Crown Royal XR Heritage Blend
In the early summer of 2007, I was commissioned by Diageo (US) to document the creation of two unique and very special bottles of Crown Royal Extra Rare Heritage Blend whisky―one of which was to be presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her first ever visit the Kentucky Derby that year.
I photographed Casey Hyland, master glass designer at The Glassworks in Louisville, as he made one of the two custom glass decanters. I captured the burnishing of the barrel top by Troy Brady, a local master pyrographer (great job title), and I shot a series of photographs at Churchill Downs in the days leading up to the actual race itself.
The 2007 Kentucky Derby weekend was a particular muddy affair and made for very some interesting pictures, as much focused on the craft of horse racing as it was on the skill of making of handmade glass bottles.
Client: Diageo US
Creative direction, photography & retouching: James Bareham
Well groomed
