with olives and lemon, bread and butter pudding.

Drink glenfiddich 21 year old with:Masala lobster, herring fritters with barley, mussels with chilli and black bean sauce, bbq chicken wings with pineapple sauce, fried quail

legs with ginger, soy-braised chicken or duck, Cantonese pickled vegetables, coconut and scallop pancakes, coconut crème brulée, espresso ice cream.

Drink glenfiddich 30 year old with:foie gras, duck liver pate and sweet onion marmalade toasts, stir-fried squid, roast pigeon or squab, Chinese tofu, sweet and sour spare ribs, venison or hare with chocolate sauce, crème brulée with whisky jelly, hazelnut chocolate gelato, trifle, honeycomb.

TasTing noTesGlenfiddich whisky can be the perfect companion to some great-tasting food. but which vintage accompanies which dishes?


N R T H B Y

N

R

TH

WE

ST

at the start of my journey i look out at dark, grey waves in the gloomy polar light. the place names in this region read like a roll call of british imperial exploration. behind me is Wellington Channel, to my distant left lies prince of Wales island and ahead is Viscount Melville Sound.

Generations of british mariners probed this forlorn tangle of land and ice in an effort to navigate a path from the atlantic to the pacific – and unknown numbers died in the process. for most of the past 500 years, finding the northwest passage became a british obsession and these very waters exacted a heavy price. as i pull my anorak tighter around me i feel like i’m visiting a battlefield with unmarked graves.

My expedition begins at the tiny inuit settlement of resolute, a dot on the arctic map towards the eastern edge of the Canadian arctic archipelago. in fact it’s so small that it has no port, so i’m ferried by helicopter to the vessel that will take me on this epic voyage. it’s a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, the amundsen, boldly painted white and red, looking sturdy as we descend onto the stern deck.

i’m ushered straight to dinner with the captain. the crew are mainly from Quebec and the favoured language on board is french. the food is hot and plentiful – this really matters because the approaching chill of winter has sharpened my appetite.

My first impression is that everyone is on the move, bustling up and down the steep stairways, out onto the bitterly cold deck and lugging samples into the miniature laboratories. there are some 40 researchers on board and they’re constantly at work, measuring the water temperature, studying the plankton, tracking the history of the icecap. there’s real passion about this effort: the arctic is warming so fast and its ice is retreating so dramatically that there’s an urgent need to document and understand what’s happening.

for centurIes european explorers

struggled to fInd a sea route through

the arctIc to the rIches of asIa – along

the faBled northwest passage. But now

clImate change Is meltIng the Ice. the

BBc’s DaviD shukman was one of the fIrst

journalIsts to make It through.

GLENFIDDICH 365 ADVENTURE

8 9SkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd



11


lookIng out the followIng

mornIng I spot two polar

Bears, a mother and her

cuB, rIdIng on one of the Ice

floes, starIng at our shIp.

“in fact the research is so intense that even when i

fall into my bunk, exhausted, i can’t sleep because of the loud chirp of never-ending sonar: the sea-bed is being mapped. earplugs do the trick and i nod off wondering what the 19th century pioneers would have given for the kind of mapping our ship has now. but i don’t rest for long – in the middle of the night i’m woken by the crunch of ice against the hull, an unnerving rasping and clunking as chunks of it slide past our steel. We’re near the end of barrow Strait, about as far as any explorers reached by the early 1800s, and we’ve hit pack ice.

this is puzzling, at first. only a few weeks earlier, the european Space agency’s satellites had spotted that the northwest passage was entirely clear of ice, for the first time in recorded history. that’s why we had rushed up here. i’d expected a smooth ride.

but the melt quickly reached such a record extreme that a lot of old, thick ice, normally immobile near the north pole, had thawed enough to drift south on the currents and end up smack in our path. Looking out the following morning i spot two polar bears, a mother and her cub, riding on one of the ice floes, staring at our ship.

as we advance, the ship judders and shakes. the arctic ice is breaking up but its remnants are a menace. this raises

questions about the northwest passage ever becoming a regular shipping-lane, just as the early adventurers had wanted, possibly shaving a fortnight of sailing time off a journey from europe to asia. the view among the experts on board is that it will happen in a matter of years, but not as quickly as many might have thought. on the bridge i watch the radar images showing the dense ice ahead. Clearly, with conditions like this, an unprotected cargo ship would have real trouble getting through.

it’s also too tricky for us. So we pick another, easier route. the phrase “northwest passage” suggests a single waterway, but in fact there’s a maze of possible paths between the islands. We’re now sailing along the McClintock Channel, heading south, into an area seared in maritime history.

it was here, in the 1840s, that Sir john franklin led the british royal navy’s largest and most determined push to find and conquer the passage. With two well-equipped vessels and more than 100 men, he ventured into this very channel. although he was on the right track, the weather turned against the explorers and the expedition was trapped for two deadly winters. Like so many before them, these men would have succumbed to the cold, scurvy, starvation and the misery of howling winds and endless ice. no one

really knows what happened. a few remains were found years later on king William island, but of the ships there’s no trace.

now, as we pass by, in our centrally-heated ship, guided by satellite, the waters are completely clear. and this is where the journey’s more political purpose becomes clear. Canada claims that this waterway is Canadian – and under its sovereign control – while the united States and many european countries have long asserted that this potential sea route is international. the dispute hasn’t mattered until now but, with the melting ice, it’s flared up. Hence the amundsen’s proud flying of the Canadian maple-leaf flag and repeated visits by ministers to the arctic to stake their claim.

We enter the calm of Coronation Gulf and approach our destination, the village of kugluktuk. the weather is mild. We’ve crossed two time zones to the west and there’s an ice-free path to the pacific ahead of us. a century ago the man our ship is named after, the norwegian roald amundsen, became the first to make it through. just as with the race to the South pole, he beat the brits to it. but his trek took four terrible years.

Mine took only a week, yet i still feel i’ve made one of the world’s last great journeys.

a bbC cameraman filmsdavid Shukman‘s ship.



WHISKY

13

GLENFIDDICH 365 WHISKY CULTURE

Situated at the edge of trafalgar Square in the West end of London, albannach (meaning Scottish or Scotsman) brings the best of traditional Scotland and mixes it with contemporary styles to create a very modern whisky bar. the vast selection of malts, and a menu crammed with locally sourced ingredients, make it a natural destination for lovers of all things Scottish. but this is far from being a quaint refuge to get in touch with your inner soul. it is a place to see and be seen with the in-crowd of the London social scene, and rub shoulders with the rich and famous.

www.albannach.co.uk

india has long had a taste for the best Scotch whiskies. thanks to its recent economic growth, new delhi businessmen are fast acquiring a penchant for quality international imports. this slick and fashionable bar in the swanky Grand Hotel in the Vasant kunj area has the widest selection of single malts in the city, which are regularly supped by bollywood stars during their downtime. Live jazz music provides accompaniment.

www.thegrandnewdelhi.com/restaurant_whiskey-bar.htm

Al

bA

NN

AC

Hlo

nd

on

, en

GlA

nd

tH

e W

His

Ke

Y b

Ar

n

ew d

elH

I, In

dIA

Seasoned drinkers in Singapore tend to gravitate towards the Long bar at raffles Hotel. but for a slice of something truly Scottish, try the Highlander at Clarke Quay. tastefully furnished with carved wood, antlers and flickering torches, there is a moody atmosphere and some 250 varieties to choose from. for the truly homesick, there is also a menu filled with mother country specials like haggis and cranachan. on fridays and Saturdays the vibe is lifted by a two-piece live band and the bar, run by a cheery Singaporean named fadla, rocks until the early hours of the morning.

www.highlanderasia.comH

igH

lA

ND

er

SIn

GA

Po

Re

PLANET

scottIsh culture has spread

throughout the world, BrIngIng

wIth It some truly amazIng

whIsky Bars. scottIsh whIsky

wrIter IAn vAlenTIne samples

a wee dram at 10 of the most

IndIvIdual ones he can fInd.

SkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy.



15


Let’s face it – you’re not going to struggle to find a decent malt in Scotland. but for one of the widest selections of malt whisky in the world, try the Quaich bar situated in the Craigellachie Hotel on the banks of the river Spey, one of the major arteries of Scotch whisky. the walls of the bar are crammed with whisky bottles, some 700 in total, filling the room with an amber glow. bar manager daniel ketellar regularly serves malt whisky pilgrims who flock to the hotel in order to explore the vast range that the bar offers.

www.craigellachie.com/quaich-bar.asp

as the name suggests, there is no better place in Sweden to enjoy a dram of your favourite Glenfiddich. With 200 other malts to choose from, too, the evening will quickly take shape. the Warehouse also boasts the widest range of Swedish microbrewed beers, as well as local favourites such as gravadlax, meatballs, venison steaks or carpaccio of elk – all giving a hearty feel to any gastro experience. “the average drinker is about 30 to 40 years old, smart and wealthy, with a love of fine beer and whisky,” says the barman Magnus. “it’s a great party bar at the weekends.”

www.gfw68.net

this destination for the whisky nut is very different from the others on this list, but no less exciting. owned by Giorgio d’ambrosio, and found on the Via dei Martinitt in Milan, the bar looks more like a greengrocer’s than a malt whisky treasure trove. appearances can be deceptive, however. the selection of bottles in the bar is impressive, but it is not until Giorgio takes you down into his cellar that the true wonders of this aladdin’s Cave reveal themselves. the owner has spent a lifetime amassing thousands of the most coveted malts to have been distilled in Scotland in the last 100 years. any malt collector will leave with a shrunken ego and wallet.

www.barmetro.it/whisky.htm

there are any number of whisky bars in japan that could have made this list, given the fascination its citizens have for malt. However, while japanese-made malt whisky continues to grow its share of the domestic market, the Helmsdale brasserie, just off nisseki Street in tokyo, remains dedicated to its Scottish roots. the selection of malts offered by president Maafaki Murafawa includes rare diamonds which will set you back as much as 15,000 yen a glass. aside from the homemade haggis, neeps and tatties, the bar also has its own football team with the home side playing every Sunday morning in the full Scottish national strip. www.helmsdale-fc.com

tH

e Q

UA

iCH

e b

Ar

SPeY

SId

e, S

coT

lAn

d

gl

eN

FiD

DiC

H W

Ar

eH

oU

se

No

68

ST

ocK

Ho

lm, S

wed

en

bA

r M

et

ro

m

IlA

n, I

TAlY

He

lM

sD

Al

e b

rA

ss

er

ie &

bA

r

ToK

Yo, J

APA

n

br

AN

DY

lib

rA

rY

n

ew Y

oR

K c

ITY,

USA

bA

sC

Ul

e

cAPe

To

wn

, So

UT

H A

FRIc

A

Hong kong’s only dedicated whisky bar, the Canny Man lies in wait for the malt drinker in the basement of the Wharney Guang dong Hotel in Wanchai. owned by Scotsman kevin Mcbarron, who named the bar after a famous edinburgh joint, the shelves boast a creditable 200 malts, all bought directly from the distilleries. in a lounge bar format, with Chesterfield sofas, kevin describes it as the perfect place to unwind with a deep malt and a Montecristo cigar. “our clientele includes many of the educated Chinese businessmen in the City, as well as international whisky lovers,” he says. “and our malt whisky club allows members to keep their own bottles in the bar, which they can drink at their leisure.”

www.thecannyman.com

tH

e C

AN

NY

MA

N

Ho

nG

Ko

nG

, cH

InA

Hidden away in the tribeca region of new york, this gem of a bar may not sound like a bespoke whisky haunt. indeed it sells a wide variety of the finest cognacs, as the name suggests. but as a den for enjoying the best malts, then it rivals the most alluring of new york’s many watering holes. the lighting is low, the sofas are deep and easy, and the menu of drinks offered by the spirit sommelier takes an age to read. open until 4am from thursday to Saturday, the kitchen also offers fabulous dishes when the rest of the city is fast asleep. there is no better place to start or round off an evening in the big apple.

www.brandylibrary.com

if you find yourself in Cape town, it would be an error to leave without a sundowner in the bascule Whisky bar under the Cape Grace Hotel. Looking up at table Mountain, with the water of the yacht marina lapping just yards away, it’s easy to understand why. this intimate, yet trendy venue claims to have the largest whisky collection in the Southern Hemisphere, with every taste catered for. Whisky sommelier fomar dennis will take you on a nationwide trek of the various distilling regions, with a malt costing 75 rand and a nip of blend in at 18 rand. “just come to relax and enjoy the unique surroundings,” he says. “you will find it hard to leave.”

www.capegrace.com/services/bascule.asp

Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd 17

GLENFIDDICH 365 SCIENCE

the amerIcans, the chInese

and the europeans are

all talkIng aBout manned

mIssIons to mars. But Is there

really the polItIcal wIll to

send astronauts to explore

the red planet In our

lIfetIme? miChael hanlon,

scIence edItor of the uk's

daIly maIl, InvestIgates.

there are two similar planets out there in the night sky. both are reddish balls of rock and ice around 4,200 miles across, orbited by two, tiny, city-sized moons. these worlds share a single name: Mars. but one is real, and the other, its sister world, occupies that strange parallel universe straddling the line between reality and fantasy.

the real Mars is a harsh, alien world, a place of shrieking tornadoes and a thin, whistling near-vacuum of an atmosphere that would freeze-dry your lungs after sucking them out through your throat. this is a place of desolate, boulder-strewn plains, colossal canyons, ancient channels and desiccated lakes, sheets of ice and perishing cold. this Mars is covered with a poison-laden soil, and is shaped by forces we do not fully understand.

the other Mars, the half- imagined place, is perhaps the abode of life. it is a place where, we once thought, civilisations built mighty canals visible from earth. it is, or was, a world of princesses and ghosts, belligerent invaders and, perhaps, one day a new home to humanity. in the dreams of many this other Mars is the new frontier, and it is humanity’s manifest destiny to one day conquer and settle this place, just as it was once america’s supposed manifest destiny to expand across the arid western deserts which Mars superficially so resembles.

the relationship between the Mars of science and the Mars of the imagination is unique in astronomy and perhaps in the whole of science. When the bostonian astronomer percival Lowell saw – or thought he saw – canals on the Martian surface as he peered through his gigantic telescope in the 1890s, he started an obsession with the red planet that has never gone away.

