The Glenlivet Bar

Bethan Gray teamed up with The Glenlivet to create an experiential celebration of craft in the form of a bar serving a specially created menu of food and whisky cocktails. The bar made its debut at the London Design Festival’s designjunction 20–23 September 2018 and then formed part of the Vintage 1967 launch celebrations at the Distillery in Scotland.

‘Collaborating with craftspeople is an important part of my practice. Working with the same artisans who make our Dhow furniture collection, we developed a new technique for inlaying solid brass into the marble bar. Marquetry is an ancient skill that we’re all well versed in, but we all pushed our expertise to the limit. I’m so pleased with the result.’

The bar, created to echo the limited edition cannister Bethan designed for Vintage 1967, was complemented by Bethan’s Victoria lights for Editions Milano and the Lustre tableware collection developed in collaboration with co-founder of 1882 Ltd, Emily Johnson, together with a specially created menu of whisky cocktails and bar snacks.

‘2% of a whisky evaporates every year – what’s known as the “angel’s share” – so you lose 60–80% of each barrel over 50 years, making what’s left incredibly precious and incredibly rich in flavour. The Vintage 1967 tastes absolutely lovely. It is velvety smooth and sumptuously sweet – it reminds me of apricot jam, fondant orange and toasted almonds all at once.’