Posted on 03/12/2010 7:10:30 AM PST by envisio
The world's oldest malt whisky - costing up to £10,000 a bottle - went on sale today.
The Mortlach 70-year-old Speyside was sampled by a select group of tasters at a ceremony in Edinburgh Castle.
Bottles of the rare piece of Scotland's 'liquid history' have now hit the market.
Only 54 full-size bottles, costing £10,000 each, and 162 smaller bottles at £2,500 have been made available.
The whisky has been released under Gordon and MacPhail's Generations brand.
It was filled into its cask on October 15 1938 on the order of John Urquhart, the grandfather of the firm's joint managing directors, David and Michael Urquhart.
Exactly 70 years later, the decision was made to empty the cask and bottle its contents. A bottle of Mortlach was piped into Edinburgh Castle today and tasted by guests in the Queen Anne Room.
David and Michael Urquhart today described it as a malt 'without comparison'.
They said: 'This is a very special day for us, one we've literally been anticipating for generations. 'Our family has been in the whisky business for a long time, with each generation building and handing on a lifetime's expertise to the next.
'We believe Mortlach 70 Years Old is a malt without comparison.
'If the reaction of those lucky enough to enjoy a dram today is anything to go by, whisky fans and people wishing to own a unique piece of Scotland's liquid history will be very excited about it.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I know they’re planning to hold onto many of the bottles for ‘historical purposes’, that is, put on exhibit.
However, they did say they were going to sell off/auction a few bottles of the Shackleton whiskey. When or where, I don’t know.
What Blasphemy. The only way to drink this is straight up in a fine cut crystal glass. No water or soda. It should be sipped and of course a fine expensive cigar would be perfect.
Wring the scotch out of an old dishrag into your mouth, and chase it with some Cheetos.
Slim...get over here, my friend!
Here's a link to a photo of the bottle. I am sure the mods will pull the photo posted above since it's from Getty Images.
Assuming this is a 750 ml bottle, that means ~ 25.36 ounces to the bottle.
That makes it about $600 an OUNCE! Amazing. Too rich for my blood.
I may re-think my proclamation and open that bottle when I get married... which means I need to hurry up and find the right girl :-).
You know, if I had $600 and the opportunity, I think I would sip an ounce of this whisky. After all, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The oldest Scotch I've ever tried was The Macallan, 25 year old.
It was truly breathtaking. I was at a trade show in San Diego and my boss bought it for me. Of course, I was not rude enough to ask how much it was. :)
I don’t know, not being a Scotch drinker.
But I do enjoy a Grand Marnier periodically after a fine dinner out, and having had the regular, the 50 and 150 year old Grand Marnier, I will say that the 150 year old stuff is smoother than silk and waaaaay more interesting than the younger stuff.
How that translates into Scotch, I have not the slightest idea.
I don't know if it ever does. But after 70 years there can't be much left of what was in the cask. You get about 5% evaporation per year. So while there may not be a quality limit, there is a practical limit.
BTW, I don't think there is a 150 year old Grand Marnier. It was invented in 1880. And according to this site, probably not.
The next level of Grand Marnier is the Centennial Edition, or Cuvé du Centenaire, which is made using the same technique as the Red Label, but substituting 25-year-old Cognac for the normal Cognac used. This type of Grand Marnier costs nearly 200 US dollars (USD) per bottle and is meant to be drunk on its own. At the top of the heap is the Grand Marnier 150, a blend of Grand Marnier made using the highest-quality 50-year-old Cognac. It costs in excess of 200 USD per bottle and is often very difficult to find – indeed, an advertising campaign for it used the line: "Hard to find, impossible to pronounce, and prohibitively expensive."
Could be worse. You could be waiting for the Cubs to win the World Series.
If you drink out of those fancy glasses they get broke. You drink a quart or so and fall asleep, the glass falls right on the sidewalk and breaks all over the place and anyway, if all of it comes up later it don't matter how it tasted going down.
Whiskey in the bottle does not change unless exposed to UV light (sun). It gets worse under that one circumstance.
Whiskey in the barrel gets better with each passing year...mellower...richer.
Michelle will be going to da sto today fo Barry.
I’d tap dat.
Movin on up from Ripple.
That’s funny. I thought it was the age, but it was just the label. And I confess that the few times I’ve had it, someone I didn’t care for much was picking up the tab. Does that make me a bad person? It does taste considerably smoother that the regular stuff. I believe I could tell the 2 apart in a blind fold test.
As for audiophiles, I’m with you. My primary listening vehicle is my iPod. And I’m a musician with an above average ear. It’s not the sound quality I care about the most, it’s the performance. CD or vinyl, doubt I would pass the blindfold test.
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