Bowmore and Aston Martin cap off limited-edition whisky partnership with Bowmore Arc-54

Single malt scotch distillery Bowmore has launched one of its oldest expressions, Bowmore Arc-54, the penultimate release in an illustrious six-year partnership with British luxury automobile manufacturer, Aston Martin. 

The 54-year-old whisky, which is bottled at 44.3% abv, has been matured in a marriage of the spirit from second-fill European oak sherry butt and third-fill American oak hogshead. These casks, which date back to 1968, are among the most time-honoured ones that belong to the 240-year-old distillery on Islay.

A total of 130 bottles are available globally. Six bottles are allocated to two key markets in Southeast Asia — five in Singapore and one in Vietnam. 

The gold-hued liquid offers notes of vanilla, butterscotch, tropical mango and peaches on the notes and flavours of green apple, citric notes of bergamot orange and lime juice, complemented by ginger and cinnamon that leads to a gentle peat smoke finish — a landmark style of Bowmore’s whiskies. 

This marks the second and final instalment of the Arc series under the partnership between Bowmore and Aston Martin. In 2022, they released the Arc-52, a 52-year-old single malt housed in sleek, futuristic-looking  handblown decanters inspired by the F1-inspired aerodynamic exterior of the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar. The proportion of the casks used to concoct the Bowmore Arc-54 also adhere to the Golden Ratio that guides Aston Martin’s design and engineering mantra. 

Dr Calum Fraser, chief blender at Bowmore, says: “This 54-year-old whisky is a testament to the skills of our distillery and whisky-making teams, but also to the magic that unfolds when we embrace patience and let time work its wonders. Bowmore has always been about harnessing the power of the past to shape the future, and this release is no exception.”

The Bowmore Arc-54 was launched in a glitzy ceremony in London on April 2 that culminated in a performance by British poet Sophia Thakur on capturing moments of stillness to accompany the launch of the whisky. 

The Bowmore Arc-54 has a recommended retail price of S$110,000.