Close Menu
Top 10

Ten of the oldest distillery releases of 2024

With the whisky industry enticed by rare liquids, in 2024, many distilleries have aimed to redefine luxury by targeting high-end clientele with their oldest-ever expressions.

Oldest distillery whisky releases ever 2024
Many distilleries have released super-aged whiskies this year

This year has been a milestone year for many whisky producers, brands, and distilleries, with six Scottish distilleries celebrating their 200th anniversary. Accordingly, there have been multiple ‘oldest-ever’ whisky releases.

The high-end whisky collector’s market is attracting more distillers, while people are enticed by the sight of new (or old) shiny things, and we are no different.

Keep scrolling to learn about some of the oldest whisky releases in 2024.


Port Ellen 44YO Gemini set

Port Ellen

Release date: 6 February 2024

Diageo-owned Port Ellen Distillery, which closed in 1983, reopened on 19 March 2024 after 40 years. To build anticipation, a month prior to opening, Diageo released a twin set of 44-year-old single malts from the old distillery’s remaining stock.

The two whiskies – Gemini Original and Gemini Remnant – were drawn from three 1978 European oak casks split into two expressions, which were matured in different ways. The Original is said to be untouched from the 1978 casks and has ‘smooth, sweet, salty, and smoky’ characteristics. The Remnant was finished in a Port Ellen remnant cask, which the distillery said is likely to have touched some of its most historic whiskies. The cask was saved when Port Ellen shuttered and re-seasoned.

Port Ellen Gemini was released in selected markets with an RRP of £45,000 ($US56,428). Limited to only 274 sets, the two expressions are the oldest single malt Scotches released directly from Port Ellen.


Midleton 49YO Silent Distillery Collection

Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter 5

Release date: 11 April 2024

The fifth edition in Midleton’s Silent Distillery Collection is the oldest released by the Irish distillery, at 49 years old. The whiskey was distilled at the Old Midleton Distillery in 1973, just two years before it ceased operation.

The whiskey was matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, with the liquid then married for six months in a single ex-Bourbon cask, number 52969. Bottled at 52.4% ABV and priced at €55,000 (US$60,000), the 49-year-old whiskey was available worldwide, including in global travel retail.


Benriach 50YO

Benriach 50 Years Old

Release date: 13 May 2024

Brown-Forman Global Travel Retail (GTR) revealed a 50-year-old Benriach in May 2024, marking the distillery’s oldest-ever single malt. The whisky was filled in a single Bourbon cask on 21 September 1966. Offered at 44.5% ABV, the release was limited to only 37 bottles worldwide with a suggested retail price of £25,000 (US$31,329).

The launch of Benriach 50 Years Old took place at the TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference in Singapore, with five bottles allocated for the GTR channel.


Fettercairn 60YO 200th Anniversary Collection

Release date: 3 June 2024

To mark Fettercairn Distillery’s 200th anniversary, owner Whyte & Mackay released a six-bottle set with a combined age of 200 years. The set included a 60-year-old single malt, which took the crown as the oldest-ever whisky bottling from the Highland-based distillery. The 60-year-old single malt was distilled in 1964, when distillery manager Stewart Walker was born.

Fettercairn’s 200th Anniversary Collection was limited to just 10 sets, priced at £100,000 (US$127,640) in select regions, including Taiwan, Singapore, the UK, France and Canada.


The Macallan 84YO Time: Space Collection

Release date: 3 September 2024

In celebration of The Macallan’s bicentenary this year, the distillery released its Time: Space Collection, featuring two liquids. One of these – an 84-year-old single malt – is not only The Macallan’s oldest release but also the oldest single malt ever bottled.

Time: Space 84-year-old is presented in a dual chamber vessel with the record-breaking single malt, with an ABV of 43.4%, housed in the outer chamber. The expression has been aged in two casks: a first-fill American oak butt and a second-fill European oak butt – both seasoned with Sherry in Jerez de la Frontera and matured in Speyside, Scotland.

Limited to 200 sets, the edition also includes the first-ever five-year-old single malt from The Macallan’s new distillery, which opened in 2018. Time: Space was reportedly priced at US$190,000 (£145,000) at the time of release.


GlenAllachie 35YO

The GlenAllachie 35yo

Release date: 10 September 2024

The oldest single malt whisky released to date from The GlenAllachie Distillery in Speyside was aged for 35 years. For the release, whisky maker Billy Walker hand-selected six casks filled in the summer of 1989. The whisky was aged in two virgin oak, three Pedro Ximénez, and one oloroso cask.

GlenAllachie 35-year-old is presented in a box featuring hand-carved detail on its base, moleskin-coloured lining, a solid brass ‘angle’, a plaque that champions the cask selection, and a removable oak plinth to hold the decanter. Offered at 48% ABV, the limited small-batch release was launched worldwide with a suggested retail price of £1,479 (US$1,920).


Glenlivet 55YO Eternal Collection

Glenlivet 55-year-old

Release date: 25 September/ 9 October 2024

Another distillery celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, The Glenlivet, also released its oldest single malt in 2024. Revealed in late September, the first edition in The Glenlivet’s Eternal Collection is a 55-year-old single malt aged in Sherry-seasoned cask, offered at 42.2% ABV and limited to 100 bottles.

The limited release sits in a white sculpture featuring hand-sculpted jesmonite and rose-gold plating crafted by computational architect Michael Hansmeyer. It has a suggested retail price of €50,000 (US$55,900/£41,800).

In addition to the Eternal Collection release, the brand’s owner, Chivas Brothers, teamed up with Sotheby’s to offer a single bottle of 55-year-old Glenlivet single malt at 42.8% ABV. The one-of-one bottling is presented in a sculpture by Hansmeyer, dazzled with emerald quartzite and 24-carat gold.

The release will be auctioned from 22 October to 5 November 2024 in Sotheby’s London sale of Finest & Rarest Whisky and carries an estimate of £35,000-£70,000 (US$45,826-US$91,653).


Hibiki 40YO

Hibiki 40 Years Old whisky

Release date: 3 October 2024

Suntory Global Spirits-owned blended whisky brand Hibiki released its oldest-ever expression in October 2024, which also took the title of the oldest Japanese blended whisky ever released. Created by Suntory’s chief blender, Shinji Fukuyo, the 40-year-old Hibiki blend includes single malts from Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, as well as grain whisky from Chita.

Bottled at 43% ABV, the limited edition carries an RRP of £33,150 (US$35,000).


Mortlach 50YO Singing Stills Series

Mortlach 50-year-old

Release date: 8 October 2024

Diageo-owned Mortlach Distillery bottled its oldest release to date, a 50-year-old single malt, as the final expression in the Singing Stills series. Drawn from a single refill American oak hogshead, Mortlach 50-year-old is limited to 60 bottles worldwide and celebrates the distillery’s more than 200-year legacy.

The limited edition is bottled at 47.3% ABV and is available globally with a suggested retail price of US$30,000 without taxes and duty (€27,450/£23,000).


Crown Royal 31YO Extra Rare Series

Crown Royal Aged 31 Years

Release date: 9 October 2024

Following the release of an 18-year-old in 2021, a 29-year-old in 2022, and a 30-year-old in 2023, the 2024 edition of Crown Royal’s Extra Rare Series was aged for 31 years – yet again marking the oldest expression from the Canadian whisky brand.

Offered at 46% ABV, the release retails for US$599 (£458) for a 750ml bottle and was available in selected US markets at the time of its launch in October 2024.

Related news

Top 10 marketing moves from January 2025

Top 10 distillery openings of 2024

Top 10 spirits to celebrate Year of the Snake

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No