The art

of the Glenfiddich barrel

Barrels are hugely important to us at Glenfiddich, it’s where the magic happens, where the whisky matures and develops its distinctive flavour and character. This is why we are the only Highland distillery to have a dedicated team of coopers to mend and tend every cask used in maturing our single malt Scotch whisky.

Every year counts in this process – a barrel laid down in 1978 gives us a very different tasting whisky to a barrel laid down in 1990. To celebrate the art of the whisky barrel, Glenfiddich created ‘Barrel Art’ in 2007, an exhibition that invited four award winning designers from the fields of  fashion, music, interiors and books to create a piece of art from a Glenfiddich whisky barrel, using the year the cask was laid down or the passing of time as their inspiration. To see the many different creations they came up with, click here.

Following the success of the inaugural Glenfiddich Barrel Art exhibition in 2007, we have developed a new exhibition for 2008. This year’s programme involves a single artist who will produce a collection of works that encapsulate the theme of time. We’ve chosen esteemed designer Michael Johnson. Michael has been at the forefront of British design throughout a career spanning decades and work the theme of time has been prevalent in his work to date.

The Glenfiddich website has documented the project from start to finish, with images of the works being created, blogs from the artist on his progress and now, finally, you can see the completed Glenfiddich Barrel 2008 collection.