How should whisky be savoured? To award-winning Singaporean designer Gabriel Tan, the spirit is best enjoyed in a cosy, intimate setting, amidst stimulating conversation and good company. It is this concept that informs his design of the Continuum Lounge, a custom piece commissioned by celebrated whisky house Royal Salute.
Striking and bold, the modular sofa consists of three upholstered sculptural forms that come together to create a swirling, undulating wave representative of the continuum of time. Seating up to six people, its circular arrangement is built to encourage intimate social interactions. At its centre, a round table with a smoked oak base and brass surface symbolises the whisky-blending process. It is, in short, the ideal setting to relish in the whisky house’s exquisite spirits.
The collaboration is a fitting one—given Royal Salute’s commitment to excellence in craft, design and innovation. It is this same dedication that has led to the creation of the 24 Year Old Cognac Cask Finish, the brand’s first-ever cognac cask-finished whisky. Extraordinarily rich and undoubtedly lavish, the expression is crafted from a careful selection of single malts aged for 24 years, and draws on the distinctive flavour of first-fill cognac casks.
What makes the spirit most special, however, is the marriage of Scottish craftsmanship with Asian sophistication. Designed with the Asian palate in mind, it features notes of dark cherries, marzipan and caramelised figs on the nose, and summer berry compote, apricot jam and caramel on the tongue. An Asia-exclusive, the expression is specially crafted to the preferences of the region’s whisky connoisseurs.
Working with a Singaporean designer, then, is all the more apt. A part of Royal Salute’s Redefining Wonders campaign that welcomes all to enjoy the brand’s whiskies in a different light, the collaboration is just one of the ways in which the whisky house is supporting Asian creatives that share a similar dedication to craftsmanship. A testament to the brand’s commitment to empowering innovative design, the installation was also showcased at the Singapore Design Week’s Design Futures Forum earlier this year.
“In the same spirit of redefining existing archetypes, I wanted to break down the notion of what furniture can be—hence the enveloping design with the focal point of whisky appreciation as a shared ritual,” explains Tan.
Through the power of design, the collaboration offers a sipping experience that reveals the whisky house’s storied heritage and innovative spirit. The result is an invitation: not just to savour the exquisite spirit, but to discover the realm of whisky and Royal Salute as a whole.
Royal Salute’s 24 Year Old Cognac Cask Finish is available for purchase at select retailers in Singapore, including FairPrice Finest, Paradise Group outlets and HighHouse. It can also be found on Pernod Ricard’s official stores on Shopee and Lazada, as well as on Le Cercle, at a retail price of $350.
