A rare, 48 Year Old single malt is hitting the market from Scotland’s Glen Scotia Distillery.
The limited-edition expression, which clocks in at 40.8% ABV and has a suggested price of £11,000, will offer its buyers a look into a past era of the historic Campbeltown distillery.
Officials at Glen Scotia explained that this whisky was drawn from their oldest reserves, and in all, the have only 250 individually-numbered bottles available worldwide.
The whisky spent 43 years in a combination of refill and first-fill bourbon barrels, then the whisky was finished in another cask, a first-fill Oloroso hogshead, for another five years. It spend an additional six months in one more cask, this a second-fill ex-Pedro Ximenez hogshead.
The whisky maker’s notes show that this rare expression features a floral and orange citrus profile.
Glen Scotia’s master blender, Michael Henry, discussed the distillery’s historical trade ties in Europe when Campbeltown was known as the “Victorian Whisky Capital of the World.” Its harbor linked it to Spain’s Sherry producing region … a source of mature casks for Glen Scotia and other vaunted whisky brands.
Henry and the Glen Scotia team poured through historical records of Campbeltown’s trade links to form a view of what fortified wines and spirits would have been obtainable over the distillery’s history.
This led to the selection of this Sherry finishing which brought out the aromas of sweet Seville orange, green herbal notes, and the spice of nutmeg and cinnamon alongside the Campbeltown briny, sea spray.
On the palate, Henry explained, is demerara sugar and treacle with hints of orange marmalade, red apple, raisin, and sultana, with a long finish of melted brown sugar enriched with stone fruit, apricot and peach.
The 48 Year Old Whisky comes in a handmade oak display case inspired by the Spanish ‘Azulejo’ tile designs found in the bodegas of Seville.
And Glen Scotia partnered with Glencairn to make a bottle that’s etched and infilled, with gold metal decoration to the body and shoulder. The presentation case comes accompanied by a plaque, with the individual bottle number, tasting notes, and story of this single malt whisky.
“The 48-Year-Old is an exceptional release with a remarkable heritage,” said Iain McAlister, master distiller and distillery manager at Glen Scotia. “It is so intriguing to me to think that different generations of distillery managers and their teams, who would have been testing their casks over time, opted to hold this particular liquid back time and time again, allowing it to continue its journey.”
“What we have inherited today is therefore a real journey through time and a celebration of Glen Scotia’s rich heritage and craftsmanship, which continues to thrive,” he added.
The 48 Year Old is available from the Glen Scotia website and at select specialist retailers in the UK, Europe, China, USA, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and South Africa markets.
For more information, check out www.glenscotia.com.