as soon as the Space age dawned, Mars was immediately in our sights. beginning just three years after Sputnik, a small armada of 38 robots have been launched to photograph, land on, prod, poke and trundle around its surface. a high failure rate – the so-called ‘Mars Ghoul’ – has claimed half these machines, but their successes have revolutionised our knowledge of this alien, yet strangely familiar planet.

oNE moRE

SmALL STEP SkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd



19


To boldly go…Getting to Mars – and back – will be hard enough. Going further afield will present even more challenges. Nevertheless, scientists have earmarked a number of planets and moons in our solar system that will one day be a target for human explorers.

venus:

Closer to earth than Mars, Venus is about the same size as our world. unfortunately, humans may never set foot here as surface temperatures exceed 450ºC and the atmospheric pressure on the surface is a crushing 90 times that of earth.Probability of a visit this century: zero

europa:

a moon of jupiter, europa is a shining white ball of ice. Scientists believe there is a liquid water ocean beneath an ice crust. and where there’s water there may be life. the ultimate goal would be a manned mission equipped with a large ice drill and a submarine. Probability of a visit this century: very low, but a likely target in the mid-2100s.

titan:

Saturn’s largest moon is cold (-180ºC), but it has a decently thick atmosphere and a fascinating surface composed of mountains, sand dunes and lakes filled with liquid methane. resembling a deep- frozen, primordial earth, it is known to be rich in organic chemicals. it has even been suggested that some sort of low-temperature life could exist there. Probability of a visit this century: medium. More likely in the 22nd century.

the asteroids:

Hundreds of chunks of space debris, ranging in size from large boulders to objects several hundred miles across, swarm across the solar system, concentrated in a belt between the orbits of Mars and jupiter. asteroids interest scientists (they are composed of primordial material from which the solar system formed), disaster planners (occasionally asteroids hit our planet, causing catastrophic damage) and speculators (many are thought to be rich in precious metals). although distances to asteroids are long, by dint of their modest gravity it’s actually easier, in engineering terms, than getting on and off the Moon. Probability of a visit this century: medium.

as i write, no fewer than three robots are alive and well down on the Martian surface. two american rovers, wheeled explorers called Spirit and opportunity, have been lumbering around the Martian surface, sending back reams of data and spectacular images for more than four years. in May 2008, the phoenix spacecraft put down on the north polar plain and immediately confirmed the presence of water ice just a few inches below the surface. Meanwhile, orbiting the planet are three further probes, all mapping Mars in minute detail.

that is now. What of the future? Mars holds a unique place in the human imagination: we talk of ‘Martians’, rarely of ‘jovians’ or ‘neptunians’. Mars is the only world, save our Moon, whose surface features are clearly visible in a telescope. it is the only place many scientists can imagine large numbers of humans one day living. for a century or more people have been asking: ‘is there life on Mars?’ even if there isn’t, will there be one day, when humans finally set foot there?

the fantasy-Mars, the world of canals and huge tripods, has had more of an influence on the real-world space programme than most scientists would care to admit. (as late as the early 1970s official naSa planning maps still showed the faint outline of Martian canals which science knew had evaporated into the sands of imagination decades earlier.)

thanks to this interest, Mars may reveal itself fully in the coming three decades. the end of the apollo programme in 1972 marked the beginning of an extraordinary hiatus in space exploration. that is now set to change. and the momentum is stepping up a gear. in 2004 president bush announced an ambitious, open-ended new era of spaceflight, culminating in a return to the Moon towards the end of the next decade, and (optimistically) a possible manned landing on Mars in the 2020s or 2030s.

a new crewed spacecraft, orion, is being built not only to replace the ageing Shuttles, but also to provide an all-purpose vessel to take astronauts to lunar bases and to Mars. as ever, the funding is marginal, the deadlines impossible, and the politics capricious, but the new space initiative is probably too far gone now to cancel. in the meantime the robotic assault on Mars will continue.

next year will see the launch of nasa’s Mars Science Laboratory, a huge nuclear-powered, wheeled robot weighing nearly a ton and packed with an arsenal of scientific instruments including a video camera and spectrometers to sniff out any microbes. MSL is already over budget and is proving to be an engineering nightmare. nevertheless, it will fly and, if it dodges the Mars Ghoul, will probably tell us more about the red planet than all previous landers combined.

but robots are not the same as people. despite their brilliance, the fact is that a competent human geologist with a hammer could probably accomplish more in a week than all of the automata combined. if there is life on Mars, it is not making its presence felt in an obvious way. Maybe it will take human intuition to find it.

Landing on Mars, which is 300 times further away than the Moon, will be a difficult, expensive and dangerous undertaking. Getting there will take six months, during which time the astronauts’ muscles and bones will deteriorate in the zero gravity. then nine months on the surface and a gruelling six-month journey back. the man who got america to the Moon, Wernher von braun, believed he could have done it by 1985; but Washington pulled the plug on his ambitions. the space race was won, america had beaten the russians. Mars, then, was one giant leap too far.

gettIng to mars wIll take sIx

months, durIng whIch tIme

the astronauts’ muscles

and Bones wIll deterIorate

In the zero gravIty. then

nIne months on the surface

and a gruellIng sIx-month

journey Back.

now a new space race may be in the offing. the european Space agency, which has quietly developed a real expertise in robotic exploration, has its own Mars plans. and there is China, which launched its first man into space, yang Liwei, in 2003. Currently the Chinese are reliant on modified versions of antique Soviet rockets but, as with everything else, they are catching up fast and want to send their first probes to Mars in the 2010s; people a few decades later.

i have become a sceptic about human space exploration – not because i believe it is not worthwhile, but because i doubt the political will to find the cash. However, i accept that if it is possible to do so we will (eventually) go. Whether the first person on Mars will be american, Chinese or from somewhere else, we do not yet know. nor do we know when this will happen – my guess is sometime after 2050. Most of all, we do not know what they will find when they get there. Science has given us one picture of Mars – a harsh world that is like earth in many ways and yet, in others, totally alien. Maybe it is only when people get there that we will learn the true nature of the red planet. they won’t find canals, sadly, but my guess is that this world has some surprises up its sleeve.

Satellite photo showingMars‘s Hellas basin.

the view from the phoenix Mars Lander as it touched down in May 2008.



GLENFIDDICH 365 12 YEAR OLD

21

GLENFIDDICH 365 ART

thanks to some very hIgh-profIle patronage, street art Is

now BIg BusIness. But how dId spray can messages on cIty

walls develop Into somethIng that’s now found In upmarket

gallerIes? FranCesCa gavin, author of street renegades:

new underground art, explaIns thIs cultural phenomenon.

perception is a changeable thing. for many years street art was seen as vandalism: errant scribblings, stickers and posters that intentionally created annoyance and offence. it was simply rude. then at some point over the past few years it all changed. the world suddenly fell in love with street art. and it was thanks to two key factors – money and humour – that this happened.

