Smokehead Enters ‘Brilliantly Rebellious’ Partnership With Winner of Netflix’s Glassblowing Series, ‘Blown Away,’ to Launch New Take on Whisky Glassware

Elliot Walker is pictured blowing glass. Walker was tapped to collaborate with Smokehead in creating a whisky glass that subverts tradition, slated to launch in the fall in a limited run. (Photos: Smokehead/Elliot Walker)

Smokehead announced a partnership with the lauded glassblower and Season Two winner of Netflix’s “Blown Away,” Elliot Walker. The scotch whisky brand chose to work with Walker to craft a whisky glass that subverts tradition.

“Our partnership with Elliot Walker has been truly exciting and will allow us to bring another element of Smokehead to whisky aficionados worldwide,” Smokehead’s chief Smokehead, Mikey Sim, said in a news release. “Getting to know Elliot’s creative process has shown how aligned we are in our brilliantly rebellious attitudes, daring to be different and breaking through the molds of convention.”

Smokehead is an Islay-based single malt scotch producer known for doing things a bit differently in the whisky world, like finishing its expressions in stout casks or being the first scotch whisky producer to enter the RTD game with its canned whisky cocktails that launched in 2021.

As for the bespoke glassware, the brand and Walker intend to offer Smokehead’s fans the opportunity to choose the winning design on the whisky brand’s social pages.

A prototype of Smokehead’s new glassware.

After the winning design is chosen, Walker will make a limited run of glasses available for fans to purchase starting in September. Fans will also be allowed to win a glass during a competition slated to run in October.

“It’s a real honor to partner with Smokehead on this creative project, as a brand who is leading the charge on innovation within the whisky category and is unafraid of breaking boundaries, just like I am with my sculptures,” Walker said in the news release. “I’m a huge fan of Smokehead so it’s an exciting challenge to create a bespoke item that matches the brand’s rebellious and innovative nature – not only should it make a bold statement, but it needs to be functional and enhance the drinking experience.”

Walker is one of the leading glass blowers in the U.K. and uses the rare “Massello” technique to craft works of art inspired by colors and textures that mimic other materials, according to the Vessel Gallery in London.

“This project enables us to stay true to our ethos that Smokehead never limits the ways its whisky can be enjoyed. We can’t wait for the glass to launch later this year, and hope it will be so aspirational that drinkers of other malts will be enticed to use it too,” Sim concluded.

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