Latest news with #Macallan
Glasgow Times
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow hotel to mark Father's Day with James Bond event
Kimpton Blythswood Square in Glasgow is offering a whisky-themed evening of film and cocktails as part of its monthly cinema club, featuring a screening of the 1964 James Bond classic Goldfinger. The event will take place on Saturday, June 14, and includes a welcome whisky cocktail and a guided tasting of The Macallan single malt whiskies. Read more: Glasgow restaurant offer free pie and pint for Father's Day Dishoom confirms it will open city centre restaurant this summer Guests will be treated to a tasting experience that explores the story and craftsmanship behind each Macallan pour. The evening, ticket at £30 per person, will conclude in the hotel's 44-seat boutique cinema, where the audience can enjoy the suspense and style of Goldfinger on the big screen. Marcello Ventisei, general manager at Kimpton Blythswood Square, said: "This perfect partnership between The Macallan and the Kimpton Blythswood Square cinema club is a wonderful way to celebrate the father figure in your life and make them feel as suave as Mr Bond. "From an exclusive drinks experience to the thrill of a classic film like Goldfinger, this experience is sure to be a hit amongst whisky fans and film fanatics alike."
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Glenrothes 51 Year Old And The Death Of Whisky As We Knew It
What does it say about whisky today that you have to break this open just to see what's inside? Opening a bottle of whiskey is always, in some sense, an act of destruction. Regardless of its value, the moment the seal is broken, the bottle is stripped of its monetary worth on the secondary market. Sure, there's the pleasure of drinking it, but from a purely commercial standpoint, that moment marks the loss of financial value. This idea isn't new. But The Glenrothes 51 Year Old (priced at $46,500) takes the concept of deliberate destruction to another level. To even see the bottle, let alone taste the liquid inside, you must first destroy the casing that holds it. The whisky comes housed inside a cylindrical column made from Jesmonite, which is a composite of mineral powder (like gypsum or chalk) and water based resin. It looks more like a piece of contemporary sculpture than traditional packaging. It also comes with a branded hammer. Why? Because the only way to access the whisky is to smash open the column. It's arguably the pinnacle of whisky consumerism and a masterstroke of gimmickry. But to dismiss it on those terms alone would be reductive. The Glenrothes 51 Year Old isn't just a novelty in packaging or a marketing gimmick. It's a near-perfect example of how whisky has evolved beyond its traditional role as simply a drink. It encapsulates the broader shift I've written about in other articles: that whisky today is less about flavor or intoxication and more about symbolism, ownership and cultural capital. Reducing whisky to its 'use value', that is, something to be consumed, is to ignore the wider meanings we've collectively assigned to it. And, arguably, the entire industry has benefitted from this shift. Is this the first whisky release where the bottle, and the whisky itself, has been deliberately kept out of sight? The Glenrothes 51 embraces that transformation with almost theatrical clarity. The whisky itself is hidden until the owner chooses to destroy the column that encases it. Destruction is no longer a flaw in the process; it's the entire point. The act of opening the bottle becomes a ritual of transformation. And in doing so, the release lays bare how much of modern whisky culture is built around the object, not the liquid. Critics of this view often argue that collectors or investors have undermined whisky for the everyday drinker. But that's to overlook how the industry itself has shaped this landscape. Distilleries have spent decades building narratives around new releases, presenting each bottle as limited, special and aesthetically curated. Of course, there's a spectrum, with Macallan and Glenrothes sitting at the more theatrical end, with releases like the Macallan Horizon or the Glenrothes Philos. But even independent bottlers now frequently list edition numbers on labels and commission artists to design bespoke labels. Even Springbank—often held up as a kind of anti-brand—recently released the Countdown Collection: a highly limited series aimed squarely at collectors. Its scarcity invites not just appreciation but FOMO. It's a series meant to be pursued, not just consumed. What I admire most about the Glenrothes 51 is that it doesn't pretend otherwise. It's refreshingly honest about the fact that most bottles will never be opened. It makes no attempt to position itself solely on the strength of the liquid inside, and in doing so, it offers a rare kind of clarity about what whisky has become. Collector's Club founders John (left) and Scott (right) with the Glenrothes 51 whisky bottle inside its column Given the $46,500 price tag and the private nature of many collectors, I'd wager that very few of these bottles will ever be destroyed, or enjoyed. But one chance remains to actually see the bottle and taste the whisky. The Collectors Club Competitions, a UK-based raffle platform, is offering one Glenrothes 51 Year Old bottle as a prize, with tickets priced at just $2 (£1.51). The winner will receive their bottle during a tasting dinner hosted by Michelin-starred chef Graeme Cheevers and the Glenrothes team, held at Cameron House on Loch Lomond. Coincidentally, the hotel itself is somewhere I stayed on my honeymoon many moons ago. There's a certain irony here. A bottle quite literally designed to be destroyed will almost certainly never be, at least not by those who can afford to buy it. But this competition offers a sliver of hope. Hope that one day, someone will have both the means and the mindset to smash it open, pour a dram and share what lies inside. For me, I really appreciate the Glenrothes 51 year old on a number of levels. I've no doubt the whisky inside will be excellent, but what stands out just as much is the thinking behind it. The design, the philosophy and the honesty of the concept; it's all carefully considered and bold. If Glenrothes keeps heading in this direction, combining great whisky with design integrity, I think we'll be seeing their name mentioned in the same breath as Macallan, Bowmore and Dalmore more and more in the years ahead.