Street art was always one of the more aesthetic and less threatening forms of urban expression. it grew out of the graffiti and spray can art scene which has been bubbling along since the invention of hip hop music in the 1970s.

although graffiti is an ancient art form (there are examples of it in the roman and Greek empires), it still creates a really polarised reaction, even today. part of that is to do with the illegibility of the visual language it uses. the scrawled tags (the quickly written street names of the artists) and more developed murals of graffiti use a calligraphic style that has become increasingly obtuse. if you aren’t used to looking at the letter forms it’s easy to interpret the work as threatening. it makes people uncomfortable and angry.

Street art, in contrast, creates a completely different reaction. Like a cute, younger brother hanging around with his violent sibling, street art began to pop up in the mid-1990s alongside graffiti. Stickers, stencils and posters were plastered around major international cities – the visual background to club culture and areas near the crux of creativity and change. it was in this environment that artists such as new york’s faile, paris’s invader and numerous britons including dface, pure evil, eine and banksy began to emerge.

Much of the work created by this early generation of artists was closer to illustration and graphic design – drawing on the desktop publishing revolution that dominated the decade and

put creativity in the hands of the computer. the images were immediate and cartoonish; the mediums were cheap; the whole scene was playful and emphasised personal creative expression. CCtV wasn’t as widespread as it is today, so there was more opportunity to create works. the artists seemed to be crying out “it’s my city and i’ll paint if i want to”.

Street art in the late 1990s and at the turn of the millennium was motivated by irreverence rather than financial success. the artists creating the work often did it outside ‘proper’ jobs. none of the work was meant to last – it was the art of the one-liner, the quick, visual joke. Hollywood villains holding bananas instead of guns, for example. bunnies with vampire fangs. Children eating their teddy bears. it was funny, and in britain, at least, humour is often a guarantee for success. art and satire specifically played into britain’s punk music history. it didn’t feel like vandalism because the imagery was comic and accessible. it was just a bit naughty.

around this time, street art began to become more organised. artists started making screen prints and small diy publications to fund their art habits. the internet became an increasingly important tool for people to see their work, and because the images reproduced well in small, pixel form, everyone got a sense of what they looked like.

artists began to create loyal followings eager to see new images. they put on exhibitions in small spaces or street corners. it was at this point that banksy began to rise as one of the more important artists on the scene. He sold thousands of his small, self-published books banging your Head against a brick Wall and existencilism. He started up a website called pictures on Walls which sold his prints as well as those of his contemporaries, and he put on the annual Santa’s Ghetto print sale in London around Christmas.

a banksy wall painting in Londonshows the artist's sense of humour.


GLENFIDDICH 365 ART

23

GLENFIDDICH 365 ART

these ventures were successful, but small and niche. after a few years, however, the website had gained so many fans it had created its own non-art world audience. people who had never stepped into a gallery or who could never afford to buy art started collecting prints. items would sell out in minutes. banksy’s exhibitions began to feel more like those of damien Hirst.

then in Los angeles in 2006, things went stratospheric. at a banksy exhibition brad pitt, angelina jolie and other Hollywood a-listers snapped up his work and the entire street art scene changed overnight. banksy’s monograph publication with random House was at the top of the bestseller list, and his anonymity became major headline news. the british newspaper the Sun even voted him one of the greatest living britons.

once money got involved, street art no longer seemed playful. auction houses like bonhams and de pury put on street art sales. thanks to huge amounts of cash it suddenly all got very serious indeed.

So where does that leave street art now? Gallery pieces by artists who are affiliated to the street art or urban art scene are very successful.

London gallery spaces such as Lazarides or Stolen Space attract major buyers, as much as young creatives. there is a large and very enthusiastic market for the work. people are also slowly opening up their preconceptions of the urban artists who don't fall into easy stereotypes. rather than youngsters in hooded tops, hellbent on vandalism, many of the affiliated artists were well into their 30s. Many went to art school – people like andrew Mcattee, dan baldwin and the delightfully cerebal Cutup collective. With their emphasis on paintings, prints and sculptures, their work isn’t a million miles away from traditional art. the actual street pieces seem to be becoming less frequent. CCtV is more ubiquitous and city councils are becoming stricter about removing work fast.

the relationship between these artists and the street, however, is vital. the urban context and that sense of playing with illegality makes the work feel anti-establishment. Which is essentially what people are buying – a taste of rebellion. While the artists were emerging they were constantly looking for new ways of dissemination, getting their work seen by as many people as possible in as many unusual ways as possible. if the emphasis just becomes galleries, in the near future street artists will easily become the establishment. and there’s nothing exciting about that.

In los angeles In 2006, thIngs went

stratospherIc. at a Banksy exhIBItIon Brad

pItt, angelIna jolIe and other hollywood

a-lIsters snapped up hIs work and the

entIre street art scene changed overnIght.

“ sTReeT aRTThe top 10 most interesting street artists.

truth

polish sculptural street artist who attaches coloured modernist montages to Stalinist buildings like a 3d Mondrian. www.truthtag.com

CutUp

anonymous british art collective with a strong fine art background who reappropriate advertising to make billboard mosaic collages and pixilated bus stop light pieces.www.cutupcollective.com

Mark Jenkins

Washington dC-based artist who makes sculptures out of Sellotape and places them around the city – from headless bodies to hollow plastic babies. www.xmarkjenkinsx.com

slinkachu

british artist who makes scenes around the city out of miniature toys, barely visible to passers-by.www.little-people.blogspot.com

Adam Neate

one of the most fervently followed artists under the street art umbrella. Works on cardboard and leaves paintings for bin men around the city.www.adamneate.co.uk

oN_lY

a female South american street artist who, alongside graphic work, places giant plasters around cracks and broken objects in the city.www.flickr.com/photos/on_ly

Dface

british street artist, and founder of gallery Stolen Space, with a knack for wry and punchy paintings and street pieces. www.dface.co.uk

vhils

this artist makes awesome street portraiture out of chipped plaster, torn posters and nibbled lumps of cheese. www.alexandrefarto.com

invader

parisian artist inspired to cover the world with his tile mosaics of 1980s computer characters from the game Space invaders. Spotted everywhere from berlin to katmandu.www.space-invaders.com

blu

impressive italian artist who creates building-sized graphic illustrative pieces. www.blublu.org

Whisky aRT

Glenfiddich has a strong association with the art world thanks to its artists in residence programme. from 2002, each year seven artists have been chosen from around the world and given studio space and a budget of £10,000 to work with. for three months they live at the distillery and produce art inspired by its people, craftsmanship and surroundings.

to meet the artists and see their work visit www.glenfiddich.com

Sweeping it under the Carpet by banksy depicts a maid who cleaned the artist's motel room in Los angeles.

a piece by portuguese artist Vhils.

Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd24

GLENFIDDICH 365 CRAFTSMANSHIP

25

head cooper: Don ramsay (pictured right)

don ramsay, the head cooper at Glenfiddich, has built around a quarter of a million casks during his long career at Glenfiddich. With an average of 250 bottles per cask, this means don is responsible for the final character of an incredible 60 million bottles of whisky.

