Whatever you do, don't ask for lemonade with it

Published on Wednesday 29 July 2009 20:00

AT A staggering £357 a nip, it is one for connoisseurs of only the finest single malt whiskies.

Glenfiddich, the Speyside distillery, has announced plans to market the most expensive whisky ever produced at its Dufftown base – a 50-year-old single malt that will retail at 10,000 a bottle.

Only two casks have been produced, and the malt, described as a "Glenfiddich masterpiece", will be sold worldwide in a strictly limited supply of 50 bottles a year over the next ten years.

As part of the exclusive marketing initiative, each bottle will be hand-blown and presented in hand-stitched, leather-bound cases. Alongside the bottle, a leather-bound book will detail the whisky's history and enable owners to record personal tasting notes for each occasion they enjoy a dram.

Peter Gordon, the chairman of distillery owner William Grant and Sons, said the malt was "flawless". The great-great-grandson of founder William Grant said: "Our independence enables us to do things differently and focus on the liquid above all else.

"We're happy to wait as long as we need to – up to 50 years in this instance – to produce the perfect whisky. The Glenfiddich 50-year-old is the pinnacle of our whisky-making excellence and epitomises my great-great-grandfather's vision of creating the very 'best dram in the valley'."

A spokeswoman for the distillery said: "For half a century, the two casks of whisky have aged gently in the semi-darkness of Glenfiddich's warehouse 8, under the watchful eyes of the industry's longest-serving and most experienced malt master, David Stewart.

She added: "The taste is initially sweet with a zesty orange marmalade and vanilla toffee

"Glenfiddich 50-year-old will be available in the world's most prestigious airports for the next two months, before a strictly limited number travel from the distillery to select retailers and high-end establishments around the world."

Campbell Evans, a spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association, predicted that the luxury whisky would easily find suitable buyers.

He told The Scotsman: "We have old bottlings come out from a number of distillers over the years, and they certainly seem to get snapped up pretty quickly. There are some people who collect old bottles, and I suspect they buy them in the hope their value will increase. The advantage over wine is that whisky doesn't go off in the bottle.

"Hopefully, some people will drink it and enjoy it, because it was made to be enjoyed. And others will buy it because they collect specific bottlings."

Mr Evans added: "The people who can afford to buy whisky at this sort of price may not be as wealthy as they were, but they are still not suffering."

Despite its price tag, the Glenfiddich is less than a third of the cost of the world's most expensive Scottish malt.

The record price for a bottle of "the water of life" was 32,000, paid in 2005 by an English businessman for a 1943 vintage Dalmore single malt. He and his friends reportedly polished off the bottle in one evening.