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
As Hong Kong office rents plummet, landlords upgrade with video walls to lure tenants
Some prime office landlords in Hong Kong are sprucing up their buildings to attract more tenants, as rental discounts are only seen as a short-term strategy, according to experts on the market. 'In the past 20 years, landlords of commercial buildings in Hong Kong did not need to do anything and could still have substantial incomes, but it's nothing like that any more,' said Li Man-on, director of Hing Wai Investment, owner of the Hing Wai Building in Central. He said the commercial property market had softened since 2020, and rental incomes had dropped significantly. 'I started to think about how to unlock the value of well-located properties in a market downturn,' he said. Hing Wai spent HK$24 million (US$3.1 million) on a three-dimensional LED video wall installed on the building's facade. The move generated annual advertising revenue of HK$26 million, which is about equivalent to the total rent for 10 floors, he said. Whisky maker Macallan opened its first flagship store in Hong Kong in the Hing Wai Building, leasing the second and third floors in December 2023. That accounted for a third of the total rental income of the building, Li said, adding that the waiting list of brands wanting to rent the video wall extended into the middle of next year.
The Star
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Singaporean actress Tay Ying and celebrity chef Wu Sihan hold betrothal ceremony
Actress Tay Ying and chef Wu Sihan are set to tie the knot in June. Photo: Tay Ying/Instagram On May 22, local actress Tay Ying, 29, wrote on Instagram: 'Sold'. It was on a collaborative post with her fiance, chef Wu Sihan, 33. Trays of mandarin oranges, boxes of customised cakes, and bottles of Macallan whiskies were seen in the pictures. They have been engaged since March 2024 and will be tying the knot in June. The carousel of photos offered glimpses of the guo da li traditional betrothal ceremony. In one photo, Wu gives a red packet to Tay's father, actor Zheng Geping. Actress Hong Huifang, Tay's mother, is seen holding up a finger heart. In another picture, Tay's younger brother, Calvert Tay, blows an affectionate kiss at his only sister. Celebrities such as actresses Chen Xiuhuan, Julie Tan and Apple Hong have chimed in with congratulations and heart emojis in the comment section. A day after the ceremony, Zheng quipped on Instagram on May 23: 'My daughter said 'Sold'. No, we gain a good son-in-law.' Tay and Wu first met in 2021 at Italian bistro Supply & Demand at the Esplanade – where Wu is the head chef – through his cousin, who is Tay's friend. They began dating within a month, and went public with their relationship in January 2024 via Instagram. Wu proposed to Tay on March 20, 2024. But they kept it under wraps for a year before announcing their engagement two months ago on Instagram. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
New Paper
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Paper
Actress Tay Ying and celebrity chef Wu Sihan hold guo da li ceremony
On May 22, local actress Tay Ying, 29, wrote on Instagram: "Sold". It was on a collaborative post with her fiance, chef Wu Sihan, 33. Trays of mandarin oranges, boxes of customised cakes and bottles of Macallan whisky were seen in the pictures. The couple have been engaged since March 2024 and will be tying the knot in June. The carousel of photos offered glimpses of the guo da li traditional betrothal ceremony. In one photo, Wu gives a red packet to Tay's father, actor Zheng Geping. Actress Hong Huifang, Tay's mother, is seen holding up a finger heart. In another picture, Tay's younger brother Calvert blows an affectionate kiss at his only sister. Celebrities such as actresses Chen Xiuhuan, Julie Tan and Apple Hong chimed in with congratulations and heart emojis in the comment section. A day after the ceremony, Zheng quipped on Instagram on May 23: "My daughter said 'Sold'. No, we gain a good son-in-law." Tay and Wu met in 2021 at Italian bistro Supply & Demand at the Esplanade - where Wu is the head chef - through his cousin, who is her friend. They began dating within a month, and went public with their relationship in January 2024 via Instagram. Wu proposed to Tay on March 20, 2024. But they kept it under wraps for a year before announcing the engagement two months ago on Instagram.
