88 MAYFAIRTIMES.CO.UK
I nTERIORS
F
or those in the know, wine cellars- even ultra swanky, glass-fronted,
temperature-controlled ones – are
so 2018. Now, it’s all about a whisky
wall.
Whisky sales in general are on the rise.
“Both with us and globally, whisky is selling
more than before,” says Ben Murray, spirits
buyer at Hedonism Wines in Davies Street.
And to display lavish and expensive whiskies
from all over the world, whisky walls make
for a striking restaurant feature, with amber
liquid swirling beautifully in glass decanters.
“The likes of Instagram have certainly
helped the idea reach a wider audience,”
Murray says. Whisky, like wine, is a savvy
collector’s item, and as he says: “The nature
of collecting is that the collector has a great
passion for it and, provided the objects are
ones that can be displayed, then they will
more than likely want to do this.”
Whisky has lots of attractive selling points.
“There are more whiskies on the market,
including plenty of ‘limited editions’ and
some are very hard to get hold of,” says
Murray. “Whisky isn’t perishable and doesn’t
need the same conditions for storage that
wine does, which makes it easier to put
on d i splay.”
As for where the top whiskies are from - Scotland is still dominant at Hedonism,
Murray says, while The Luggage Room
(Marriott Grosvenor Square) has 28 Irish
whiskies, including some limited-edition
runs, alongside 18 American/Canadian
whiskeys, six Japanese and 44 Scotch.
At Fortnum & Mason, the store’s spirits
and wine buyer Oscar Dodd says: “Scotland
remains the holy grail, though we have
seen enormous growth in recent years from
Japanese whisky, with American and Irish
also experiencing new interest and growth.
“Of particular interest are Karuizawa,Yamazaki and Chichibu (Japan); Macallan,
Highland Park and Daftmill (Scotland); and
Pappy Van Winkle, Buffalo Trace and Four
Roses (USA).”
And for the whisky walls we can’t get
enough of, Sexy Fish has the largest
collection of Japanese whisky in the world,
with more than 400 bottles and a beautiful
display. The Coburg Bar at The Connaught
hotel chooses to prominently display its
whisky bottles on the back bar, with more
than 110 varieties. Its menu is listed by cask
finish rather than by where they are from
and categories include single malt, sherry
cask and spirit cask, with a menu that is
constantly changing. Fortnum & Mason is
also in on the action. “We have a dedicated
‘Still Room’ designed for displaying our fine
and rare range. It is specially lit and allows us
to securely display a broad selection of fine
and rare spirits from across the world, with a
focus on single malt whisky,” Dodd says.
Elsewhere, if walls aren’t your thing but
whisky is, try the very special whisky trolley
in The Emin Room at 34 Mayfair. Private
diners can enjoy unique, luxurious whiskies
from around the world, served from a trolley- try it neat, poured over a sculpted ice ball.
But the whisky wall trend isn’t over – and
it may evolve even further. “Whisky happens
to be in vogue at the moment, but I have seen
display walls of cognac, gin, rum and so on in
private collections,” Murray says.
Where there’s a will – or a wall – there’s a
w ay.
the coburg bar at the connaught hotelFortnum & masonMT Aug19 96-98 interiors whiskey.indd 88 30/07/2019 11:55