Wealthy knock back Eastern whiskies at R 18 000 a tot

OMINOUS predictions about lagging economies, increasing prices and more belt-tightening are not affecting the super rich – especially if the price tag on the world’s most luxurious whiskies are anything to go by.

Local bars report sales of whiskies from Japan and other countries in the Far East, but the most expensive on offer in Cape Town was a Scotch which sells for an eye-watering R18 000 a tot.

Annie van Eijk, manager at the Bascule Whisky and Wine Bar at the Cape Grace, said the hotel sold its Glenfiddich 50-year-old only by the tot and had sold four this year.

“We promote only decent whiskey,” she said.

Van Eijk and Crosby Nyanhemwa, manager at The Whiskey Bar in Camps Bay, agreed that there was new interest in eastern whiskies.

Van Eijk said: “The Japanese whisky industry has been booming over the past couple of years. It’s a trend everyone is trying.”

Regulars also favoured Taiwanese-produced Kavalan whisky, with its five brands. A bottle of Cherry Cask goes for R3 625, a bottle of Bourbon Cask for R3 450 and a Kavalan single malt for R2 075, but other brands are relatively affordable – R1 530 for ConcertMaster, R1 650 for KingCar Conductor and R625 for its Cherry Cask.

Another popular whisky is Bunnabhain Scottish whisky, Van Eijk says. A bottle of the 25-year-old goes for R375, an 18-year-old for R160 and a bottle of 12-year-old for a rock-bottom price of R85.

Nyanhemwa said although

Isabella Islay world at R86m

most customers preferred Scotch, many liked the novelty of Eastern whiskies. Regulars had been buying and stocking Japanese whisky because “it’s a rare commodity”. The Japanese Nikka brand – a tot of its Black whisky costs R55 a tot, while its pure malt is R45 a tot – is one of the more popular whiskies at the bar. It’s not only Capetonians who are indulging. Jakes Hattingh, from Umhlanga-based Norman Goodfellows, said Glenfiddich 21-year-old (R3 000 a bottle) and 26-year-old (R6 500) were proving to be the most popular whisky for Durban tipplers, with Johnny Walker King George V at R6 000.

“Even though it’s being said there is a recession at the moment, I don’t believe it. We have been doing a roaring trade.”

Hattingh said when it came to top whiskies, Durban’s elite favoured Chivas Regal The Icon at R50 000.

The company also offers a Balvenie 50-year-old at R730 000 or Glenfiddich 50-year-old at R650 000, although these two have to be ordered from Johannesburg.

Although Macallan, Glenfiddich and Chivas labels are among the most expensive and sought-after whiskies, it is the luxurious Scotch whisky Isabella Islay which is the most expensive whisky in the world at R86 million ($6.2m) – not least because the handcrafted bottle is encrusted with more than 8 000 diamonds.

According to the UK-based Luxury Beverage Company’s website, Isabella Islay whisky comes from the Island of Islay, often known as the Queen of Hebrides.

The whisky comes in two editions – The Original and The Special Edition – matured in casks for many years and classed as “very old single malt whisky”.

The Original comes with a $6.2m price tag and is known as the most expensive whisky in the world. It has 8 500 diamonds and nearly 300 rubies. “Presented in the finest diamond and gold crystal bottle, The Original uses only diamonds for the whole of the surface. The encrusted writing is in rubies, the decorator’s stopper is the finest white gold and the peak of the neck of the decanter is the finest English Crystal”.

The Special Edition would set you back about R10 m with a decanter of English Crystal and “the neck ridged of an ancient design and then crafted in an intricate leaf by a master crystal maker”.

The body of the decanter is covered in white gold and the pinnacle of the neck and decanter are crafted in diamonds by master jewellers, with the final addition being diamond encrusted wording.

The Luxury Beverage Company also offers the world’s first luxury halaal non-alcoholic beverage, The Ruwa, which retails for R76 m has more than 8 000 diamonds, 200 rubies and the equivalent of two bars of white gold, all covering a fine English Crystal decanter.

There are no prices advertised on the Isabella Islay site, simply a discreet contact number. After all, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

PICTURE: AYANDA NDAMANE Thousands of runners took to the streets to celebrate the Day of Reconciliation in the annual RCS Gugs Reconciliation Race yesterday. The Cape Times is the media partner to the race.