Any distiller worth his cask will tell you that the key to a good whisky is in the blend; that magic alchemy that produces the amber nectar. And it is a sentiment shared at Truefitt & Hill, where the science and skill that seamlessly merge into each cologne and scented product - from shaving creams to body soaps - have been honed over centuries to perfection. After all, we have been the specialists in the field for over two centuries, since 1805 to be precise! With those two founding tenets, as well as the devotion to craft and excellence, we have collaborated with The Last Drop distillers to curate a unique experience within our St. James’s emporium.
The Last Drop distillers have supplied a rare bottle of their 56 whisky, a blend aged for 56 years, the premise being that the experience will last in store until the last visitor has imbibed the last drop of the £3,750 bottle.
With only 732 bottles in existence, this is an encounter for sybarites of peerless taste. ‘Mr.Espey sent me’ – is all that needs to be said to indulge in this exquisite experience.
“It is about a shared love of craft, about making nice things and caring about storytelling and a sense of independence”, said Andrew Tuck, editor of Monocle, at the launch of the collaboration and the happy marriage of the two institutions. Certainly, time is essential to the process of making whisky and it resonates with the history and legacy of Truefitt & Hill - the oldest grooming establishment in the world. The house was founded in 1805 by William Francis Truefitt, wig-maker and hair dresser to King George III. The company went on to feature in the works of Dickens and Thackeray, to provide polish and panache for Cary Grant, the Duke of Windsor and Errol Flynn (that signature moustache kept in place just so with a little help from Truefitt), as well as to hold multiple Royal Warrants. It is a heritage and a legacy that demands that one thing money cannot buy: time.
And rich development too parlays neatly into how we craft our products; formulated in the UK, we are careful to curate our blends with a twist of tradition and history - the 1805, for example, began life in the 1850s and has evolved over the centuries to become one of the firm favourites of the modern day. The West Indians Limes fragrance made its zesty debut in the 1870s and became the go-to of Queen Victoria, with only minor alterations, it now strongly appeals to the contemporary man.
But the collaboration also speaks, says Tuck, to a deeper focus on creating enriching experiences for today’s digital-weary consumers. “When it comes to retail, bricks and mortar mean so much”, he says. “A study showed that there was a direct correlation between city living and mental health in terms of interaction with people. Going into a store means talking to people, engaging, having conversations. In our digital age we bank online not in person, our checkouts are computers, all of which means there is less and less of human interaction. Creating environments for people to enjoy is important”, says Tuck. And what better environment to escape the darkness of autumn, we mean that both literally and in the sense of the ever alarming news cycles, than the wonderfully welcoming and reassuring in its stability and tradition, Truefitt emporium, which for a limited period only, brings a touch of noble heritage of the Highlands to the capital - and the world’s oldest grooming establishment.