Look inside this tiny house — it’s actually a Scotch whisky emporium that’s about to hit the road

You’ve read all about tiny homes — but what do you know about tiny bars in tiny homes? That’s what the designers and builders of this tiny home sought to accomplish, to overcome some not-so-tiny technical challenges in order to accommodate a very specific drink in mind.

Behold the first tiny Traveling Scotch Whisky Emporium: a little house on wheels that DEWAR’S created to make multiple stops throughout the country this summer — specifically Chicago, Denver, Boston, New York, Austin, L.A., and Miami — to bring neighbors and guests together over a DEWAR’S drink.

It makes sense that the brand decided to hit the road in a tiny home on wheels: The founder of DEWAR’S, Tommy Dewar himself, lived an adventurous and rambling kind of life that fits with the tiny house vibe. He published a book about his extensive travels in 1894 titled A Ramble Round the Globe and was known for his sharp-witted “Dewarisms,” like “Of two evils, choose the more interesting.” This time around, it’s the DEWAR’S brand ambassador, Gabriel Cardarella, who will be traveling to the emporium’s stops this summer.

The emporium is the dream tiny home for any Scotch lover, condensed into a tiny package. Visitors can even experience the Blended and Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the DEWAR’S portfolio through the tiny emporium’s vaporizer, and that’s just one of many specialized amenities. Inside the house you’ll find an industrial-style deep fryer for making Scotch eggs, a living wall to grow spices and herbs for cocktail recipes, a built-in barrel hoist for creating barrel-aged Scotch whisky cocktails, and a foosball table that efficiently doubles as an eating surface.

More subtle design touches include copper accents and intentional whisky barrel textured-materials that evoke a refined steampunk look. “Everything is custom,” say Erik Johnson and Theodore Rhodes, Creative Director and Art Director of the emporium design. “We wanted to make the space very inviting and livable with large windows for light. It’s tiny, but we wanted to open it up.”

Jeremy Killian of Innovate Tiny — a tiny house construction company — felt the pressure of figuring out engineering solutions when it came time to actually build features like the cantilever doors on the back of the unit and the front-right corner. “They’re meant to be used in a commercial capacity — they remind you of an airplane hangar,” Killian says. “Incorporating a technical detail like that while adhering to height regulations is just one example of a challenge that the team faced.”

This Scotch whisky tiny home is a mix of old and new, where vintage design, aged spirits, and a legacy of travel meets modern construction and a new way of sharing Scotch whisky. “It used to be you could only add a little bit of water to whisky, or you could only drink it with your golf buddies,” Cardarella explains. Those days are gone, he says: “I encourage people to always try something new.”

As for Cardarella, he’s excited to try the experience of the emporium — he’s on the road most of the time anyway, though never in a tiny home. Lucky for him, he’ll spend his summer hanging out (there’s even a loft space above the bar), and enjoying Scotch whisky in the tiny home while spreading the DEWAR’S story.

©2017. DEWAR’S, TRUE SCOTCH, THE CELTIC DEVICE AND THE JOHN DEWAR SIGNATURE ARE TRADEMARKS. IMPORTED BY JOHN DEWAR & SONS COMPANY, CORAL GABLES, FL. BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY – 40% ALC. BY VOL.