Photo: Lagavulin 170. Ernie Button
RESEARCH

Whisky Worlds

Though a glass darkly with photographer Ernie Button

In his Vanishing Spirits project, photographer Ernie Button revealed otherworldly landscapes and planetary hazes in the filmy remains of a glass of whisky.
Button says, “The idea for this project occurred while putting a used Scotch glass into the dishwasher. I noted a film on the bottom of a glass and when I inspected closer, I noted these fine, lacey lines filling the bottom. What I found through some experimentation is that these patterns and images that you see can be created with the small amount of Single-Malt Scotch left in a glass after most of it has been consumed. The alcohol dries and leaves the sediment in various patterns. It’s a little like snowflakes in that every time the Scotch dries, the glass yields different patterns and results. I have used different colour lights to add ‘life’ to the bottom of the glass, creating the illusion of landscape, terrestrial or extraterrestrial.”
Image: Aberlour Abundah 122. Ernie Button
Photo: Laphroaig 122. Ernie Button
Photo: Glengoyne 134. Ernie Button