Posted on 02/25/2005 5:36:40 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
Last bottle of world's oldest single malt whisky leaves Scotland
Fri Feb 25,12:29 PM ET Offbeat - AFP
LONDON (AFP) - The last remaining bottle of the world's oldest single malt whisky left its distillery in Scotland bound for Hong Kong, where it will be the star attraction at an airport shop.
The bottle of Glenfiddich Rare Collection 1937, left to mature in a cask for 64 years before being bottled, is heading for Hong Kong's Chep Lap Kok Airport, where it will be available for a well-heeled buyer, but only at a steep cost.
Previous bottles sold direct by the family-owned Glenfiddich Distillery fetched 10,000 pounds (14,500 euros, 19,000 dollars) each, but the price levied by the airport is expected to be higher still.
"There are a lot of mixed emotions here," said the distillery's "malt master" David Stewart of the bottle, claimed as the oldest single malt whisky in the world.
"On the one hand, we're extremely proud of having produced a whisky of such a fantastic quality that's stood the test of time and on the other, there's a tinge of sadness at saying goodbye."
Sky Connection, which operates shops at Hong Kong airport, has bought the final six bottles of the 1937 malt, the last of which departed the distillery on Friday.
As they are so rare, the bottles are being sent in two batches.
Just 61 bottles, described as having "chocolate and treacle" flavours, were produced from the single cask and first released in 2001.
Get the Glenfiddich much better more smooth the only thing I drink.
Sad that the bottle is going to Hong Kong
Hi, Dan!
"...'chocolate and treacle' flavours...
If you men would just smarten up and feed this to us females on a regular (as in 'cyclical') basis, your problems in life would be few! ;)
Mmmmm...Scotch! Mmmmm...Chocolate! Mmmmm...Treacle! (FYI: Treacle is a deep, rich, robust, tastily refined sugar.)
Guys? Love ya, but...Get. A. Clue.
We tried 17 different kinds of scotch when we were on a golf trip to Scotland in 2002. We all agreed that Glenfiddich and Glenlivet were the worse scotch we tried. We really liked Ardbeg and Lagavulin.
Sad indeed........... :-(
When we toured Gelgoyne distillery our guide said that past a certain point whiskey, unlike wine, did not improve with age.
Dan
Well, if someone offers me a taste of a 50 yo scotch, I won't turn it down!
HERETIC!
"...I've given up scotch for Lent anyway, so this means nothing to me..."
I hated to do it, but I gave up kicking my cat.
16 yr Lagavulin.
Mmmm... ahhhhhhh.....
I think scotch gets into the category of things like coffee, cigars, etc. For people that get into it and over initial yuchiness, there is a wide world of taste and variety to explore.
Have you opened the laphroaig 40yo? If so, what did you think of it? Reviews consistently put it just below the 30yo OB that came out about the same time, though i have not yet tried either.
"Once in the bottle no further changes take place. If it was 11 years old when bottled, it should still taste like 11-year old Scotch (or worse) when opened even if opened 30-40 years later."
I have read claims by knowledgables that even an unopened bottle of cork-top scotch will slowly oxidize over maybe a decade...once it is opened and some liquid volume removed this picks up quite a bit.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.