Whisky Or Art? Inside The Extraordinary $55,000 Old Pulteney Polaris

You would be forgiven for not knowing entirely what you were looking at when you first came across Old Pulteney Polaris. But that is entirely the point. For the oldest whisky released by the almost 200 year old distillery and created especially for the Distiller’s One-Of-One charity auction, only the truly extraordinary will do.

“I always ask new clients one question. How brave are you? Old Pulteney told us to take them right to the edge, and that is when you unlock art,” shared Brodie Nairn, co-founder of artisan glassmaker Glasstorm, the studio behind the enthralling bottle—and other icons from previous Distiller’s One-Of-One auctions. But what do pieces like this mean for the average whisky drinker?

How To Become The Best?

To understand Polaris you have to first understand what it’s been created for. The Distiller’s One-Of-One is a charity auction held every other year and, as the name implies, every lot is completely unique. The aim is to raise money for charity, but for the distilleries that donate what is often their oldest and most precious whisky, the aim is also prestige, with Polaris estimated at $35,750–$55,000 (£26,000–£40,000).

Ultimately all scotch whisky is made with three ingredients; water, barley yeast. Some whisky is better than others, some is older than others, but when everything on offer in a sale is the oldest and/or the best each distillery can offer—how do you distinguish yourself?

This is where art comes in.

Old Pulteney Polaris

Polaris is striking, when it is closed it looks like a hewn piece of slate has been cracked to reveal an unlikely gem at its core. Just the heart of the “bottle” is visible and it glows, simultaneously like ripples in the sand as you walk across a beach at sunset, and incongruously like molten rock. I use the word bottle loosely to describe the hand crafted glass vessel as the term doesn’t quite do it justice. But this was all part of the plan.

“Polaris opens and closes. When it is closed you see an amber and blue seascape. You ask yourself what you are looking at,” Nairn explained to me in an interview to discuss the creation of Polaris. “Even when it opens it still resists looking like a bottle. It keeps you questioning. That is the goal.”

With art you can elevate things beyond the mundane targets of “best” or “oldest.” Art takes what could just be another great whisky and elevates it into story, into a presence that can make a statement about the buyer and the distillery as well.

“The ultimate aim is to start a conversation. If someone has to stop and ask what they are looking at, we have succeeded.”

However, like art isn’t just for those that ultimately own it, these One-Of-One whiskies also play a part for the everyday scotch fan.

Outreach and Expectations

Yes, the bottles in this auction are aimed at high net worth individuals, not the everyday whisky drinker. But the auction does bring brands a unique and important platform.

“These auctions need showstoppers to reach new audiences,” adds Nairn. “Work that does not look like a normal bottle opens that door.”

Case in point, I write about whisky and I’m showcasing Old Pulteney–a brand I don’t usually cover exclusively—because Polaris offers something to talk about that is hopefully relevant and interesting to you as a reader. But by creating art, by creating bottles of whisky that don’t immediately look like whisky, these events can also work to bring awareness to non-whisky audiences too.

It is also important for artisans like Glasstorm. Not just to bring in the commissions, but by working regularly with bigger brands its builds and understanding on both sides how things work.

“The industry often asks for handmade work with factory-level perfection. That is an oxymoron. But equally a beauty spot can be part of the story,” Nairn explained but went on to clarify that things are slowly changing. “Clients are beginning to value sets where each piece varies a little. The volume and the stopper must be right, but the tone, cut, or hue can differ. That uniqueness is part of the art.”

While we as regular whisky fans might not be able to sample Polaris, the work brands like Old Pulteney do in auctions like this can in turn translate into better and more interesting products for their regular limited edition and special releases. This is especially apt as Old Pulteney will be celebrating their 200th anniversary in 2026, and with this incredible release I am really looking forward to seeing what they do to mark the event.