Emma SWG3 and The Clydeside Distillery launch limited-edition whisky in collaboration with artist Jim Lambie
Velvet Odyssey celebrates 20 years of SWG3 with a unique single malt and design from artist Jim Lambie.
Neighbouring Glasgow institutions SWG3 and The Clydeside Distillery have joined forces with visual artist Jim Lambie to mark SWG3’s 20th anniversary with a one-of-a-kind limited-edition whisky: Velvet Odyssey.
The collaboration is rooted in the long-standing relationship between SWG3 Managing Director Andrew Fleming-Brown and Clydeside Distillery Founder Andrew S. Morrison – childhood friends and now neighbours on the banks of the Clyde. It also builds on a creative partnership with Jim Lambie that stretches back to SWG3’s early days.
Velvet Odyssey is a single malt matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, before spending a further five months finishing in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry Butt. Bottled at 48.5% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural in colour, the whisky offers notes of tropical fruit, toffee, oak spice and dark chocolate. An expressive, richly layered dram that reflects the creative spirit of SWG3 and its collaborators.
The bottle and packaging feature a specially revisited artwork by Jim Lambie, originally created in 2006 for the Comme des Garçons Guerrilla Store +44 141, which was housed in SWG3’s then-transitioning ground floor space – formerly a wedding car garage. Lambie’s customised white Daimler limousine, wrapped in his signature psychedelic vinyl tape, became the visual centrepiece of the project and one of the venue’s first iconic works.
Reflecting on the origins of the project, Andrew Fleming-Brown said: “SWG3 was a very different space back then, very rough around the edges, full of potential, with car mechanics as our neighbours and the air thick with activity. When we hosted the Comme des Garçons Guerrilla Store in 2006, Jim had the idea to take one of the Daimlers from the wedding car garage downstairs and transform it with layers of psychedelic vinyl tape. It became the centrepiece – this surreal, colourful car sitting in the middle of a warehouse at the end of a dead end street. It really captured the spirit of that time. I managed to get a small piece of the car back last year, and now it’s on display at The Clydeside Distillery for the launch. A nice way of reconnecting with the early days as we mark 20 years.”
Located directly across the road from SWG3 in the former pump house of the Queens Dock, The Clydeside Distillery continues to honour Glasgow’s rich whisky export legacy. Every batch is distilled by hand, using traditional methods passed down through generations.
Velvet Odyssey is available in limited quantities from The Clydeside Distillery shop and online store priced at £85.00: https://www.theclydeside.com/online-shop/velvet-odyssey/.
