The jewel-like decanter contains lenses to provide focus on the richly coloured liquid. A generous volume of crystal balances both heft and delicacy, and provides a beguiling, tactile presence.  

“The gentle combination of liquid, weight and form invokes a sense of care, responsibility and slowness.  As you pour, a sense of time fades and all that is understood is the preciousness of each drop,” adds Adjaye.

Designed to appear as hewn from a single solid block of crystal, the decanter’s curving core needed to be individually hand-blown by experienced artisans overseen by Glencairn Crystal Studio, experts in ultra-premium decanters and another family business based in Scotland.

“The ambition was to create a vessel in which Gordon & MacPhail’s unique experience and tradition is transmitted and incorporated,” remarks Adjaye. “The vertical struts of the outer pavilion are reflective of trees in an oak forest from which the staves of the original cask were hewn. A pivotal moment in the design narrative is the relationship between the light and shadow as the casing is opened and closed.  The light refracted through the opened casing recreates the sunlight as it shines through oak trees within a natural forest setting. The act of opening the pavilion becomes a ceremonial and sensorial process.” 

While similar, no two decanters are exactly the same, reflecting the complexity of the process and its organic nature.

The oak pavilion is constructed from sustainably sourced oaks grown less than five miles from makers, Wardour Workshops, another family-owned company, based in Dorset, South West England. 

Co-founder at Wardour, Dom Parish, comments, “Oak is an inherent part of British craftsmanship, full of character. It has this wondrously enduring quality that lasts forever. Once it is cut and sized, it’s still a living organism.”