Today, Gordon & MacPhail unveiled Artistry in Oak, a limited-edition decanter designed by Jeanne Gang, marking the release of the oldest single malt Scotch ever bottled: an 85-year-old expression from Glenlivet Distillery.
The commission placed the Chicago-based Studio Gang founder—better known for architectural landmarks like the Aqua Tower and the American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center—in an entirely new design context. Tasked with creating a vessel for a liquid that has been maturing since 1940, Gang approached the project through her characteristic lens: studying growth and form in nature.
“It was of utmost importance that the quality of the whisky itself be manifest in the design of the decanter. Made from handblown glass and cast bronze, I thought about how each material would exhibit its own inherent qualities while fulfilling its purpose to hold and protect the liquid,” explains Gang.
Architecture Meets Time
The decanter’s form is suspended between four solid bronze branches, a deliberate gesture that recalls both the oak cask that nurtured the whisky and the slow entwining of a tree around amber. “Standing tall and strong, the patinated bronze entwines the vessel, suspending it while revealing the amber colour of the whisky within,” Gang continues. “Together, the elements depend on and complement each other, in a reciprocal dance whose form, like the whisky it holds, is a product of both natural growth and the nature of its materiality.”
Only 125 decanters will be released worldwide, each retailing at £125,000.
For Gordon & MacPhail, the design underscores a company philosophy built on patience, stewardship, and craftsmanship across four generations of family ownership. “One of the greatest challenges was that this has never been done before,” says Stephen Rankin, Director of Prestige and a fourth-generation member of the owning family. “We’re the first to mature a whisky for 85 years. Every year that goes by is a year into the unknown. We have to appreciate we’re always dealing with mother nature so the key traits of this process are patience and trust.”
Bronze, Oak, and Legacy
The American oak that inspired the bronze branches references not just the cask wood itself but also the broader ecological systems tied to whisky-making. To extend that symbolism, Gordon & MacPhail is auctioning the first decanter through Christie’s, with proceeds benefiting American Forests, the United States’ oldest conservation nonprofit dedicated to restoring oak-dominated forests.
“Given the importance of oak in our craft, this partnership was a natural fit, aligning with our mission to leave a meaningful legacy for ongoing generations via fundraising for the sustainable future of American oak trees,” Rankin adds.
The Christie’s lot includes not only Decanter No. 1 but also a signed sketch of an oak tree by Gang and the framed cask end of Cask 336—the vessel that held the whisky for eight and a half decades. “Partnering with Gordon & MacPhail for Artistry in Oak is a moment of pride for Christie’s,” notes Adam Bilbey, Global Head of Wine and Spirits. “The unveiling of Decanter No. 1 … is not just a highlight of our season—it’s a celebration of time, tradition, and craftsmanship.”
A Taste of Liquid History
Distilled at Glenlivet in 1940, at a time when wartime shortages curtailed production across Scotland, Cask 336 first held sherry before cradling this whisky for 85 years. The result is an extraordinarily scarce expression bottled at 43.7% ABV, with notes of aged leather, apricot compote, cinnamon, dried tobacco, Seville orange peel, and Morello cherry.
More than a collector’s object, Artistry in Oak positions Gang’s design within a lineage of architectural experimentation with scale, material, and meaning. Here, the architect translates the rhythms of growth and time not into a tower or cultural center, but into a vessel for the rarest whisky in history.
