Firm Unveils New Whiskey Brand in Lagos

Chinedu Eze

The world’s most awarded single malt whisky, Glenfiddich, recently introduced the latest addition to its robust whisky collection, ‘The Grande Couronne’ in Nigeria.

A statement from the company said the Grande Couronne sits within Glenfiddich’s revolutionary Grande series and is a 26-year-old whisky matured in American and European oak casks, and finished in French Cognac casks, adding that the Grande Couronne is a nod to Glenfiddich’s experimental maverick spirit of consistently pushing the boundaries of whisky innovation.

The highly anticipated launch event, which was held on Sunday, July 18 at Cilantro Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos allowed guests to exclusively experience the Grande Couronne through the artistic expression of the Grande Composition. The Grande Composition is a series of artistic collaborations, which sees a cross-cultural reimagination of the brand’s Grande Couronne bottle design.

Glenfiddich discovered some of the world’s most exciting artists from 19 countries, including Ayoola Gbolahan from Nigeria, and challenged them to take inspiration from the original design and put their maverick eye to it, turning it into something new, celebratory, fresh, and unexpected.

The event was hosted by Chico, who kicked off with a brief history of the making of the Grande Couronne. Guests were treated to a variety of fine cuisine from Chef Emeka and entertained by soul music band – The Blues Project and a foremost dance group “DNMT”.
The night of glitz and glam culminated in the reveal of the Grande Couronne, and guests were treated to a tasting of the Grande Couronne spearheaded by Struan Grant, Glenfiddich’s Global Brand Ambassador (Virtually).

Following this, the art interpretation from Ayoola Gbolahan was unveiled, which segued into an auction of the art as well as limited edition signed sleeves inspired by the art piece. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to local Art foundations in Nigeria as part of Glenfiddich’s commitment to the development of the creative industry both locally and globally.

Speaking at the launch event, Country Manager Nigeria at William Grant & Sons, Frances Nwosa said “As the world’s most awarded Single Malt Whisky, Glenfiddich has a long tradition of innovation and setting the benchmark for quality. The launch of the Grande Couronne in Nigeria is a testament to the quality and pioneering spirit that has gone into the production of Glenfiddich for over 120 years. We are glad to bring the Grande Composition to Nigeria, which is a collision of Glenfiddich and our local culture. With this, we aim to not only keep raising the bar for whisky lovers in this region and beyond but also impact the next generation of artists through the proceeds received from the auction.”

Commenting on the inspiration behind his interpretation of the Grande Couronne filigree, Gbolahan stated that while immersing himself with the brand, he discovered that Glenfiddich was a product of collaboration with different individuals over several years.

He said “The bottle and stag were designed by two different people which made me believe that the William Grant family was disciplined and managed to keep the business afloat despite having multiple people (that were not related) to be part of the design process. I was inspired by all the people/ elements that were involved in the product and the artwork represents a fusion of all the minds that were involved in the product.”

Only 50 bottles of the Grande Couronne with sleeves inspired by the Grande Composition (Nigeria) artwork were produced – making this an exclusive collection for both whisky and art lovers!