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For the past eight years, Ernie Button has been photographing dried Scotch whisky stuck to the bottom of glasses. It seems like an odd choice of subject matter until you see the otherworldly photos.
“I’m just looking for something unique in the residues,” Button says. “I describe it like a kind of celestial or terrestrial landscape.”
Button, who we profiled for his Cerealism series, didn’t know much about Scotch until he met his wife, Melissa Button. He says her family takes their single malts seriously and over time they’ve helped him become a connoisseur as well.
The idea came to him through experimentation. He saw a pattern on a glass he was about to put in the dishwasher one day and randomly decided to flip it over, shine a light through and make a macro image using a 55mm lens and extension tubes.
It doesn’t take much Scotch to make the residue – two to four drops – so Button says he’s not wasting copious amounts. Nor does he drink it much. They aren’t empty Scotch glasses sitting all over his house.
Over time he’s experimented with several different types of the Scotch and several different types of light. He and his wife are particular to Scotch whisky, but he says any kind of whisky would probably work.
“Glenlivet is what we usually have at the house, but we’ve definitely expanded our palate from there,” he says.
The project is mostly about the art, but Button says he was also interested in the science so he reached out to Dr. Howard Stone, the head researcher at Princeton University's Complex Fluids Group. Stone explained that the rings and waves Button captures are likely made up of the flavor and color particles of the Scotch that are left behind as the alcohol evaporates.
Currently, Button is working on several new photos that will be part of an art exhibit about Scotch on the island of Islay, which is known for its Scotch distilleries. All those photos will feature the patterns left behind by the Scotches produced on the island.
All photos: Ernie Button