“Wood is really important,” he says. “in my opinion, the oak casks contribute about 70 per cent to a whisky’s final flavour.”

you can see what he means. Whether destined to be a 12 year old or a 50 year old, the new-make Glenfiddich whisky is produced the same way, distilled in the same copper stills, mixed with the same robbie dhu spring water. therefore, the utterly distinct flavour profiles that each whisky possesses must come almost exclusively from the casks they’re aged in.

the art of the cooper is much talked about, but it is still incredible, in this age of modern materials and high-tech machines, that the work on a cask remains stubbornly ancient. you will never find any glue, wax or nails in a cask, just oak staves and natural reeds, held tightly together with metal hoops.

the wood comes from both europe and the uSa. the american oak is felled from the forests of the ozark Mountains, while the european oak comes from Spain or portugal. “We use oak primarily because it has an open grain, and gives off more vanilla and lactone flavours,” don explains.

Surprisingly, Glenfiddich is one of the only distilleries left with an on-site cooperage. “i don’t know why there are so few left,” don says, genuinely bemused, “especially when you consider the vital role of wood in the whisky-making process”.

Coppersmith: Dennis mcBain (overleaf left)

it was half a century ago that coppersmith dennis Mcbain first started plying his trade at dufftown. at the age of 16, in 1958, he joined Glenfiddich as an apprentice, tending and replacing the copper stills in which the whisky was distilled.

the young dennis had soon proved his worth and was building the copper stills from scratch. on average this took five to six weeks per still.

the forged copper arrives in huge sheets, many metres wide, which first have to be carefully moulded with wooden mallets so as not to pierce them. Copper is very soft and malleable and is used for stills because it conducts heat well, doesn’t rust and, most importantly, it subtly contributes to the final character of the whisky.

“the hammering is the easy part,” dennis explains. “but i need to be careful that the hammer doesn’t compress and thin the copper, making it more susceptible to the heat of our direct-fired stills.”

this is why dennis chose to do things the old-fashioned way, bending the stills by hand and moulding them to his exact specification – 16mm for the bottom of the wash still, and just 4mm for the shoulders.

once they were installed, dennis then boiled juniper bushes in all his new stills, a local tradition going back decades and one that has since been forgotten by most other distilleries. Cut locally, the juniper is said to neutralise the natural sulphur in the barley and cleanse the copper before the precious liquid is distilled in it.

after 50 years of working for Glenfiddich, dennis finally retired in September 2008. but he still visits the distillery regularly to check on the contents of his stills.

the glenfIddIch dIstIllery

at dufftown, In northwest

scotland, has some of the

most loyal and hIghly skIlled

employees In the entIre whIsky

trade. meet these characters

so key to creatIng glenfIddIch.


EvERYYEAR couNTS

WH YISK



head warehouseman: eric stephen (above)

When eric Stephen first started at Glenfiddich at the age of 18, he was known as an ‘orraman’, the Scots word for odd-jobman. He used to deliver coal for the still furnaces by hand, shovel the used barley from the mash tuns and cut peat for the distillery’s peat fires.

after six months, in 1963, when he’d proved himself, he was sent to work in the warehouses. Here it was his responsibility to store all the wooden casks filled with distilled whisky, writing their details down in leather-bound ledgers.

“of course, in those days, there were no computers,” he remembers. “We stencilled each cask and pushed them into place by hand, jotting down their locations in books. We had no forklifts to do the lifting for us either, so if a cask had to be raised, i had to ask for help”. it took five men to lift a full barrel, and with barrels constantly being filled at the filling store, there was a lot of lifting to do.

What made the back-breaking work even harder was the poor lighting in the warehouses. back in the 1960s there were no lights installed, so they were gloomy places, the shadows giving way to midnight-blackness the further you ventured between the tight rows of stacked casks. Wearing protective leather aprons, which came down to their ankles, and tough gloves for the gruelling work, eric and his colleagues had to do everything by torchlight.

nowadays, thanks to mechanisation, eric fortunately no longer has to lift the casks by hand. nevertheless, his enthusiasm for what’s inside them, especially the casks that spent well over four decades under his care, remains undimmed.

malt master: David stewart (opposite page)

back in 1962, 17-year-old david Stewart was a mere clerk in the Glasgow offices of William Grant & Sons. but his boss, Hamish robertson, must have seen something special in this young lad, for two years later he offered him an apprenticeship as a Glenfiddich Malt Master – something that would prove to be one of the most astute company moves of the last 50 years.

david soon started nosing whisky every day, sometimes straight from the cask. before long he was choosing his own parcels of whisky. no one guessed that eventually he would become one of the finest Malt Masters of his generation, an exceptional nose, and would earn the industry’s top accolades and help William Grant & Sons become distiller of the year for an unprecedented three times in a row.

david admits that much has changed since he first started. “back then we were only really producing a Glenfiddich 8 year old, as the market for single malts hadn’t yet been fully realised,” he remembers. “these days we produce many more age variations, including the outstandingly rare Glenfiddich 50 year old. our drinkers are much more knowledgeable now, so our top priority is keeping our products consistent and always looking for ways to improve the quality.”

true consistency is achieved by something called ‘marrying’ – a process that david has championed during his time at Glenfiddich. it involves putting casks from the same years into giant oak marrying tuns to ensure that any flavour fluctuations they might exhibit from their long maturation are smoothed out.

in all, david has spent nearly 50 years at Glenfiddich, the longest of any Malt Master in the industry. His skills have been recognised by the british academy of Gastronomes, the international Wine and Spirit Competition and the whisky magazine Malt advocate.

during the last decade he has been training up his apprentice, brian kinsman, to be the next Glenfiddich Malt Master. brian has learnt and benefited from david’s knowledge and years of experience in much the same way as david did from Hamish; and Hamish did from Gordon ross; and Gordon did from john Grant; and john did from his father, William Grant, the founder of the company.


27Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd

“our top prIorIty Is keepIng

our products consIstent and

always lookIng for ways to

Improve the qualIty

SkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd 2928

GLENFIDDICH 365 DESIGN

What is it about giant skyscrapers that so captures the human imagination? is it their visual prominence? is it their capacity to become symbols of the cities they sprout up in? perhaps it’s the way they seem to bridge the gap between earth and the heavens. or is it, as Sigmund freud would no doubt have contended, simply all about size?

Whatever the reason, since the invention of passenger lifts and steel framing in the 1800s, we have been obsessed with reaching higher and higher into the sky.

freud would have had a field day with the latest super-tall skyscraper to tickle the clouds: in late 2009 work will be completed on the tallest structure ever built – the burj dubai, in the united arab emirates.

the final height of the building is a closely guarded secret, just in case any competitors attempt a last-minute challenge. but already it has surpassed 688 metres, making it taller than taipei 101 in taiwan (the world’s previous tallest building at 509 metres), and higher even than the kVLy-tV mast in the uSa (at 628 metres, the world’s previous tallest structure of any type). rumours are that, upon completion, the height of the burj dubai will eventually surpass half a mile. “there will be a final, definitive height at some point, but the truth is that no one really knows what the final height will be until the tower cranes come down,” says adrian Smith, the architect behind the building.

Smith believes his lofty creation will remain the world’s tallest building for at least the next five years. “no announced projects have actually broken ground yet,” he confirms. “it will take at least five years of construction for another tower to exceed the height of the burj.”

