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Ten of the most expensive spirits launches of 2017

Regardless of whether you can afford to shell out or not, exorbitant spirits bottlings are truly the stuff of fascination. As the year hurtles by, The Spirits Business takes a moment to reflect on the most expensive spirits bottlings of 2017 to date.

SB reflects on the most expensive spirits bottlings of 2017 to date

As consumers become increasingly willing to spend more on better products, luxury spirits producers are starting to reimagine the super-premium-plus category and take cues from the ‘craft’ craze.

However among the most expensive new bottlings on the global market the same old vision resides. Expensive, rare, and old = luxury. As such, our top 10 list is largely made up of Scotch whisky bottlings, interrupted by a few welcome appearances from Cognac and Bourbon.

From silent distillery drams and anniversary releases to unusual barrel maturations, we’ve selected some of the most expensive new spirits to hit the market in 2017. If we’ve missed a corker, let us know in the comments below.

Click through the following pages to discover 10 of the most expensive spirits launches of the year so far.

For an in-depth look at the luxury spirits market, see the September 2017 edition of The Spirits Business, out soon.

The Last Drop 1972 Lochside

Price: £2,400 (US$3,112)
Hailing from closed Highland distillery, Lochside, luxury spirits company The Last Drop Distillers launched just 106 bottles of The Last Drop 1972 Lochside.

The whisky – the eighth release in Last Drop’s Extremely Rare collection ­– was filled into second fill Bourbon casks and left to mature for more than 44 years until it was bottled in January this year.

The distillery was based in the Highland town of Montrose and operated for 35 years until closing its doors in 1992.

Old Rip Van Winkle 25 Year Old

Price: £1,387 (US$1,800)
Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery launched its “especially rare” wheated 25-year-old Van Winkle Bourbon in February – a total of 11 barrels yielding 710 bottles.

The liquid was distilled in 1989 at the Van Winkle family distillery in Kentucky, and the barrels were purposefully aged on the lower levels of a warehouse until 2002, when they were relocated the Buffalo Trace Distillery. They remained in a similar location within the warehouse to preserve the Boubon’s “sweet, mellow” notes.

The barrels continued to age for a further 12 years before the Buffalo Trace team transferred them into stainless steel tanks to halt the ageing process.

Each decanter is packaged in a wooden box made from the oak staves from the barrels that held the Bourbon, and comes with a certificate of authenticity, numbered and signed by Julian Van Winkle, grandson of founder Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle, Sr.

The Macallan 1991

Price: £7,700 (US$10,000)
Highland single malt Scotch whisky The Macallan expanded its Fine & Rare Collection in February with the launch of a 1991 vintage.

The Macallan’s master whisky maker Bob Dalgarno used liquid from cask No.7021 – an oak Vasyma puncheon Sherry seasoned in Jerez, Spain – for the bottling, which was distilled on 28 March 1991.

The Macallan’s Fine & Rare is one of the most expensive collections of Scotch whisky in the world that is still being expanded. The 25-year-old expression is bottled at natural cask strength of 49.4% abv.

1947 Hors d’Age Cognac

Price: £3,200 (US$4,149)
Another historic bottling from The Last Drop Distillers, this time from the Cognac category.

Joining the Sazerac-owned company’s Limited Bottling collection, 1947 Hors d’Age Cognac originates from the Charente region of southwestern France. It is the result of one of the first post-World War II distillations by a local wine and Cognac-making family.

Traditionally distilled in a small copper still, the expression is said to have a “fresh, young and delicious” character with aromas that “have the richness of summer flowers”.

It is presented in a The Last Drop Distillers deep red leather case with its own 50ml miniature, as well as a certificate of authenticity, a leather-bound tasting booklet and a custom-made stopper.

Glenmorangie Pride 1974

Price: £7,200 (US$9,332)
In March Highland single malt Scotch whisky distillery Glenmorangie released its “oldest and rarest” expression to date, called Pride 1974.

It is the third release in the limited edition Glenmorangie Pride Collection, and has been aged in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-oloroso Sherry casks for 41 years.

To mark the release of Pride 1974, Glenmorangie and piano maker Steinway & Sons collaborated with pianist Aaron Diehl to compose a piece of music that “embodies the whisky’s rare beauty”.

Tomatin 1972 Warehouse 6 Collection

Price: £2,000 (US$2,593)
In July, Highland distillery Tomatin unveiled the second single malt whisky release in its six-strong Warehouse 6 Collection – the 1972 edition.

Aged in three sherry hogshead casks (23404, 23405 and 23406) within Tomatin’s traditional dunnage warehouse, the whisky is said to offer a “distinct and complex character” with aromas of summer meadow wildflowers accompanied by flavours of sweet almond, coffee and winter spices.

The liquid is bottled in a hand-blown Glencairn Crystal decanter with a solid copper stopper and comes with glasses decorated with solid copper bands.

Tamdhu 50 Year Old

Price: £16,000 (US$)
Ian Macleod Distillers celebrated the 120th anniversary of its Speyside distillery Tamdhu with the launch of a 50-year-old single malt, single cask whisky – the brand’s oldest bottling to date.

Aged in a first fill European oak Sherry butt, it is said to have a flavour of cloves, liquorice, espresso and baked apples, with a “lingering finish” of cocoa, ginger, walnuts and maple syrup.

Each decanter is housed in a solid stained oak cannister featuring Hamilton & Inches hallmarked sterling silver. The pack’s design also depicts the location of Tamdhu Distillery on the Spey River, its Victorian train station and Sherry casks.

The Dalmore 50

Price: £50,000 (US$64,804)
The most expensive bottling on this list is an “exceptionally rare” Champagne-finished 50-year-old single malt launched in honour of distiller Richard Paterson’s 50th year in the industry.

Building on the celebrations surrounding Paterson’s milestone, The Dalmore 50 is the result of a partnership with four luxury houses: Champagne house Domaine Henri Giraud, crystal manufacturer Baccarat, jewellery house Hamilton & Inches and bespoke furniture company Linley.

The liquid has been matured in American white oak, Matusalem Oloroso Sherry casks from the Gonzalez Byass Bodega, and port Colheita pipes from the Douro region of Portugal, before it was finished for 50 days in “rare” casks from Domaine Henri Giraud – one of the only Champagne houses still maturing their wines in casks.

The Dalmore 50 is presented in a crystal decanter adorned with a solid silver stag created by silversmiths Hamilton & Inches, and held within a presentation case crafted by Linley.

The Last Drop 1971

Price: £3,000 (US$3,890)
A third from The Last Drop Distillers – released back in July, the liquid started out as a 12-year-old blend in 1983 and only 1,352 bottles have ever been created.

The remnants of the blend were then refilled into 11 ex-oloroso Sherry butts and left to mature for another nine years, before some of the liquid was bottled as a 21-year-old blend.

The remaining liquid was then transferred into nine oak barrels, which were left to age in a dunnage warehouse for another 24 years. The casks were bought by The Last Drop Distillers and bottled in June 2017, having aged for a total of 45 years.

Littlemill 2017 Private Cellar Edition

Price: £2,250 (US$2,917)
Launched at the beginning of this month, only 500 bottles of a 27-year-old single malt from silent Scotch whisky distillery Littlemill were released globally.

To create the whisky, Loch Lomond master blender Michael Henry picked eight refill ex-Bourbon barrels that had been distilled between 11 and 19 May 1990, each filled at 68.8% abv. The casks were then married in fresh Bourbon barrels for 12 months before bottling at 51.3% abv.

Each decanter is individually numbered and presented in a case, which includes a piece of Littlemill cask used to mature the whisky, plus a miniature of the whisky itself.

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