INVESTMENT WHISKIES

ALEXANDER McQUEEN FOR CHIVAS REGAL

Ladies and Gentlemen, please be upstanding and raise your glasses to a toast - The Limited Edition “Gold Signature” Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Scotch Whisky by Alexander McQueen.  Grainmash HQ is proud to announce the arrival of this exceptionally rare bottle to the investment colleciton, bottle number 30 from the 1500 exceptionally rare release.  We are reliably informed that these have already “sold out” from Selfridges of London, which had these exclusively from Chivas Regal. As the only Alexander McQueen dress that this site will likely review, this bottle represents another recommended whisky investment.Speaking to Vogue UK, Alexander McQueen said:  “This is a piece of art which reflects the luxury and craftsmanship values of what Haute Couture is all about.  You can see my signature ’stamp’ with the blue leather ‘dress’ and the Union Jack colours. I have created a rare collector’s item that those with an eye for design will want to keep.”

McQueen probably knew nothing about William “Blue” Hanger, also known as Lord Coleraine, who was reknowned for dressing in blue and noted as the best dressed man of his day! Back in the 18th century, “Blue Hanger” was a customer of Berry Brothers and Rudd, and so was probably the first to dress in blue and hang around whisky! Blue Hanger whisky is still available as a limited release (currently on its 4th iteration) from Berry Brothers and Rudd at www.bbr.com

The bottle is beautifully dressed in blue leather, sporting a distinctive Red White and Blue “lid”. As these exclusive pictures show, the outer box is a light brown with blue printwork, and then an inner box in dark brown carries the more golden label synonymous with the Chivas brand.  The bottle top itself is royal blue with the Chivas crest atop and the wording”treibhireas-bunaiteachd” which (for the trainspotters amongst us) means “faithfulness and steadfastness” in Gaelic. As an aside, it was not until 2005 that Chivas Brothers apparently applied for this phrase to become a registered trademark in Australia.

The risk to this investment is that Mcqueen and/or Chivas Regal are tempted to do the same thing it is alleged was done so dishonourably with a certain McQueen limited edition perfume, and release more and more now they know just how desirable and collectable these bottles have become. One can only hope that if greed threatens to undermine this investment or collector’s item, the manufacturers will charge more than the 450 sterling that these bottles originally cost, and make any second release at a rate of 500 sterling which will at least represent a decent 12% rise during the credit crunch.

It seems to me that, with Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Scotch Whisky set to be a staple product from Chivas Brothers, it would be both “faithlessness and wobblefastness” to release any more - if they think it went well, do another design on another edition, ok?

© 2009 GrainMash.