Price: $38,000
The oldest and most sought-after of Macallan’s revolutionary Fine & Rare Collection is now sold out. It is still possible to
taste this totally unique Scotch whisky at the Old Homestead Steakhouse in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J. However, it sells for a nosebleed-inducing $3,300 per dram, so you had better have had a good run at the craps table.
The Macallan Fine & Rare Collection, 1939, 40 Years Old
Price: $10,125
Pay attention now: The 1939 was first bottled in 1979, hence its designation as 40 years old. Then, in 2002, the entire Fine & Rare Collection was rebottled for the sake of consistency. Macallan describes it as having rich peat and powerful wood flavors overlaid with sweet toffee and dried fruits.
Chivas Regal Royal Salute, 50 Year Old
Price: $10,000
Released in 2003 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, its lead malt is the superb Strathisla, which accounts for the exceptionally rich and creamy character. Only 255 bottles of the Scottish whisky were released worldwide, which helps account for the high price.
Glen Garioch, 1958, 46 Year Old
Price: $2,600
Just 328 bottles of this ancient dram were released–the product of only three bourbon hogsheads. Created in the northern part of Scotland, it is lightly peated, with strong floral elements and deep, complex woody and earthy flavors.
Bruichladdich 40 Year Old
Price: $2,500
Whisky lovers the world over cheered when malt maestro Jim McEwan, of Bowmore fame, took over the mothballed distillery of Bruichladdich, on the Scottish island of Islay. While we await his new product to mature, we can enjoy such treasures as the delectable 40 year old he has mined from Bruichladdich’s richly stocked cellars. It is mild, yet packed with layer upon layer of deeply nuanced flavors.
Glenfiddich 40 Year Old
Price: $2,500
This Scotch whisky won the Gold Medal and was judged the world’s finest single malt, at Whisky Magazine’s 2003 blind tasting. It’s slow to evolve in the glass, but when it does, it reveals itself as an amazingly deep and complex whisky, layered with chocolate and honey, with a long dry, smoky, peaty finish.
Springbank 32 Year Old
Price: $750
One hundred years ago, there were over 30 distilleries in the Campbeltown region of Scotland. Now, sadly, there are only two. The good news is that one of them, Springbank, is thriving, thanks to its superior and utterly unmistakable whiskies. This version is a marriage of deeply complex flavors marked by a subtle, spicy sweetness from the 32 years spent maturing in old sherry casks.
Auchentoshan 1973 32 Year Old
Price : $700
Auchentoshan’s regular bottling does not get much respect among whisky aficionados, but this Oloroso-sherry matured version has won rave reviews for its rich complexity and, despite its age, its zesty, spicy fruitiness.
Evan Williams 23 Year Old Bourbon
Price: $350
Like many very old Bourbons, this beauty is packed with the flavors of dark chocolate, rum, raisins, caramel, vanilla and a long, syrupy finish tinged with woody spices. It is only available at the Kentucky distillery.
Midleton Very Rare
Price: $139
The name does not lie–this is Ireland’s most exclusive, and rare, whiskey. It is made from a blend of whiskies between 12 and 25 years old, from just a handful of carefully selected bourbon casks. Each bottle is numbered, and there is a distinct difference from one year’s blend to the next.
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