Your move, whisky pals. The Balvenie has partnered London-based artisan Ellie Mercer to create a limited-edition collector’s chess set, Mercer’s first step into luxury interiors and homeware.
Ellie Mercer, known for sculptural pieces that blend resin, solid gold, and silver, has reinterpreted the classic Staunton chess set, incorporating materials directly sourced from The Balvenie distillery.
The collaboration is part of The Makers Project, an initiative in its fourth year that highlights modern creativity through partnerships with craftspeople who share The Balvenie’s commitment to passion, skill, and patience.
Ellie Mercer, known for sculptural jewellery pieces that blend resin, solid gold, and silver, has reinterpreted the classic Staunton chess set…
The contemporary, minimalist chess set is both collectable and functional.
Like The Balvenie cask heads, solid oak is crafted into a striking, square chessboard which combines polished brass details with deep, chocolate marbled resin, which contrasts with the amber resin chess pieces inspired by the honey tones of The Balvenie whisky.
The Balvenie x Ellie Mercer Luxury Chess Set is packaged with a bottle of The Balvenie Twenty Five, and is available exclusively at Fortnum & Mason, priced £1,650. Limited quantities are available, so make your move now.
For those unable to get their hands on a set, visitors to The Balvenie x Ellie Mercer ‘Makers & Gamers’ Experience at The Guards Bar and Lounge Raffles London at The OWO will be able to play a game on the designer chessboard, accompanied by a dram from The Balvenie Rare Marriages Collection.
English whisky continues to gather momentum, and in Bristol, Circumstance Distillery is emerging as one of its more intriguing voices. Still relatively young, the category has moved beyond curiosity status, with a growing number of producers exploring what English conditions, and sensibilities, can bring to the spirit. For the curious, English whisky must comply with…
Loch Lomond Whiskies has unveiled two limited-edition single malts to mark the 154th staging of The Open at Royal Birkdale. The bottlings continue the distillery’s long-running partnership with the championship, now in its ninth year, and promise another intriguing study in cask finishing, with Tawny Port and Argentinian Malbec both bringing distinct layers of fruit…
Islay distillery Ardbeg is marking this year’s Ardbeg Day with a limited-edition whisky that draws an intriguing line between the rugged coast of Islay and the sunlit sweetness of Sicily. The new Ardbeg Dolce arrives as the distillery’s 2026 festival bottling, combining spirit matured in Marsala dolce casks with classic bourbon cask Ardbeg to create…
The Luxe Review 
Your move, whisky pals. The Balvenie has partnered London-based artisan Ellie Mercer to create a limited-edition collector’s chess set, Mercer’s first step into luxury interiors and homeware.
Ellie Mercer, known for sculptural pieces that blend resin, solid gold, and silver, has reinterpreted the classic Staunton chess set, incorporating materials directly sourced from The Balvenie distillery.
The collaboration is part of The Makers Project, an initiative in its fourth year that highlights modern creativity through partnerships with craftspeople who share The Balvenie’s commitment to passion, skill, and patience.
The contemporary, minimalist chess set is both collectable and functional.
Like The Balvenie cask heads, solid oak is crafted into a striking, square chessboard which combines polished brass details with deep, chocolate marbled resin, which contrasts with the amber resin chess pieces inspired by the honey tones of The Balvenie whisky.
The Balvenie x Ellie Mercer Luxury Chess Set is packaged with a bottle of The Balvenie Twenty Five, and is available exclusively at Fortnum & Mason, priced £1,650. Limited quantities are available, so make your move now.
For those unable to get their hands on a set, visitors to The Balvenie x Ellie Mercer ‘Makers & Gamers’ Experience at The Guards Bar and Lounge Raffles London at The OWO will be able to play a game on the designer chessboard, accompanied by a dram from The Balvenie Rare Marriages Collection.
Bristol-based Circumstance Distillery rides English whisky wave with uncommon core range
English whisky continues to gather momentum, and in Bristol, Circumstance Distillery is emerging as one of its more intriguing voices. Still relatively young, the category has moved beyond curiosity status, with a growing number of producers exploring what English conditions, and sensibilities, can bring to the spirit. For the curious, English whisky must comply with…
Loch Lomond Whiskies marks The 154th Open with Tawny Port and Malbec-finished single malts
Loch Lomond Whiskies has unveiled two limited-edition single malts to mark the 154th staging of The Open at Royal Birkdale. The bottlings continue the distillery’s long-running partnership with the championship, now in its ninth year, and promise another intriguing study in cask finishing, with Tawny Port and Argentinian Malbec both bringing distinct layers of fruit…
Limited edition Ardbeg Dolce whisky brings Marsala sweetness to Islay peat for Ardbeg Day 2026
Islay distillery Ardbeg is marking this year’s Ardbeg Day with a limited-edition whisky that draws an intriguing line between the rugged coast of Islay and the sunlit sweetness of Sicily. The new Ardbeg Dolce arrives as the distillery’s 2026 festival bottling, combining spirit matured in Marsala dolce casks with classic bourbon cask Ardbeg to create…
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