FoR THe lAST cenTURY

mAnKInd HAS been enGAGed

In A RAce FoR THe SKIeS – wITH

SKYScRAPeRS SoARInG HIGHeR

And HIGHeR. DominiC Bliss

qUeSTIonS wHY we ARe So

obSeSSed wITH HIGH-RISe

bUIldInGS, And FIndS oUT

wHeTHeR THeRe IS A lImIT To

How TAll THeY cAn be.

the burj dubai, in the united arab emirates, will eventually beover 800 metres high – the tallest structure in the world.



Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd

Petron

as

Tow

ers

Kuala

Lum

par

452m

Taip

ei 1

01 T

aip

ei 5

09m

Empire

Sta

te B

uild

ing N

ew Y

ork

381m

Sears

Tow

er C

hica

go

442m

Cana

ry W

harf L

ondon

235

m

Burj

Dub

ai (

under

con

stru

ctio

n) D

ubai c

.818

m

Mile

Hig

h To

wer

(pro

pos

ed) Je

ddah

c.1,

609m

30


31


from then on the surface of the planet positively bristled as skyscraper after skyscraper appeared on metropolis skylines across the world. Cities grew bigger and land became more expensive, while the technology of steel framing, fireproofing, concrete, passenger lifts and glass improved exponentially.

but it wasn’t until 1972, with the construction of the 417-metre World trade Center in new york, and its Chicago rival, the 442-metre Sears tower, that the sky race was kick-started again. for the next batch of world records we had to wait another generation when the race moved to asia – Malaysia’s 452-metre petronas towers in 1998 and taiwan’s 509-metre taipei 101 in 2004. after which the oil-rich states of the Middle east decided to get involved.

nowadays, as we approach the half-mile mark with the burj dubai (the equivalent of stacking the empire State on top of the Chrysler), skyscraper technology is becoming more complicated still. burj dubai architect adrian Smith explains how the shape of his tower has been specially sculpted to “shed the negative forces of the wind moving around the building, which we call ‘confusing the wind’.” Concrete was mixed with ice and pumped at night to avoid it setting too quickly in the desert heat. one of the lifts inside, the world’s fastest, in fact, will transport occupants up and down at 18 metres a second.

all of which begs the obvious question: just how high can we go? “from a physics point of view, there is no limit,” says ron klemencic, former director of the Council on tall buildings and urban Habitat. “the limitations are more financial and practical – how to move people up and down those great heights. above 80 storeys, the area you need to devote to vertical lift, like elevators, versus rent-able space, just isn’t viable. Somewhere around 70 to 80 storeys, the equation just stops making sense.”

but the skyscraper race departed from good sense a long time ago. nowadays it’s more about buildings as national symbols rather than as business ventures. now that we have plans for a building a mile high, what’s the next nonsensical milestone? Could we end up with skyscrapers taller than the world’s highest mountains?

Mount everest is around five and half miles above sea level, by the way.

but there are several other projects waiting, like eager seedlings, to shoot upwards. just down the road from the burj dubai, also in the uae, property developer nakheel has announced intentions to build a 1,200-metre skyscraper called al-burj. While in kuwait there are plans for a 1,001-metre burj Mubarak al-kabir – its height inspired by the classic arabic tome one thousand and one nights.

trumping them all, however, and by the most massive of margins, is a planned one-mile high skyscraper for the Saudi city of jeddah. (yes, that’s one-mile, or 1,600 metres high.) riyadh-based kingdom Holding Company, which is controlled by Saudi billionaire prince al-Walid bin talal, has invited tenders for the $10 billion project, currently known as the Mile High tower. freudian jokes aside, it is, you might say, all getting a bit silly. but then skyscraper races are nothing new. all the way back in the late 1800s rapid city expansion coupled with major advances in construction technology had developers and architects scrambling to build higher, bigger and bolder.

it all started in 1885 with Chicago’s (now demolished) 10-storey, 42 metre-high Home insurance building – the first time a steel frame was used to support the entire weight of the building, rather than normal load-bearing masonry. in the years that followed, as city developers in Chicago, new york and London vied for increasingly scarce and expensive land, so the first sky race began.

but it was new york, unshackled by the planning regulations that restricted the other two cities, which took the lead. first there was the bank of Manhattan trust building (now 40 Wall Street) which soared to 70 storeys (282 metres) in just 11 months. developers planned for it to be a cheeky two feet (60 cms) taller than the Chrysler building, being built just down the road. What they didn’t know was that Walter Chrysler had a little trick up his sleeve. His boys had secretly assembled a 38-metre spire which they hoisted into place at the last minute, to reach 319 metres and attain the world’s tallest building.

Chrysler’s glory was short-lived, however. Less than a year later, while enthralled new yorkers craned their necks to watch the buildings race skywards above their heads, he was royally trumped by the 381-metre empire State building. this art deco classic, built by 3,400 workers, five of whom died during construction, went up in a year and six weeks and remained the world’s tallest building for the next 40 years.

from a physIcs poInt of

vIew, there Is no lImIt to

a BuIldIng’s heIght. the

lImItatIons are fInancIal

and practIcal – how to move

people up and down those

great heIghts.

trumpIng them all, however,

and By the most massIve of

margIns, Is a planned one-

mIle hIgh skyscraper for the

saudI cIty of jeddah.

“taipei 101in taiwan.

empire State and Chrysler buildingsin new york.

“



The average Glenfiddich cooper has spent five years learning the craft of barrel making (roughly the same

time a doctor spends at university). Certainly a lengthy internship, yet the craft required to sculpt the sherry,

bourbon and new oak casks used to mature the Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky is closer

to Michelangelo than manufacturing. Whilst other distillers have turned to technology, we still believe the

finishing touches should be handmade. Some might consider this crazy, but when tasting the warm spice and

honey notes, resulting from a final marriage of flavours in our unique Solera vat, you will understand why we

take our time. It’s hard to prove genius in a single day, but give yourself a year and the possibilities are endless.

A DAY SAYS CRAZYA YEAR SAYS GENIUS

30050313131320200502050Glenfi ddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd.



305313131320205250502050WGS0201_GF_x3_FP_AW.indd 2 22/9/08 10:32:06 am

GLENFIDDICHMEET THE FAMILY

Making every year Count is a great philosophy for making the most of all the possibilities life has to offer us, and at William Grant, the makers of Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky, it is the foundation which underpins everything the company does.

time spent in the barrel is what gives all Glenfiddich whiskies, from the 12 year old right up to the famous 1937 Vintage, their own unique characteristics.

the subtle oak and fresh pear of Glenfiddich 12 year old and the enormous complexities of the older whiskies are all the result of time well spent. and the perfect reward for a life well lived.

mEETTHEFAmILY

33Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd

Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd34 35

barley, the raw material from which all single malt whiskies are born, is only harvested once a year in Speyside. but this doesn’t mean the rest of the year is spent idling. thanks to dry storage, whisky can be distilled all year round.

the year starts like everyone else’s in january, which we call the ‘silent season’. this is something of a misnomer, however, since it’s the time when engineers clean, check and, if necessary, replace every single piece of equipment in the distillery. it’s noisy and essential work, and it ensures that the stills, vats and other tools are all ready for when the craftsmen return.

