Two milestone events unfolded on May 27, with the Sydney Opera House sails lighting up for Vivid Sydney for the first time in three years and GlenDronach Distillery’s first-ever 50 Year Old Single Malt officially launching beneath them.

Vivid Sydney 2022 is the largest festival of light, music and ideas in the Southern Hemisphere and Friday night was the biggest, boldest opening night for the event in its history.

The Sydney Opera House sails are illuminated each night during the festival with a ground-breaking digital artwork, Yarrkalpa – Hunting Ground, 2021. The stunning animation is a collaboration between the East Pilbara-based Martu Artists and Sydney-based creative technologists Curiious, bringing to life the Parnngurr community in Western Australia and its surrounding landscape.  

Meanwhile, GlenDronach Distillery’s first-ever 50 Year Old Single Malt is its oldest and rarest whisky to date. Distilled in 1971, the expression represents a milestone in the near 200-year history of The GlenDronach Distillery and is available in Australia this month.

The GlenDronach Aged 50 Years, has spent five decades in rare Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from the Spanish bodegas of Jerez in Andalucía. Personally selected by Master Blender Rachel Barrie, the casks have been married for a final maturation in a single Pedro Ximénez cask. Only a small number of casks are chosen to reach such a celebrated age, and just 198 bottles will be available worldwide of The GlenDronach Aged 50 Years.

It was a perfect pairing that the launch event was held at Bennelong Restaurant, which features the most spectacular views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House sails.

The celebrations kicked off with whisky highballs – GlenDronach Original 12 Years, yuzu, honey and soda – as guests admired the dazzling light installations surrounding them.

The GlenDronach Brand Manager Stewart Buchanan travelled from Scotland for the event and led a tasting that included The GlenDronach 30 Years PX Cask 9333, The GlenDronach 28 Years Olorosso Cask 2623, The GlenDronach Master Vintage 1993 and The GlenDronach Grandeur 24 Years, plus a precious sample of The GlenDronach Aged 50 Years.

The whisky has gained richness and complexity over the past 50 years, it features ripe dark cherry and plum on the nose, a palate of dark chocolate, tobacco, and cocoa, and a finish of plum, black cherry, and espresso.

A limited number of bottles have arrived at specialist whisky retailers across Australia this month, priced at around $40,000 each. 

Pictured main: The GlenDronach Brand Manager Stewart Buchanan and Brown-Forman Australia Brand Manager – Scotch & Irish Whiskies Portfolio, Stuart Reeves