In its original form, the word “whisky” meant “water of life.” I’m sure some of you readers out there will agree with that sentiment. Luckily for you, there’s quite a variety of different whiskies (or “whiskeys,” if we’re talking about American or Irish liquors). But my favorite is still the Scotch whisky!
Scotch whisky is produced and aged, as the name suggest, in Scotland. By law, Scotch must be made from malted grain, must be matured in oak casks for at least three years and must have an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume. The age statement on a bottle of Scotch is determined by the youngest stock used in its production. The most expensive scotch whiskies in the world were each produced in one of the regions traditionally considered part of the Highlands region.
Whereas malt whisky is produced from pure malted barley without mixing with grain (the cheapest) of whiskey.
The fashion for quality, limited-edition whiskey started in Britain in the 1980s with the rapid expansion in the availability of single-malt Scotches, high-end whiskies made by individual distilleries in Scotland, using only malted barley.
...and below are some of the most expensive whisky that ever made!
The fashion for quality, limited-edition whiskey started in Britain in the 1980s with the rapid expansion in the availability of single-malt Scotches, high-end whiskies made by individual distilleries in Scotland, using only malted barley.
...and below are some of the most expensive whisky that ever made!
Ladybank Single Malt: $4,700
The Macallan 1947 Fine and Rare Collection: $6,800
Chivas Regal Royal Salute 50 year old: $10,000
The Macallan 1939 40 year old Fine and Rare Collection: $10,125
Glenfarclas 1955 50 year old: $10,878
Glenfarclas 1955 / 50 years of aging, 70cl / 44.4%, single-malt Scotch whiskey.
Spicy and silky with a sweet flavor, this is – the oldest party, ever bottled distilleries Glenfarclas.Bottled in 2005 exactly fifty years after it was distilled, was founded by George S. Grant, to celebrate the bicentennial of his birth “the great-grandfather,” John Grant, a farmer and breeder of Aberdeen-Angus breed of cattle, who bought the Glenfarclas distillery in 1865.
Dalmore 50 Year Old Decanter: $11,000
Macallan 55 Year old Lalique Crystal Decanter: $12,500
Glenfiddich 1937 Rare Collection: $20,000
Glenfiddich 50 Year Old
This golden amber Scotch, the darkest of Glenfiddich’s whiskies, is only the second vatting of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old. The first was between 1937 and 1939, when Glenfiddich founder William Grant laid down nine casks—one for each of the grandchildren who’d helped him build his distillery by hand.
To create this whisky—with its delicate rose petal and violet notes and green tobacco leaf, oak and smoke flavor—two casks, each one matured for 50 years in a cool and dark warehouse, were mingled in an American oak cask by renowned Malt Master David Stewart for another six months before finally being bottled and readied for sale.
Dalmore 62 Single Highland Malt Scotch: $58,000
This single Highland malt Scotch whisky from the Dalmore Distillery in Inverness, Scotland, was one of only twelve bottles produced in 1943 from four single malts dating from 1868, 1876, 1926 and 1939. Each was labeled with its own unique name, this one being called Matheson after the Dalmore Estate’s owner, Alexander Matheson. It was purchased for £32,000 at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey, where the anonymous buyer reportedly shared it with five of his friends. It has been speculated that the buyer and his friends are the only people to have actually enjoyed a bottle of the expensive vintage.
The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare: $75,000
Dalmore 64 Trinitas – $160,100.
The Macallan Lalique – $460,000.
A bottle of 64-year-old Macallan, the oldest whisky ever bottled by the Macallan distillery, became the most expensive whisky in the world when it sold at a charity auction in November, 2010. The catch, however, is that the auction also included a one-of-a-kind crystal decanter.
The decanter was created by Lalique using lost-wax casting, called “cire perdue” in French. The decanter was created to celebrate the anniversary of master glassmaker René Lalique’s birth. It is based on a decanter from the 1920s, when The Macallan distillery was founded. The crystal decanter and its expensive cargo have toured twelve cities to raise awareness for charity: water, including Paris, London, Hong Kong and its final stop at Sotheby’s in New York.
Aisla T’Orten 105 Years Old 1906 - $1.4 million
Some 105 years ago, a terrible fire destroyed the Aisla T’Orten distillery in the Highlands, after only one day of operation. Just one ceremonial cask survived the catastrophe and this is how the fascinating story of the oldest and most expensive whisky begins. The sherry butt spent most of the past hundred years in Aberdeen, in the basement of Allie Sisell, a Scottish historian. In 2010, Mr. Sisell contacted Master of Malt and sold the cask for what we can only guess to have been an enormous amount of money.
On March 8, 2011, the 105 years old spirit (it was distilled on February 17, 1906) was finally bottled by Master of Malt. After exhuming the contents, they were left with only 762 ml of whisky: twelve milliliters were tasted, 50 ml were kept for future generations and 700 ml were bottled into a single bottle.
According to the company’s sales director, Ben Ellefsen, the steep price – £870,000 or approximately $1.4 million – reflects only the special provenance of the spirit: “we’ve left out the extra cost incurred by fancy packaging”. Ellefsen also sais that the company hopes the buyer will enjoy the unique savor of the Aisla T’Orten 105 Years Old 1906 Liquid History and not just keep the bottle in a presentation case.
The House of Chivas". Upon entering, we were first welcomed with a personalised key, brandy investment
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