the first day back is always a chilly one since silent distilleries quickly turn cold without the warmth of distillation. but things gradually heat up when the first litres of robbie dhu spring water are brought to around 65ºC and mixed with ground malted barley. the sugary extract is then fermented for three days or so, time enough for the engineers to ensure the stills are ready. the first distillation usually happens on a friday and, whilst seeing the new spirit flowing from the stills for the first time is always an emotional moment, one has to remember this is just the start of a very long journey; each drop of our whisky will be matured for a minimum of 12 years.

as distillation of the world’s favourite single malt settles into a rhythm, our visitor centre gets busier by the week, all the way until august when tourist numbers reach a peak of around 800 a day. in the course of a year around 80,000 tourists visit Glenfiddich. no doubt talk of the free dram has got out.

as September creeps in, our Malt Master readies himself for the annual vintage reserve selection, during which film crews and an international panel gather in dufftown to choose the distillery’s best cask.

autumn is generally a time for celebration as tasting competition results come in. Glenfiddich is the most awarded single malt scotch whisky of all. this year again, and for the fourth time in a row, our family business was awarded the prestigious ‘distiller of the year’ award. a total of seven medals saw Glenfiddich being granted the inaugural ‘excellence in Craftsmanship’ award by the international Spirit Challenge.

as the snow starts to fall and i consider which Glenfiddich to celebrate Christmas with, i wonder what our founder, who distilled Glenfiddich for the first time on Christmas day 1887, would choose. regardless, i know he would be proud of what five generations of his family have achieved.

It’s Busy all year round

at glenfIddIch’s dufftown

dIstIllery. gloBal Brand

amBassador luDo DuCroCq

descrIBes what goes on

BehInd the scenes.

A L NG YEARGLENFIDDICH 365 A LONG YEAR

GLENFIDDICH 365 A LONG YEAR

Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy.

"It has complex, rounded flavours with elegant notes of fresh pear and subtle oak."

GlenfiddichGLENFIDDICH 365

12 YEARS OLDGLENFIDDICH 365 12 YEARS OLD

12yearS oLd

36 37

Garry kasparov

This whisky was born at the Glenfiddich distillery back in 1997, the same year as the following events:

February 22: Scientists in Scotland announce that an adult sheep named dolly had been successfully cloned.

March 22nd: the comet Hale-bopp passes close to the earth.

May 11th: a computer beats a world chess champion (Garry kasparov) for the first time.

July 1st: the uk grants sovereignty of Hong kong to China.

September 6th: two billion tV viewers worldwide watch the funeral of diana, princess of Wales.

December 11: the kyoto protocol is adopted by a united nations committee.

Our signature single malt is fragrant with a fresh and fruity nose thanks to its long maturation in American and Spanish oak casks. It has complex, rounded flavours with elegant notes of fresh pear and subtle oak, helping to make it the most popular single malt whisky in the world.

"Glenfiddich 12 year old is amazing just as it comes from the bottle. Occasionally I serve it in a snifter, with a few drops of water. I let the drink air for about ten minutes before serving. The lovely, aromatic bouquet and mellow flavour astound guests every time."

Ray PearsonGlenfiddich Brand Ambassador, USA

the expert

2008 International Spirits ChallengeSilver

2008 Morrison Bowmore TrophyBronze

2008 Scotch Whisky MastersGold

2008 San Fransisco Spirits CompetitionGold

awards

every year counts: distilled 1997


Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy.38 39

"a balance of warm spice with honey and rich fruit. full bodied and bursting with flavour."

Glenfiddich15yearS oLd

38 39

nelson Mandela


February 12th: edvard Munch’s painting the Scream is stolen from an oslo art gallery.

February 12–February 27: the Winter olympics are held in Lillehammer, norway.

April 16th: finland voters decide to join the european union.

May 6th: the Channel tunnel opens between england and france.

May 10th: nelson Mandela becomes president of South africa.

June 17: the fifa World Cup begins in the united States.

At 15 years, rich fruit and notes of spice and honey pervade this characterful, layered malt. Made using a process unique amongst Scotch whisky distillers, it’s matured in three types of oak cask – Spanish, traditional American and new American – before being married in our unique solera vat. This vat is always kept at least half full, creating a deliciously harmonious and complex whisky.

"The way I really enjoy the Glenfiddich 15 year old is after a big meal – a celebration like a birthday or a wedding. It's the perfect dessert: sweet, smooth and full of flavour. My advice is to add some drops of mineral water, raise your glass and celebrate, surrounded by your loved ones."

Daniel Moreno AstorgaGlenfiddich Brand Ambassador, Spain

the expert

2008 International Spirits ChallengeGold

2008 Morrison Bowmore TrophyGold Best in Class

2008 Scotch Whisky MastersGold


awards



GLENFIDDICH 365 15 YEARS OLD


Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy.40 41

" smooth, rich and mellow with notes of spiced apple, cinnamon and robust oak."


40 41

Star trek, created by Gene roddenberry


March 31: albania holds its first multi-party elections.

June 15: in the philippines, Mount pinatubo erupts.

July 11: a solar eclipse of record totality occurs.

August 6th: the world’s first ever website, invented by tim berners-Lee, goes online.

October 24th: Gene roddenberry, the creator of Star trek, dies aged 70.

December 31st: the Soviet union officially ceases to exist.

This single malt is exceptionally smooth, rich and mellow with notes of spiced apple, cinnamon and robust oak. Matured in the finest Spanish Oloroso sherry and American bourbon casks, and then married in small batches in wooden tuns for remarkable depth and complexity. A single malt of magnificent depth and mature confidence.

"Glenfiddich 18 year old is a beautiful single malt with a long finish. When it hits your tongue you feel sweetness at the beginning before it quickly goes towards dry. The oakiness and robustness makes it perfect with a cigar. Drink it neat or just add a few drops of water and you will find the lingering, woody flavour with balanced complexity."

Sean LeeGlenfiddich Brand Ambassador, China

the expert

2008 Scotch Whisky Masters Master


2007 San Fransisco Spirits CompetitionDouble Gold

awards





Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd


April 11: the Last emperor wins nine oscars at the academy awards.

August 20th: the iran-iraq War ends.

September 17–October 2: the 1988 Summer olympics are held in Seoul, South korea. Canadian sprinter ben johnson is stripped of his 100 metres gold medal for using performance-enhancing drugs.

November 8th: George bush senior is elected president of the uSa.

December 2nd: benazir bhutto becomes the first female prime minister of an islamic state (pakistan).

December 6th: american singer roy orbison dies at age of 52.

roy orbison



"a rich toffee sweetness with notes of vanilla and hints of new leather."


42 43

Highly acclaimed by whisky experts, this 21 year old single malt is part matured in casks which previously held sugar cane rum for four months. This characterful spirit imparts a great depth of flavour and mellow sweetness to the whisky, creating a truly indulgent single malt.

"This is an accompaniment to a delicious meal or a cigar party. But I think, best of all, it can be enjoyed neat and, of course, with a fine Cuban cigar. Just sip it slowly, trying to trace the exceptionally warm and long finish inspired by Cuban rum."

Aleksey Novoselov Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador, Russia

the expert

2008 Morrison Bowmore Trophy Gold Best in Class

2008 International Spirits ChallengeSilver

2008 Scotch Whisky Masters Master


awards


Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy.

