How This 88-Year-Old Whisky Inspired Daniel Arsham’s New Artworks

Daniel Arsham’s latest zen garden performance could be the makings of your great-grandchildren’s favorite whisky. Four dancers move through a circular bed of barley at S50 in Seongsu, Seoul, sweeping, raking, and gliding through the sea of grains in meditative gestures. While this barley likely won’t hit the mill, the “Dawn Of Our Spirit” experience was inspired by traditional whisky-making, culminating in its last act: the reveal of The Balvenie’s 88-year-old Single Scotch Malt.

Distilled in 1931 and bottled in 2019 by Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, The Balvenie’s oldest (and rarest) edition leads its new 1931 Collection. When it came time to debut the bottle during Frieze Seoul, the label tapped Arsham for a sculptural casing and companion performance that embodies its generations-long devotion to craft, technique, and tradition, while also feeling artistically at home.

The story behind the bottle begins with Arsham’s first trip to the distillery in Speyside, Scotland, said to be the heart of whisky country. “One of the things that struck me was the handmade quality of everything. It’s technical, but very craft in a way, so I pulled out a lot of materials I saw.” Arsham said, sitting across from Hypebeast at The Distiller’s Library inside the Shilla Hotel. “We went through a lot of different processes around the [bottle’s] design,” with several “experimental” mockups behind him. “In the end, the preciousness of that liquid really needs to be considered.”

The liquid itself lay in a hand-blown crystal decanter detailed with 18-karat gold gilding, a stopper made from a decommissioned copper still, and a neck taking after the “Balvenie Ball,” the unique still shape which gives the whisky its famed honeyed flavor. Arsham also created the architecture housing the form. Its face features eight fluid layers of hand-patinated copper, evoking textures and hues found throughout the still safe, while 88 thinly layered sections of oak on the back refer to the European oak sherry butt where it was first poured. “It’s the whisky when it’s moving through time,” he explained. “When you look at the sculpture, it’s moving through the copper, into the wood, and then into your glass.”

Beyond closing the cask of the 88-year-old, 1931 was a defining year for the label, which then opened its Home Malt Floor, still in operation. In today’s whisky game, the labor-intensive floor malting is seen as old-school. But for The Balvenie, it’s the bedrock to its heritage craft and timeless taste.

From initial whiffs of earthy barley to Sukyung Yoo’s choreography, which oscillates between lyrical and sharp, intense movements, the collaborative performance takes you from Seoul to Speyside upon walking through the doors of S50. “It’s still a very handmade process,” said Arsham, who directed the performance. “Sometimes we lose a little bit of that seeing it just on a shelf or having it at home. We tried together to bring some of that into the experience and tell that story.”

Craft, material, and the survival of time are key to understanding Arsham’s practice, notably through his self-coined “fictional archaeology,” making The Balvenie collaboration a natural fit. His series, Eroded Classical Sculpture and Zen Garden, most clearly echoed through the project, explore questions of memory, traditions, and how they materialize and transform even hundreds of years on.“In whisky, nothing happens overnight,” said McKechnie, the current Malt Master overseeing nearly a century of inventory. “The fruits of today’s craftspeople might not be tasted for generations.”

“Being able to release an 88-year-old really reaffirms this to everyone at the distillery, that all the hard work that we’re putting in today is a real testament to persistence and patience. That’s something I think Daniel understands beautifully.”

But the 88-year-old isn’t just a record-breaker for the house; it’s the oldest whisky ever released. When it came time to announce, however, carrying the new world record was just part of the story. “At The Balvenie, we are always in charge of our own destiny,” McKechnie said. “I love the thought of us doing something that changes the landscape of Scotch whisky. We’ve done it before. I relish the opportunity to do it again.”

Following its Seoul debut, the “Dawn Of Our Spirit” performance will make stops in New York, Shanghai, and Taipei. Check out The Balvenie’s website for more information on The 1931 Collection.