Scottish drinks innovator Domhayn has launched Chic Hot, a limited-edition collaboration with French Canadian contemporary artist Virginie Schroeder, bringing together rare cask releases and bespoke sculptural works.
The project comprises two editions – Summer and Autumn – each pairing a single bottle from a six-bottle cask release with an individually commissioned, hand-built sculpture created by Schroeder. The result is a fusion of spirit maturation and contemporary art, with the bottle positioned as a central structural element within each piece.
The collaboration reflects Domhayn’s distinctive maturation programme, which sees casks submerged in the depths of Loch Ness. Schroeder’s sculptural works draw on seasonal colour palettes and organic forms, designed in direct response to the spirit itself rather than as separate artistic objects.
Butterflies feature prominently across both editions, symbolising transformation and mirroring the evolution that occurs during the maturation process beneath the loch’s surface.
James Patterson, founder of Domhayn, said: “I first came across Virginie’s work in a gallery near Paris and was struck by the way she used colour and movement. After we discussed Domhayn’s approach to maturing spirits, the collaboration developed naturally. The result is two sculptural works created around some of our rarest releases, reflecting the time and process behind the spirit itself.”
Virginie Schroeder added: “The works were developed in response to the spirit rather than as something separate from it. I treated the bottle as part of the structure, so the sculpture and the liquid are read as a single object.”
The Summer edition contains bottle six of six from cask DLNTN8 – the first Domhayn cask matured at a depth of 220 metres in Loch Ness. The Autumn edition features bottle six of six from cask DLNMFO, bottled at 63.4% ABV, marking the highest strength release from the company to date.
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Each sculpture is signed by the artist and accompanied by documentation detailing the collaboration. A removable spiral element allows access to the bottle, maintaining both functionality and artistic integrity.
The Chic Hot works are available via an expression of interest process, which closes at 11.59pm (GMT) on 24 July 2026.
