Yes, this is seemingly the new kid on the block, beating the Scottish at their own game by making whisky that is better than the best from Scotland. Giving their stamp of approval are the whisky experts. And the fact that the Whiskey Magazine award for the best whisky in the world went to Japanese brands three years in a row.

Although the Japanese whisky industry is pretty old, producing since 1870, their first commercial production started in 1924 with the opening of the Yamazaki distillery. They followed the Scottish convention of production instead of the Irish, hence the comparisons have always been with Scotch blends and singles (and the Whisky is spelt without ‘e’ unlike the Irish Whiskey). Shinjiro Torii set up his now Suntory whisky distillery, called Kotobukiya at that time, in the suburbs of Kyoto in Yamazaki and hired Masataka Taketsuru who had studied the art of distilling in Scotland in 1920, at a time when Scotch whisky was not exactly ruling the markets. After putting in a decade working for Suntory, Taketsuru set up his own distillery Dainipponkaju, in 1934, rechristened Nikka, which is the other big whisky brand in Japan along with Suntory. He established the Yoichi distillery in Hokkaidõ. Both produce blended and single malt whiskies



Despite the steady quality of great whisky production by some ten odd distilleries operating in Japan, the domestic consumption has been as low as 1% since the peak in the 70’s and 80’s, having lost out to traditional brews like Sake and Shochu and newer cocktails, even beer. Taxes also made the whisky more expensive and a little out of reach. The whisky manufacturers have been looking at exports without much luck. The big push came in 2003 when Sofia Coppola directed a movie, ‘Lost in Translation’ starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, which was shot entirely in Tokyo. The central plot of the movie was about Murray working on the ad for Suntory whisky. While it was deprecatory in flavor for Suntory, it really worked like a huge promotion for the brand and familiarized the world to Japanese Whisky. That the movie itself was nominated for four Academy Awards, helped.



At the Whisky Magazine Awards 2007 held in Glasgow, Nikka Whisky Distilling Co‘s 21-year old Taketsuru Pure Malt won the Best Blended Malt Whisky in the World award along with Suntry Hibiki 30 year old. This became a habit when in 2008, again Nikka Distillery’s Yoichi 20 year old was named the world’s best single-malt, beating the previous years winner, Talisker 18. Suntory’s Hibiki brand was named the best blended variety. In 2009 and 2010, both years running Taketsuru 21 was the World’s best blended malt. In 2010 Hibiki 21 year old is the winner of the World’s best blended whisky. These awards are decided at blind tastings of more than 200 of the world’s finest whiskies by a panel of 16 world’s leading experts. What works for Japanese distillers is the variable climate in Japan, which assists maturation to create a purer whisky with a heightened aroma, and the old practice of using traditional distilling apparatus like coal-fired pot stills by the Japanese, which is no more prevalent in Scotland. Despite copying the same traditions and effort to simulate the same natural conditions as Scotland, Japanese whiskies are no more copycats. The use of casks made of genus-Quercus-serrata trees, including Japanese oak, Konara oak and Oriental white oak lend some unique flavors of aloes-wood and sandal wood, which are very rare in a whisky and broaden the aroma and taste spectrum of the Japanese whiskies.

So what are we waiting for? You fetch this new addition to the bar and I’ll get the sushi. Kanpai!!!

How do you manage, in the jewellery art direction for a prestigious name like Louis Vuitton, to keep your own creative work for Lorenz Bäumer separate from your work for Louis Vuitton?

Lorenz Bäumer: Both are me. Here I express a certain facet that corresponds to the poet-gardener-architect and, at Louis Vuitton, what I wanted was to create a style that belongs to them but with which I can equally identify with. When we met, we tried to see, as in a marriage, what we had in common. It would seem that we share a sense of creativity and that idea of travelling and sharing.

What happens when we travel? Louis Vuitton answers this question with wonderful accessories. On the other hand, we bring back beautiful poetical things from our travels. And, often, there follows the joy of sharing: a feeling which Vuitton understands perfectly. I have in mind, for example, the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton that is a cultural space with free entry where the House presents artists it adores around a theme. We fi nd this sharing in the store, where you have works of art that are being shared, you also have a concierge service so you can go to Louis Vuitton and ask them to book you a restaurant, for example. For my part, I wanted to broaden the concept of sharing: when we travel, emotions, sensations, shapes, movements and colours come into view and we remember them. So I asked myself: how can all this be made into sets or pieces of jewellery? In each of the jewellery sets that I have created for Vuitton, I tried to evoke a shape, a feeling, a filigree lace.

Hamdi Chatti: This adventure allows us to bring together the worlds of Louis Vuitton and that of Fine Jewellery in a marriage of creativity and expertise.

In this jewellery set, can I see this complicated watch movement with a circular protective structure as being embracing and maternal or, by extension, a solar system, an entire universe?

Lorenz Bäumer: What is important is to create a style, and this is a difficult task for a house as strong as Vuitton but, for me, that is precisely the challenge. I call that the common thread, which is, on one hand, the Louis-Vuitton-cut monogrammed diamond; the other element is the filigree lace which gives a more feminine feel that is both sexy and elegant. I also appreciate the fusion of principles that would seem to be in contradiction with each other: like necklaces that are both very large and imposing yet very light at the same time.

