As The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow rolled into Chelsea Market it brought some of finest handmade goods that America has to offer. Stopping at numerous cities throughout the country, the roadshow was inspired by the skill and dedication of the team at The Balvenie Distillery in Scotland, who believe in handcrafted tradition.
During a time when everything is being mass-produced, the distillers at Balvenie wanted to showcase the hand crafted way that can be found in American cities. Parts of Chelsea Market were filled with these handcrafted goods, including New York’s own NYCutlery and Michael Scarborough Design, selected among hundreds of choices.
“Craftsmanship, in all its forms, is a huge passions of mine and when I was asked to curate the 2014 Rare Craft Collection by my friends at The Balvenie, I couldn’t wait to get started,” Dario Franchitti, former IndyCar racer, said. “I am incredibly proud of the way this crew came together. We have chosen an eclectic group spanning studies, interests and skills.”
The Hot Buttered Balvenie was the signature cocktail of the night, which included ice cream mixed with butter, nutmeg, cinnamon and the 12-year-old Balvenie Single Barrel. The mixture was a perfect blend of sweetness and whisky that warms anyone on a cold day. Attendees of the roadshow were able to taste the wide selection of Balvenie from the DoubleWood, Caribbean Cask, Single Barrel and PortWood, ranging from 12 years old to 30 years old. One of the iconic selections is the Balvenie 30 Year Old, which blends together aged whisky and European sherry giving a rare and fine single malt taste full of depth and complexity.
Within the second year of the roadshow, each piece has a story behind each it. Christopher Harth established NYCutlery with the belief that being motivated to create tools will be well used and cherished. All the materials that he uses to create the knives come from materials that would have gone to waste. For example, old furniture wood becomes the handle and old sawmill metal becomes the blade. Creating these timeless knives in his Brooklyn location, Harth was a finalist in the 2013 Balvenie Rare Craft Fellowship.
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