French designer Philippe Starck joins Mortlach

Speyside distillery Mortlach has named designer Philippe Starck as its first creative director.

Starck is a French industrial architect and designer, whose work spans furniture to high-end hotels and mega yachts. He will launch his debut collection with the Diageo-owned brand, titled Mortlach x Starck, in spring 2024.

The move follows on from other Mortlach link ups with top designers and creatives, including Joe Doucet and Sabine Marcelis.

Pedro Mendonça, Diageo’s Global Reserve managing director, said: “One of the most visionary contemporary creators, Philippe Starck, joins Mortlach as our true partner and we are proud to be the first Scotch whisky brand he has ever worked with.

“Together we will venture into creative new heights, reinventing what whisky will represent to a generation, reimagining and rebuilding the spirit of Mortlach.”

It marks the first time the designer has partnered with a Scotch whisky brand, and the collaboration was celebrated at an event in Miami, imagined by Starck with help from agency Bureau Betak and French chef Yann Nury.

Starck commented: “Mortlach is the result of a scientific genius, Alexander Cowie. Since its creation, the brand has been inventing and exploring new territories, crafting whiskies that are incredibly rich without any gimmick or anything superfluous.

“This was a strong shock for me, as Mortlach clearly already belonged to the future. The evolution story of Mortlach takes a leap forward into modernity, with the elegance of nature and the magic of science at the service of humanity.”

Starck’s collection is said to be inspired by the story of evolution ‘at the crossroads of traditional savoir-faire and avant-garde intelligence’.

At The Luxury Masters 2023 tasting, Mortlach won a Master medal for its 20-year-old expression, in the Scotch Whisky – Single Malt – Ultra Premium category.

The brand is now in its 200th year, having been founded in 1823.