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This 50yo expression started life before the invention of the telephone, the car and the electric light, and was maturing before the Eiffel Tower was built and the Statue of Liberty erected |
UK. The Dalmore brand owner Whyte & Mackay announced the release of one of the world’s oldest and rarest Scotch whiskies at last month’s TFWA World Exhibition during a private party hosted by UB Group Chairman Dr Vijay Mallya at his newly acquired home off the Cannes coastline.
Whyte & Mackay, owned by the flamboyant Indian tycoon since mid-2007, promised drinkers a “real taste of a bygone era that no other product or brand can offer” with the launch of a new 50yo expression of The Dalmore, first distilled 140 years ago.
Only 191 hand-blown Portuguese crystal decanters are being released, 50 of which will be made available to travel retailers. Each decanter will have a limited-edition silver neck tag and will be individually numbered.
Adding to the exclusivity and collectability, each bottle will also come with a handwritten and signed letter from The Dalmore’s creator Richard Paterson.
The Dalmore 50yo carries a suggested retail price of £700 per unit of alcohol – the equivalent of around £5,000 for a full-size 70cl bottle, or up to £800 a dram in on-trade outlets.
The Dalmore Master Distiller Richard Paterson said: “I believe we are the only distillery which has the depth of stock to create such a long-loved and nurtured whisky as this.”
He reckoned the product would excite all consumers, particularly in emerging markets, and added that rare and vintage whisky such as The Dalmore 50yo was now being seen as an investment.
“Whisky generally is becoming scarce as we face unprecedented demand around the world, particularly from emerging economies like Russia, China and India. It makes unique expressions like the 50yo even more valuable,” he claimed.
The 52.8%abv 50yo whisky is described as “soft and elegant” with a “multitude of complex flavours that linger in the mouth”. Tasting of orange peel and liquorice initially, it reveals added touches such as crushed almonds and cinnamon.
Whyte & Mackay claims The Dalmore is the most exclusive whisky ever purchased and consumed in one sitting. An unnamed businessman bought a bottle of 62yo for £32,000 in 2005 and drunk it with friends in a UK hotel, leaving a glass of the precious liquid, in the bottle, as a generous tip worth more than £1,000.
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