Top 10 limited edition Scotch launches

Limited edition Scotch whiskies frequently send shock waves through the drinks industry due to their rarity, high price and age, making them coveted items for status chasers across the globe.

Some of the world’s most expensive and oldest whiskies are included in our list of top 10 limited edition Scotch launches

However, not all rare expressions fall into the prestige or “extra-aged” categories, with some no-age-statement and relatively affordable bottlings making a name for themselves in the limited edition Scotch market.

Of course, luxurious packaging usually plays a significant part in the allure of limited edition Scotch, making the liquid just that bit more desirable through crystal decanters, precious stones and bespoke wooden casings.

But which are the top 10 limited edition Scotch whiskies to be released in the last 12 months? Click through the following pages to find out.

Any thoughts on this list or the limited edition Scotch market? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The Glenrothes Extraordinary Cask

Berry Bros & Rudd-owned The Glenrothes Scotch whisky unveiled the latest addition in its Extraordinary Cask Collection in February this year – a 1969 vintage bottled in a hand-blown crystal container.

The company released just 133 bottles of The Glenrothes Extraordinary Cask 1969, described as having notes of kirsch, pear drops and chocolate orange on the nose, and citrus, liquorice and barley sugar on the palate.

Priced £4,000, the vintage is composed of the bottled contents of cask #11485, an American oak hogshead.

Each bottle features a brass, engraved plate on the front noting the year of distillation and bottle number. Bottles are also presented in a hand-crafted leather case complete with oak plinth and book co-written by seven whisky writers.

For more information, click here.

Brora 40 Year Old

Diageo released just 160 bottles of its most expensive ever whisky, Brora 40 Year Old, in February this year.

Costing £6,995, the bottle is topped with a crystal stopper engraved with the number 40 and presented in a handcrafted wooden case.

Drawn from what Diageo considers to be “the most brilliant of its highly-peated bottlings”, the liquid was preserved after the Brora Distillery was mothballed in 1983.

It is is described as offering flavours of concentrated wood-smoke and ash with soothing honey, a hint of liquorice and toasted hazelnut.

For more information, click here.

Dewar’s Legacy 1893

Only 1000 bottles of Dewar’s Legacy 1893 – a £2,400 blend of 20 rare and long-aged whiskies – were released by brand owner Bacardi in November last year.

Bottled in a bejewelled decanter, the expression was launched to celebrate 120th anniversary of its first Royal Warrant granted by Queen Victoria in 1893, and the subsequent Royal Warrants bestowed upon the brand by every reigning British monarch since.

The design of the bottle was inspired by the dirk, a Scottish ceremonial dagger, and is engraved with a thistle motif and embedded with 22-carat gold and nine sapphires inspired by the Stuart Sapphire that was owned by several Scottish kings before becoming a part of Queen Victoria’s Imperial State Crown.

For more information, click here.

The Macallan M

Edrington caused quite a stir when it released £3,000 no age statement Scotch The Macallan M, described as sitting at the “summit” of its popular 1824 series.

Only 1,750 lalique crystal decanters of the Scotch were launched in October last year.

Of the expression’s no-age-statement, David Cox, director of fine and rare whiskies at The Macallan, said: “It is important for us to be able to sustain the range going forward. Age is important to us. Our whiskies need to be old, but they also need to be sustainable. Ultimately, we need to manage our stock as much as we can.”

A six-litre decanter of The Macallan M broke the Guinness World Record for the most expensive whisky to ever be sold at auction when it went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in January this year – fetching an astonishing £381,620 (US$628,000)

For more information, click here.

Glen Grant 50 Year Old

First launched in Hong Kong duty free at the end of last month, Glen Grant 50 Year Old is the oldest and most expensive whisky to ever be released by Italian drinks group Gruppo Campari.

Only 150 bottles of the expression, which carries and RRP of €10,000, have been planned for global release.

Glen Grant 50 Year Old is bottled in a hand-blown crystal decanter created by Scotland’s Glencairn Crystal.

Bottled at 54% abv, the expression is described as possessing notes of “caramel sultana and apricot” on the nose, and flavours of “sweet sherry, oranges and apples”.

For more information, click here.

Master of Malt 60 Year Old

Master of Malt caused a stir among Scotch aficionados last month when it unveiled a 60-year-old Scotch whisky, costing just £1,000.

The Speyside single malt, from an unnamed distillery, is part of the retailer’s Secret Bottlings series, which already includes 30-, 40- and 50-year-old bottlings.

Whisky fans were left open-mouthed at the announcement that the expression is priced at £999.95 for a 700ml bottle – markedly less expensive than others available of the same age.

For more information, click here.

Glenmorangie Ealanta

 

Already limited stocks of Glenmorangie Ealanta were made even more rare after the whisky was named world’s best whisky by Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2014, scoring 97.5 points out of 100

Aged for 19 years in virgin American white oak casks sourced from trees grown in the Mark Twain National Forest, and bottled at 46% abv, Glenmorangie Ealanta is described by Murray as having “one of the longest finishes of any Scotch this year… and borderline perfection”.

Part of Glenmorangie’s Private Edition range, Ealanta is bottled at 46% abv and retails for £74.99.

For more information, click here.

The Famous Grouse 40 Year Old

The Famous Grouse launched its oldest and most exclusive edition to date – a 40-year-old blended Scotch whisky – in July last year, much to the joy of whisky aficionados the world over.

Composed by a blend of whiskies from four Sherry casks, the Scotch is described as having an “intensely fruity, fragrant and slightly spicy” flavour with notes of “ripe mango, crushed coriander, cardamom and dill” on the nose with “banana and citrus along with gingerbread and a light peat smoke” on the palate.

Bottled at 47.3% abv, just 276 bottles of The Famous Grouse 40 Year Old were made available at an RRP of £2.000.

For more information, click here.

Glengoyne 35 Year Old

In November last year, Ian Macleod Distillers launched 100 rare hand-blown crystal decanters of 35-year-old Glengoyne single malt Scotch.

Priced £2,850, each decanter is presented in a solid oak lacquered box with a red leather interior, accompanied by an individually-numbered leather book.

The liquid itself has been ageing in Sherry casks in Glengoyne’s traditional dunnage warehouses since the 1970s.

For more information, click here.

Ardbeg Ardbog

Islay single malt Scotch Ardbeg released a limited edition whisky which pays tribute to the famed peat bogs of the island in June 2013.

Ardbog, a 10-year-old whisky matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and rare ex-Manzanilla sherry butts, is non-chill filtered and bottled at 52.1% abv.

It is described as having a “distinctively salty texture” and notes of anchovies, alongside the “hallmark smoky” flavours inherent to Ardbeg.  With an RRP of £79.99 – much less expensive than other limited editions on this list.

The release follows that of the much lauded Ardbeg Galileo, launched in September 2012 to mark an Ardbeg experiment to mature whisky in space.

For more information, click here.