db exclusive: how Glenfiddich accelerated into the fast lane

When classic brands Glenfiddich and Aston Martin Formula One team came together, things were bound to move up a gear, writes Clinton Cawood.

It doesn’t get much faster-paced than Formula 1. Contrastingly, Scotch whisky is all about patience, with time measured in years, or even decades. Despite the discrepancy between these two worlds, F1 and whisky have plenty in common, as evidenced by a new partnership between Aston Martin Formula One team and Glenfiddich.

The collaboration kicked off in late November during the extraordinary spectacle that is the Las Vegas Grand Prix. This stop on the Formula 1 circuit, which sees cars racing through the heart of the city, including parts of the famous Las Vegas Strip, is a lavish affair. Only in its second year, the event transforms Sin City, offering world-class and luxurious hospitality and entertainment.

It’s the ideal setting in which to unveil a partnership between two icon brands, and this is exactly what Glenfiddich and Aston Martin Formula One team did at a launch event held in the Nevada desert just a few nights before the Grand Prix took place.

Characterised by a keen sense of drama, with guests gathering in the brisk desert evening as an Aston Martin F1 car pulled up, the launch toasted the collaboration with a measure of an exclusive Glenfiddich whisky from 1959.

The date is a significant one, being the year that Aston Martin first participated in Formula 1. And, as the team’s owner Lawrence Stroll pointed out as he raised his glass of 65-year-old single malt, it’s also the year of his birth.

This extremely rare whisky – limited to a single commemorative bottle – is just one element of a new and evolving partnership.

“We’re just in the early stages of where this is going to go,” Søren Hagh tells the drinks business. Hagh, who became CEO of William Grant & Sons, owner of Glenfiddich, at the start of 2024, sees great potential in aligning with Aston Martin, and indeed with the F1 sport in general.

“Formula 1 has done a remarkable job of becoming more relevant outside of the traditional European heartland, as well as more relevant with younger people, with women, and with all kinds of consumers – and that’s extremely well-aligned with what we’re trying to do,” he says.

“Aston Martin has a similar kind of ambition of becoming a brand that’s truly a global luxury icon, and that’s what we intend to make Glenfiddich into. This is a beautiful platform for helping with that.”

Hagh has increasingly found similarities between the two brands. He says: “We live in a world that is changing very, very fast, and at Glenfiddich we have this deep belief that, unless we keep reinventing the world, we are going to be obsolete. I think Aston Martin has a similar dedication.”

Hagh is open about the fact that attracting new audiences to Glenfiddich is key to the hook-up.

“I think both brands have this belief that ‘good enough’ is not actually good enough. If you want to attract consumers, especially younger ones, then you have to make products and experiences that are amazing,” he says. “If you really work on creating experiences that make people go: ‘Wow, I didn’t expect that,’ then you have a chance to actually be successful in the world we live in.”

The Glenfiddich 1959 bottling is a case in point. “I can say for myself that it’s probably the most special whisky I’ve ever tasted – an experience unlike anything else,” says Hagh.

As Brian Kinsman, malt master for Glenfiddich and master blender of William Grant & Sons puts it: “The part that blows your mind is everything that’s happened in the world in the period of time in which the cask has just sat there patiently. You almost taste it.”

A bottling like this likely wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the family ownership of William Grant & Sons, another thing it shares with Aston Martin.

“Sixty-five-year-old whisky doesn’t come along every day and, when it does, it’s probably because it’s been in a business like ours, family-owned,” says Kinsman. “There’s a feeling that it’s part of the legacy of previous generations.”

Paddock Club

If tasting that whisky has the potential to draw in new consumers, then so does attending the race itself. This is the Formula 1 Grand Prix done in inimitable Vegas style, with everything dialled up to the max. At the race’s exclusive hospitality venue the Paddock Club, where drinks are free-flowing and dining options include lobster, there’s ample opportunity to get close to the action. One can tour the pits and get near enough to the podium after the race to feel the celebratory spray of sparkling wine from the winners.

At the Aston Martin Formula One team and Glenfiddich lounge within the Paddock Club, the views from the balcony are of the starting grid. Inside, there’s yet more fine single malt to sample, including the brand’s 14-Year-Old Bourbon Barrel Reserve and 15-Year-Old Solera, as well as a selection of whisky cocktails. This is very much the luxury, contemporary side of single malt Scotch.

Experiencing the two brands together here and, more generally, this meeting of Formula 1 and Scotch, brings to mind an earlier comment from Hagh. He said:

“These are two different industries that are both built on beautiful history that you can dive into and get so much value out of. The incredible history of whisky making and the history of Formula 1 are equally full of characters and rare experiences.”

This sparks a discussion about still more similarities between Scotch and Formula 1. “We’re two worlds where success in the future is based on innovation. This kind of deep dedication to innovation is at the heart of Glenfiddich, and is also how you win world championships in Formula 1 – not by doing a little bit better, but by really rethinking your whole approach,” says Hagh.

Kinsman points out the attention to detail that is required in both fields. “When we make a new distillate, we have to be absolutely confident that in 12 years’ time it’s going to taste right, because there’s not much we can do in that interim period,” he says. “Watching the attention to detail in terms of engineering, in the tiny gains that Aston Martin make, in some ways feels quite similar.”

Meanwhile, the partnership will continue to evolve. Referring to the 1959 bottling, Kinsman says: “There’s more whisky in the cask, and there’s also more whisky in the warehouses. This single bottle is about marking the moment in time, but I’m sure that there will be others to come.

“We’re not looking at this partnership as being perfect in six months, but I have no doubt that great partners can make real magic over time,” adds Hagh.

He’s not ruling anything out, such as a potential broader partnership with Aston Martin beyond Formula 1.

“We are discussing all options with them,” Hagh says. “We think it’s a beautiful company with a lot of opportunities. I would definitely say to watch this space.”

While it might not have been a podium finish for Aston Martin at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this year (Fernando Alonso came in 11th place, and Lance Stroll in 15th), together with Glenfiddich the team has laid the groundwork for a winning partnership.

Exclusive single malt: Glenfiddich 1959

A limited-edition commemorative bottle, this rare 65-year-old single malt has been drawn from a Sherry cask filled by the distillery’s third malt master, Gordon Grant, in 1959. To mark the partnership between Glenfiddich and Aston Martin Formula One team, current malt master Brian Kinsman selected a cask from the distillery’s archives, from the year that Aston Martin first participated in Formula 1.

With a dark mahogany hue, the aromas are deeply complex, with rich fig and walnut, leather and dark chocolate, as well as preserved red berries. On the palate, there’s a distinct oaky character, but plenty of juicy fruit too, such as dried cherries and cranberries, leading to dark chocolate towards the long finish. There are no current plans to sell the whisky.

For more information visit Glenfiddich.