Die irische Waterford Distillery gibt in ihrer aktuellen Pressemitteilung die Partnerschaft mit der irischen Künstlerin Leah Hewson bekannt und kündigt gleichzeitig eine neue Abfüllung für den kommenden Herbst an. Für diese, Waterford’s The Cuvée, hat die führende irische bildende Künstlerin ein Originalkunstwerk geschaffen, welches dann das Flaschenetikett dieses Bottlings schmücken wird. Es würdigt die „vielen Schichten und Komplexitäten innerhalb des Destillationsprozesses von Waterford und die immense sensorische Erfahrung des Konsums“.
Mit The Cuvée wird die Waterford Distillery erstmals die 23 verschiedene Single Malts der Single Farm Origin zusammenstellen und in einer Abfüllung vereinen. Dies sei, so Mark Reynier, Gründer und CEO der Waterford Distillery, kein gewöhnlicher Whisky:
„Es ist unser Leitstern, ein wichtiger Meilenstein auf unserer Reise mit dem Terroir – unser raison d’etre.“
Die Pressemitteilung, die uns erreichte, finden Sie folgend im englisch Original:
WATERFORD DISTILLERY ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH ARTIST LEAH HEWSON FOR THE LAUNCH OF ITS FLAGSHIP WHISKY: THE CUVÉE
Leading Irish visual artist, Leah Hewson, has released her latest work, but you won’t find it in a gallery or exhibition.
Partnering with Waterford Distillery, Hewson has created Binary Assimilation – an original artwork for the bottle label of the distillery’s flagship single malt whisky coming this autumn: The Cuvée.
Hewson’s aim was to celebrate the ‚many layers and complexities within Waterford’s distillation process and the immense sensory experience of consumption’.
Waterford’s unique methodology is terroir-driven. The concept, which is commonly practised by the world’s greatest winemakers, is based on the principle that factors such as weather, soil, and microclimate influence the flavours found in barley and the whisky made from it.
To make its multiple award-winning Single Farm Origin whiskies, Waterford Distillery maintains the integrity of each crop of barley by harvesting, storing, malting and distilling it separately. Each Single Farm Origin has been produced separately using barley grown only on individual terroirs throughout the South of Ireland.
This individuality can be celebrated in its own right, but the ultimate aim is to layer these component spirits together – in precisely the same manner as a Grand Vin in Burgundy, or Grand Cuvée in Champagne – for ultimate complexity. The whole, greater than simply the sum of its parts.
This means – for the first time in whisky production anywhere – Waterford Distillery is assembling 23 different Single Farm Origin component single malts to create the definitive Waterford Whisky: The Cuvée. It is a lodestar for the brand and a milestone bottling.
Leah Hewson’s original artwork reflects the intricate nature of such a milestone product. Two computer-generated images that are depicted in paint have been divided into strips and overlaid with opaque and transparent red and green stripes, and a neon squiggle in to create ’ambiguity and illusion’.
Leah Hewson said:
”Binary Assimilation celebrates the many layers and complexities of Waterford’s approach to whisky production. The brand’s scientific and methodical approach reflects my own and this provided an inspiration to sync art, flavour and character into something visually striking. By building the piece in layers through colour, I was able to create new dimensional effects to match the concept of The Cuvée.”
Mark Reynier, Founder and CEO of Waterford Distillery said:
“This is no ordinary whisky – it’s our lodestar, a key milestone on our terroir-driven journey – our raison d’etre. Its vision, evolution derived from unprecedented logistics, merits an equally outstanding label. We commissioned one of Ireland’s leading artists, Leah Hewson, to create a contemporary image that was unlike another whisky label. One that shared the elemental construct, evoking vibrancy, a bold statement and a multi-layered feel. A label unlike any other, for a whisky unlike any other.”
ABOUT LEAH HEWSON
Hewson has a First-Class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art from IADT. She has accomplished four solo exhibitions, the most notable of which were ‚Ammo Veil‘ at The Hillsboro Fine Art gallery in July 2018 and ‘Scintilla’ at The Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin in February 2017. This was the culmination of work produced during a six-month residency at The Royal Hibernian Academy School.
Other residencies include a six month residency at the NARS Foundation in Brooklyn New York in 2018, SIM Residency in Berlin in 2019 and Wilton Park Studios Residency, Dublin in 2019/2020.
Hewson won the Whyte’s Award for painting at the 190th RHA Annual Exhibition, was shortlisted for the Hennessy Craig Biennial Award in 2019, is accredited with the Elizabeth Fitzpatrick Travel Bursary Award 2018 and won the ‘Special Prize for Contemporary Art’ at the ‘Biennial of Humour and Satire in Art’, Bulgaria in 2017.
Her work continues to be internationally collected by private collectors in New York, Australia, Germany, France, Norway, and Spain. Public collections include The Trinity College Dublin History of Art collection, The Office of Public Works, Dublin, The Law Society of Ireland, and the Microsoft Collection. Other recent activity includes the commissioning of ‚Abiding Traces‘, by IPut. This 8 x 27 metres piece was exhibited on Sir John Rogersons Quay from May 2019 to August 2020. Hewson was also in the group exhibition ‚Assemble‘ at Atelier Maser in August 2020.