GLENFIDDICH 365 VINTAGE AND RARE COLLECTION

vINTAGEANdRAREcoLLEcTIoN

44 45

a veritable treasure trove of rare and vintage whisky can be uncovered in corners of airports all over the world – if, that is, you know where to look. Glenfiddich is lucky to stock some of the oldest and most precious whiskies available across the entire industry. their collection includes the oldest Scotch ever bottled, the most expensive Scotch ever sold and, of course, the whisky that was voted the ‘World's best Single Malt Scotch Whisky’.

for the dedicated collector, airport duty-free shops are now the best places to find some of the world’s finest, rarest and most expensive whiskies. this has allowed Glenfiddich to create exclusive whisky offerings through their Vintage and rare zones at airports in Singapore, delhi and paris, as well as luxurious bespoke displays in places such as Hong kong international and London’s Heathrow.

for anyone travelling through Singapore Changi airport, a diversion to the dfS store is well worth the time. Here whisky-lovers can find the Glenfiddich 1965 Singapore Vintage, specially bottled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the republic of Singapore’s independence. Cask 10836, the last remaining from 1965, is available in this airport only, and is unusually vibrant for a single malt of this age.

in honour of 120 years of whisky excellence, a fantastic, limited-edition gift box has been developed which pairs the delectable Glenfiddich 40 year old with a hand-crafted timepiece from legendary Swiss watchmakers baume & Mercier. it’s a sign of just how important time is in the whisky-making process. of the 120 original packs produced, only a few are still available in dfS stores in Singapore, new york jfk, San francisco, Los angeles and new Zealand, priced uS$5,000.

London’s Heathrow airport particularly values the importance of aged single malt. at its World of Whiskies outlets it stocks an enviable selection of vintages. the Glenfiddich 1964 Single Malt, priced uS$3,000, is a true rarity. Specially selected for its exceptional quality and character, it has a unique purity of taste – sweet, with a delicate spiciness and hints of oak, and beautifully fresh despite its age. for those with an even more discerning palate there is also a Glenfiddich 1955 Single Malt available for uS$7,500.

but the jewel in Glenfiddich’s crown is the Glenfiddich 1937, the oldest and – excluding auction sales – the most expensive Scotch whisky in the world. in 1937 cask 843 was filled with spirit from the stills at the Glenfiddich distillery where it remained for the next 64 years. then in 2001 a limited run of 61 bottles were created.

only one remains, on offer at Sky Connections in Hong kong international airport, for the understandably rather exclusive price of uS$104,000. rest assured that it’s worth every penny.

aIrport duty-free shops

are now the Best places for

whIsky collectors to seek

out the fInest sIngle malt.

But where on earth does

one start?

Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd

GLENFIDDICH 365 A TASTE OF THE FUTURE

A TASTE oF T HE FuTuRE

after two dIstIllatIons,

un-matured whIsky has

no colour at all. It’s as

clear as water.

glenfIddIch checks the

colour of the whIsky

comIng out of every cask.

Most of the colour comes out of the wood in the first few years of maturation. the difference in colour between a one-year- old and a three-year-old whisky is far greater than between a 31-year-old and a 33-year-old.

Glenfiddich checks the colour of the whisky coming out of every cask. if the colour is not dark enough it normally means very few flavour compounds were extracted.

although second-hand casks are used – because brand new casks give too much flavour, too quickly – most of the colour comes from the wood itself rather than the liquid that was previously stored in it. american oak casks previously contained whiskey (they add the ‘e’ across the pond) which imparts no colour at all. Spanish oak casks previously contained sherry which imparts just a tiny bit of colour.

Maturation plays a crucial part in giving a single malt whisky its flavour complexity. but the tannins in the wood also have a huge impact on colour. (by the way, older whisky does not necessarily mean darker whisky.) Whisky casks must always be made of oak and no bigger than 700 litres. they must be matured for a minimum of three years. these are all legal requirements.

different species of oak are used to make the casks. american, or white oak, grows predominantly in eastern uSa. Spanish, or red oak, grows in northern Spain. the former gives sweet flavours (vanilla, honey and toffee) and a light golden colour to the whisky. the latter gives more intense and robust flavours (spices, dried fruits, leather) and a dark ruby colour. a three-year-old Glenfiddich matured in Spanish oak would look much darker than a 12-year-old matured in american oak.

46 47

GLENFIDDICH 365 A TASTE OF THE FUTURE

“

Glenfiddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons LtdSkiLfuLLy Crafted. enjoy reSponSibLy. 49

GLENFIDDICH 365 12 YEAR OLD

48

GLENFIDDICH 365 THE FINISH

The finish:The Robbie dhu spring

the only water ever used to make Glenfiddich whisky always comes from the same source: the robbie dhu spring, high up above the Scottish town of dufftown, in the Conval hills. fresh, fragrant and as clear as crystal, it has a subtle Highland tang thanks to the banffshire peat and Scottish granite through which it flows.

the founder of Glenfiddich, William Grant, first heard about robbie dhu from a local priest who told him there was a secret underground spring that ancient smugglers had drunk from. Water from the same spring has been used exclusively at every stage of the Glenfiddich whisky-making process, from mashing to bottling, ever since.

and so it always will be. both the Grant family and Malt Master david Stewart are quite sure of that. Which is why the family bought 1,200 acres of the heathery hill above the distillery and around the precious spring – to ensure robbie dhu water will always be at the core of their whisky.

every Issue 365 magazine

looks at an IndIvIdual,

IconIc element of glenfIddIch

malt whIsky.


Scientists claim physical attraction is chemical. Inhale a particularly pleasant pheromone and the instantaneous

effect includes shortness of breath, heart palpitations and in some cases, temporary insanity. Over

the years this mysterious phenomenon of attraction develops into an even stranger one called love.

Glenfiddich is familiar with chemical reactions, aromas, and perfect matches. The Glenfiddich 18 Year Old

Single Malt Scotch Whisky, bringing together the scent of spiced apple and robust oak, is the lovechild

of our own passionate affair, matured for 18 years then married in small batches for lasting depth and

complexity. Love doesn’t happen in a single day, but give yourself a year and the possibilities are endless.

A DAY IS ATTRACTION A YEAR IS LOVE

Glenfi ddich® Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a registered trademark of William Grant & Sons Ltd.


30050313131320200502050GLENFIDDICHEVERY YEAR COUNTS

305313131320205250502050WGS0201_GF_x3_FP_AW.indd 3 22/9/08 10:33:02 am

A DAY IS CHOPSTICKSA YEAR IS CHOPIN



Gle

nfi dd

ich® S

ingle M

alt Sco

tch Whisky is a re

giste

red

trade

mark o

f William

Grant &

So

ns Ltd.


WGS0201_GF_x3_FP_AW.indd 1 22/9/08 10:30:41 am

The great white northBreaking through the Arctic

GLENFIDDICH EVERY YEAR COUNTS

The Mars space race In search of the Red Planet

Street art From the ghetto to the drawing room

Seasons of satisfaction A year-long discovery of food

Skilfully C

rafted

. enjo

y reSpon

Sibly.365 M

ag

azin

e

glenfiddich 365

Documents

year counts28

stepa year

chopsticksa year

behalf of william grant

glenfiddich magazine

year countsthe mars

greatest whisky bars16

glenfiddich global brand