June is a month of celebration for the UK – well it has to be since the weather is never worth cheering over. On Saturday, June 15, the Trooping the Colour will take place to mark HM King Charles III’s 75th birthday, with festivities occurring across London and the country.
Raising a glass to His Majesty, the Last Drop Distillers has come together with Welsh artist Mark Evans to create a pair of Coronation portraits and two bottles of a unique blended Scotch whisky to mark the occasion.
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The Last Drop Distillers’ master blender Colin J P Scott selected and combined more than 75 different whiskies to create the Blend of 75. The samples selected include whiskies from current malt distilleries such as The Glenlivet and Laphroaig, along with spirits from Scotland’s lost distilleries, including Imperial, Glenlochy and Convalmore – with some of the whiskies being more than 50 years old.
“It was my great honor to be asked to create this unique blend to honor His Majesty King Charles,” said Scott in the announcement.
“I had the opportunity to choose from The Last Drop’s inventory of maturing barrels to create a blend of over 75 different Scotch whiskies, from the four corners of Scotland. My aim was simple: to produce a unique whisky that represents Scotland, the magic of Scotch whisky and our profound admiration for His Majesty.”
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The two bottles will be presented alongside the pair of Coronation portraits of King Charles III created by artist Mark Evans. Working on a canvas of leather, Evans hand-etched the portrait of HRH, modeled on the King’s famous Time magazine cover, taken by photographer Nadav Kander.
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“I had a particular vision for a unique pair of portraits that would become something lasting, multi-generational and jaw-dropping,” told Evans’ of his purpose for the KCIII Portraits. “I wanted to hand carve portraits that would tell a story, convey a moment in time, and be quite simply beautiful.”
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The first KCII Portrait will be displayed at London’s Sladmore Gallery over the summer, while one bottle of Blend of 75 will be presented to His Majesty privately.
The second portrait and bottle of Blend of 75 will be auctioned or gallery sold for the benefit of Big Change, a charity founded by Princess Beatrice that supports global education. The conservative combined market value of the portrait and bottle of whisky is estimated to reach £471,600 (approx. $600,000).
An additional limited edition of 10 drams has been made during the bottling process and will be sold at £10,000 ($12,700) to raise further funds for the charity, and will be available to purchase at Wiltons.
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