Chivas XV x Dolly Cohen: a collaboration of drink and design

Scottish-born whisky brand Chivas has teamed with French jewelry artist Dolly Cohen to launch a limited-edition of the renowned Chivas XV Scotch blend. A well-known favorite amongst rappers and pop stars alike, with artists of the caliber of A$AP Rocky, Madonna and Beyoncé as regular customers, Cohen has become in the last 15 years a reference in the urban jewelry community. Her astonishing work with 'grills' - decorative dental prosthetics made of gold, silver, precious gems and metals - have skyrocketed her from her modest beginnings growing up in a poor suburb on the outskirts of Paris to a place in the international 'wearable art' scene. In 2022, she won the ANDAM Fashion Award, further establishing her as a player in the high spheres of fashion creation.

This new collaboration celebrates the Maison Chivas Regal XV blend with the creation of a unique "masterpiece": a gold, custom-made case imagined and handmade by the artist, whose brand DNA for her eponymous dental jewelry intertwines delicacy and modernity. A sculptural design, modeled with the same technique as she uses for her grills, adorns and hugs the enclosed bottle in a meticulous manner - reminiscent of her signature method of embracing individual teeth shapes. Other distinguishing elements include "the shape, which is quite similar to that of my usual creations, but in a multiplied size and with an organic feel. There are many ways to work with gold, to polish the material, to give it different finishes and shapes... the color, brilliance and sharpness of this creation. And of course, my signature. I've got into the habit of affixing my signature to each of my creations, with a handmade signature that's just as meticulously crafted," said Cohen.

This one-of-a-kind case, which took 38 hours to fabricate, will be on display and available for purchase exclusively at a Parisian pop-up store, set to be revealed in December of this year. As for the price? A staggering 22,000 euros, sealing it as a genuine collector’s item for any whiskey-savvy enthusiast.

Those who aren’t looking to break the bank (or bottle), whilst still yearning to own a Dolly Cohen x Chivas artwork can nonetheless rest assured. At the same pop-up location, 300 gold-plated cases inspired by the original model from the collaboration will be up for grabs with the purchase of a Chivas XV bottle for the more modest sum of 150 euros.

At the Pernod Ricard Group Parisian headquarters (which has owned the Chivas brand since 2001), the 38-year old dental technician-turned-jewelry designer explains the origins of her creative insight.

"Each case was drafted the same way I work my grills. I visualized them like a dental arch, though I had much more room to work with! It was also the most challenging part of this creation: englobing the entire dimension of the bottle whilst still keeping it airy and aesthetically pleasing," said Cohen.

And when inquired about what gave way to such a collaboration, Cohen grinned and offered a concise and coherent explanation.

"Both my jewelry and enjoying a glass of whisky start with the same organ: the mouth! So when Chivas contacted me about working together, for me, it just made sense," she added.

Whilst the exact location and date of launch of the pop-up have not been disclosed yet, the event representatives promise that guests and potential buyers of the Chivas x Dolly Cohen collaboration will also have the opportunity to discover other signature cocktails and immerse themselves in the liquor label’s heritage, marked by significant history. Founded in the early 19th century, Chivas was recognized at the time as the Queen of England’s official Scotch whisky supplier.

Chivas has worked with artists on exclusive bottle creations in the past, such as with Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing in 2021.