Arc-54, a rare 54-year-old whisky from Islay’s oldest distillery

“This world asks you to sip soft on these tales of how it’s always the most patient seed that blooms into the most glorious sight to see,” said award-winning British spoken word artist Sophia Thakur in her velvety voice.

In the moments that followed, we were invited to taste one of the rarest whiskies to emerge from the oldest distillery on Scotland’s Isle of Islay held in our hands.

Representing “the alchemy of patience”, the Bowmore ARC-54 is the pinnacle and final installment in the exclusive Arc series by Bowmore and Aston Martin. It builds on the earlier Arc-52 released in 2022, with both editions crafted from whiskies distilled in 1968. But this time, Arc-54 takes inspiration from the British carmaker’s ultimate hypercar, the Valkyrie.

Older and rarer than its predecessor, Arc-54 is limited to only 130 decanters worldwide, with just five units allocated for the Singapore market at a price of S$110,000.

To create Arc-54, Bowmore disentombed two of its oldest casks tucked away in its famed No.1 Vaults of its Islay distillery.

“We don’t have a lot of 50-something-year-old casks in our inventory,” said Dr Calum Fraser, Bowmore’s chief blender, expounding on the rarity of the liquid.

“We’re literally down to a handful of casks of that age and due to natural maturation loss and loss through ‘angel share’ (evaporation over time), some of these casks don’t have a lot of whisky left in them,” he told CNA Luxury at Raffles London at The OWO where the unveiling of Arc-54 was held in April.

From the few remaining half-century casks sampled, Dr Fraser selected two – a second-fill European oak sherry butt and a third-fill American oak hogshead – for the Arc-54 project.

“Of the tens of thousands of whiskies sampled in my career, those two from 1968 are probably the most memorable in terms of flavour and character. The flavours were just exceptional. The two were then combined and left to marry for another 15 months to further evolve and integrate the character to create a luxurious, elegant and memorable taste profile and experience,” he explained.

Following numerous iterations and tastings with Aston Martin’s executive vice president and chief creative officer Marek Reichman, the resulting nuptials were ultimately based on the ‘golden ratio’ as 61.8 per cent European oak aged spirit and 38.2 per cent American oak aged spirit came together to form Arc-54. 

MULTI-LAYERED COMPLEXITY

To the eye, the honey-hued whisky belies the intensity of its 44.3 per cent ABV enclosed within.

On the nose, sweet, syrupy vanilla notes mingle with soft butterscotch and buttery shortbread, which give way to tropical mango and sweet peach before welcoming subtle hints of orange zest, toasted oak, candied walnuts and finely chopped eucalyptus mint.

And it is as delicious as it sounds, as the multi-layered whisky waltzes across the palate in a cascade of freshly-cut green apple, salty caramel, spiced ginger, cinnamon and zesty citrus tones of bergamot orange and lime.

“The nuances of nutty, floral and sweet spice character are very much supported by a whisper of peat, slightly there on the nose and on the palate, for a very delicate, soothing finish,” shared Dr Fraser.

IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU

To house a whisky this intense and complex, it was only fitting that Aston Martin looked to its ultimate hypercar for inspiration.

Designed by Aston Martin, the Arc-54 decanter is a stunning handblown glass sculpture that traces the Formula One-inspired aerodynamic lines and styling of the Valkyrie, which was engineered in collaboration with Red Bull Racing Advanced Technology. Specifically, the supple flow of air through the venturi tunnels beneath the 6.5-litre V12 hypercar capable of whipping up a blistering 1,140 bhp of power.

“Arc-54 continues the cutting edge, technology-based collaboration between two exceptional brands that are steeped in heritage and tradition,” said Reichman. “It embodies the innovative thinking that we apply to the Valkyrie, with similar principles of materiality and fluid dynamics replacing air flow for liquid movement to create a uniquely formed shape generated by the pure movement of the whisky.”

Beautifully marrying the craftsmanship and precision underscored by both centuries-old houses, its rarity reflects that of the Valkyrie, too.

“In a world of AI and automation, you can’t digitally enhance the taste of whisky. Whatever you may be able to do scientifically, you cannot replicate the entropy that exists to create the whisky because you can’t reverse entropy. You cannot at a molecular and atomic level reverse the process of ageing or we would have figured out how to reverse cellular ageing and live forever. So, the magic that exists in that bottle is that it will have the same taste value if you kept it for 1,000 year in that bottle. What happens to the liquid is very emotional; it's like the life of a dying star and that, for me, is why this whisky is so special,” he added.

If an Aston Martin were a whisky, what would its taste profile be, I then wondered.

“Of the approximately 120,000 cars we’ve made in over 100 years, about 96 per cent of them still exist, which means they have a lasting effect. So, an Aston Martin is an occasion; it’s the feeling of losing control of an Aston Martin when you’ve pushed it to the limit on the track. That's joy, that's passion, that’s engagement. So, I would say it’s not a harsh flavour. It has to have a complex profile; it’s a flavour that has such intensity of depth, it’s a flavour you fall in love with,” Reichman described.

Drawing a parallel between an Aston Martin and James Bond (the iconic DB5 has been driven by many a Bond in the classic films of the franchise and it’s a partnership that continues till today), he continued: “James Bond dresses like you: In a suit and bow tie, but he’s a killer – a noble rogue. And I like to define our cars as noble rogues; they’re incredibly complex to design, there’s beauty, engineering, aerodynamics and performance, which are really difficult to combine [so the taste profile would be] very complex, beautiful and memorable. And Arc-54 is a noble rogue in terms of performance, just like the Valkyrie.”