The essence of the House of Louis Vuitton is defined by its tradition and innovation. We had to invent new techniques to create these jewels. Thus it was possible for me to interpret this gold filigree lace as a fabric. Another common thread in this work for Vuitton is colour. The only rule I follow is to have no rules. I wanted to break the rules and offer new answers on how to handle colour in jewellery. Normally, one starts with a group of mixed stones to use and then must unify all the colours and re-cut all the stones so that they have exactly the same shape. I, instead, wanted to exalt the beauty of Nature in all its diversity: so the stones have been left as they were without re-cutting them, creating beautiful gradations of colour. I wanted to say something about colour.

Now the jeweller is not a painter of light, he is a sculptor of light: in a certain way, we fulfill a dream that painters have always had of painting with light instead of painting with colours. In the way we use stones, light flows in and out again. Stained-glass window-making is the art closest to mine.

In your creations, we are outside the usual rules and conventions and, instead, in contact with work that is much more spiritual because it is composed of all the living colours of Nature and, in the end, Nature never has bad taste. You have a fearless openness to sensuality of shapes, colours and materials. Would you describe yourself as a new generation of jewellers with a freer means of expression?

Lorenz Bäumer: I have the advantage of not coming from a family of jewellers where the rules are much more formal and prescriptive. For my part, having no rules allows me to open up new fields of technical investigation.

What type of woman does this collection have in mind?

Hamdi Chatti: All women who love fine jewellery, as well as the men who like to offer it to them.

What moral and aesthetic values are the DNA of this collection?
Hamdi Chatti: The defense of expertise: that of the diamond cutter, the jeweller, expertise in action, listening to creative inspiration and to convey emotion.

How do you divide your inspiration between Vuitton and Bäumer?
Lorenz Bäumer: There are no animals in the world of Louis Vuitton, but I love animals and often give them pride of place. Architecture is a constant source of inspiration for Louis Vuitton and they have created extraordinary things in this area with very talented architects.

Throughout the pages of the book that Lorenz Bäumer has done for Louis Vuitton about its collection of Fine Jewellery, we discover the many facets of the artist: A lover of sacred spaces, an aesthete, a surfer and an experienced publisher, equally able to handle thoughts and words as well as metals and stones.

Thank you to the alchemist for this beautiful instructive journey among things and through life.

A lush green remote island that is not too far from here is the island of Koh Kood, barely 105sqkm in area, off the south-east coast of the Gulf of Siam, the last island in the Trat Sea and part of the Trat province in Thailand, located at the very end of the Thai eastern maritime territory bordering Cambodia. The island is in pristine condition since political turmoil in Cambodia kept visitors out and the locals lived with nature and depended upon coconut and rubber plantations and fishing for lively hood. This gem of an Island provides all the staples that qualify it as an island paradise – silver beaches, clear blue waters, coral reefs, lush rain forests, small mountains and ridged plains with brooks, streams and waterfalls and all the privacy. The perimeter of the island is dotted with bays. To get to the island, one has the option of catching the local boat that ferries goods and takes five hours to arrive. The other options are to charter a boat or a speedboat that take about 90 minutes.

The exquisite nature of Koh Kood has become a draw for tourists and several resorts have since opened up. One that caught our eye was the Soneva Kiri resort run by Six Senses that has ‘slowlife’ as its philosophy. Hmm..perfect, whatever they mean by that. At the core value of Six Senses resorts and spas is the commitment to the environment and a social responsibility they take very seriously. The resort strives to achieve the world’s highest environmental standards through various initiatives. All timber used at Six Senses comes from renewable sources, all drinking water for the resort is produced onsite by reverse osmosis and ultraviolet purification, all food waste is sent to the pigs on a distant farm, organic gardens actually provide basics, giant bank of solar panels for energy support.

The Soneva Kiri by Six Senses is located on the north-west tip of the island, sprawling over 101 acres, set at the edge of a crescent shaped bay. The guests to the resort are received at the Bangkok airport and flown in on their private Cessna, making the journey barely an hour long from the airport to the Soneva Kiri airfield, followed by a five minute ride to the Soneva Kiri pier. Several experts have worked in tandem to have contributed to making the resort exclusive and exotic. For instance, Gary Hall the Feng Shui expert visualized the resort in the shape of a dragon and got the German bamboo artist, Jörg Stamm to design the body, which is a 300ft long bamboo bridge leading off the arrival pier. Overlooking the bay high up in the wooded slopes or set around the cove are 29 detached villas with Ferrari fly-sheets. Open air ablution area with a daybed on a base of crushed tree roots, outdoor showers, sunken tubs, toilets that look like giant termites’ nest, eight foot tall brown leather travelling trunks that open to reveal washbasins – the surprises are plenty. Most special is the Eco Villa suite that claims to be a prototype of zero emission, showcasing a range of environmental technologies incorporated into a bio-climatically designed structure made from locally sourced and non-toxic building materials like stone, mud and timber. Six Senses’ permanent horticulturalist Louis Thompson has conceived this villa as a circular structure made from stone and mud and odd-shaped trunks, with a living garden on its flat roof. The natural swimming pools are cleaned up using plants.

The newly opened resort is said to be a benchmark for ‘Intelligent Luxury’ and spares no effort in indulging the guests to the fullest. Besides the other five star comforts like spas, fine dining, plush suites, wi-fi etc, they also have an extensive library that offers even books like the Koran , besides stacks of DVDs, board games and more. Also find art galleries, chocolate factory, sensational home-made icecream, Calypso resort bicycles and personal Ingersoll Rand electric buggy to wander around.

Fine white sand between the toes, turquoise waters, a star spangled night sky – and great food and good wine and all the other mod cons – perfect destination to go ‘glamping’.