Tamdhu’s Dedication Collection
The 43 year old Tamdhu is the first of eight 40-year-old plus whiskies that are set to be released over the next four to five years as part of the Dedication Collection. These bottles will contain some of the oldest and rarest whisky ever released by Tamdhu. For the first release only 100 hand numbered decanters are available from specialist retailers worldwide.
“There will only be eight global Dedication Collection releases in total, four domestic and four exclusively travel retail. Some of the releases will remain single casks and others will be a mix of two or three single casks to allow our expert malt masters to marry our oldest and best casks together,” explained Gordon Dundas, brand development & advocacy director at Tamdhu’s parent company Ian Macleod Distillers. For the 43 year old the Tamdhu team have expertly combined two casks from 1978 and 1979.
Peter Woitschikowski Puts Scotch Under The Microscope
The debut of the 43 year old and 46 year old travel retail exclusive have been celebrated with a series of photomicrographs created by Peter Woitschikowski at 43x magnification. Photomicrography is the art of taking photos with a microscope. It is common in science but photographing whisky in this way was a new frontier for Woitschikowski.
What Will Whisky Look Like in 2027? Voices from Whisky Live Paris
READ THE STORY“The general opinion of many other microscopists is that it’s almost impossible to photograph whisky, which is exactly what attracted me to working with Tamdhu. We didn’t know what the outcome would be, so I’m very pleased Tamdhu wanted to embark on this photographic adventure with me,” said Woitschikowski about the process of working with Tamdhu.
The issue was that whisky is so pure that it doesn’t lend itself to being photographed in this way. That didn’t deter Woitschikowski or Tamdhu. The process for creating something to be photographed took several weeks to refine.
“Both the Tamdhu 43 and the Tamdhu 46 Year Old are characterized by absolute purity, so we agreed to photograph the flavourful ingredients in a slightly higher concentration before dissolving it in the respective whisky. This process took a few weeks of experimentation to get right so that striking and unique images could be captured from the results.”
Trending Content
The process is fascinating, from recrystallization to the use of polarization filters to enhance and bring out certain shapes and colors. The care and attention to detail means that no digital manipulation is required; the pictures you see are exactly how they appear under the microscope.
Dedication To Presentation
The whisky itself is presented in a custom decanter that draws on elements of their standard bottle, and comes in in an octagonal metal and wooden presentation case. It is a beautiful and respectfully traditional presentation that is juxtaposed by Woitschikowski’s brightly coloured artworks that on first glance may appear computer generated.
The effect is a striking and completely unique representation of whisky that is both bold and modern while being rooted in a very traditional medium. Which I’m sure is no coincidence.
“I hope that these colors, shapes and textures will appeal to many senses and encourage a sense of taste in the viewer,” added Woitschikowski. “I was so delighted to work on this project with Tamdhu and I am pleased this collaboration gives the opportunity to present my beautiful, yet unusual microphotographs to a wider audience.”
An Exclusive Visit To Tamdhu
The 43 year old will be available from March 2025 for $18,000 (£13,500) from select global retailers. The 46 year old will be a travel retail exclusive.
As well as owning one of just 100 bottles, purchasers of the 43-year-old will be invited to visit and stay at the Tamdhu distillery, which is usually closed to the public. Sandy McIntyre will host each owner at the distillery and guide them through a selection of Tamdhu’s finest whiskies. Owners will also have the opportunity to visit the traditional dunnage warehouses, which house their rarest and oldest casks, the best of which may well become the next additions to the Dedication Collection.
The original version of this article was written by me for Forbes.com
