THE GOLDEN AGE

The whisky world has seen some incredibly old drams appear on the market in the last few years, but are these mere trophy pieces for cash-rich collectors, asks Blair Bowman

We may soon see 100-year-old drams, but are these just trophy pieces for collectors able to splash the cash?

For a whisky to reach its 50-year milestone, or indeed surpass it, is incredibly unusual. Those of us fortunate enough to try such drams will agree that they are also unbelievably special.

Of course, most amber nectar will be drawn from its cask and bottled long before entering its fifth decade, but custodians of the most exquisite casks will occasionally leave them for future generations to inherit and enjoy.

By the time it reaches this ripe old age, the whisky will have lost somewhere between 60-80% of the original liquid, known as the Angels’ Share, and will have dramatically reduced in alcohol strength (although not below 40% ABV, otherwise it cannot be deemed ‘whisky’).

So why leave it? Well, something magical seems to happen in the glass that is only achieved through long maturation in oak. Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Spirits Specialist recently told Whisky Advocate that ‘Fifty Year Old Scotch might not always be dark in colour and rich in flavour, but they all have that je ne sais quoi. They represent a forgotten era in Scotch whisky distillation, and each one is a piece of history.’ I couldn’t agree more.

I consider it a great privilege to taste whiskies in the over-fifty category, and am very fortunate to sample very old and rare drams in my day-to-day work. Often, if a whisky is nearing extinction, it is the last chance to taste something from a particular era.

As I write this I have a glass of Benromach 50 Year Old in front of me. This whisky was put into a sherry hogshead cask in 1969 – a month before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first to land on the moon.

After spending five decades maturing uninterrupted, it was bottled in June 2019. Only 125 bottles were made. It has everything you could wish for from a whisky of this age – it is rich, velvety, and has a depth of flavour with ripe mangoes, fresh sandalwood and prickly peppermint. It is, in a word, tremendous.

Despite this year’s trials and economic uncertainties, the whisky industry appears confident and buoyant. In fact, whisky aficionados and collectors have been spoiled by the number of increasingly rare drams that have emerged over the last 12 months. Glenfarclas have added a new 60 Year Old to their repertoire, while The Last Drop Distillers have completed a trilogy release from Glenrothes. The first, from 1968, was released in 2018; the second, from 1969, followed in 2019; and in March 2020 – the day after the UK went into lockdown – a trio of sibling casks filled on 6 December 1970 was released.

Even more recently, the whisky world was introduced to the Macallan Red Collection. The range of ongoing aged expressions includes a 40, 50 and 60 Year Old release which will be available in limited quantities. From time to time specially aged releases will be available commencing with a 71, 74 and 78 Year Old bottlings. Not only is the 78 Year Old the oldest Macallan ever, it is also the oldest Scotch whisky ever released. It has a recommended retail price of £65,500, and within a day of being released a bottle of 78 Macallan appeared on WhiskyHammer.com, an online whisky auction website, and sold for a colossal £92,500.

Two limited edition sets of the Red Collection with illustrated labels were created to mark the launch. One set stayed with Macallan for their archives, the other went to Sotheby’s for a special charity auction. It sold for £756,400 with proceeds going to City Harvest London, an organisation that helps feed the hungry in the Big Smoke, which will enable them to provide 2.5 million meals to vulnerable individuals.

Age isn’t everything, of course, and I have tasted some very old whiskies that have lost all sense of character and flavour having spent too long in wooden casks. Rumour has it that an 80 Year Old release from an imminent independent bottler looms. I wonder if we will ever see a 100 Year Old dram? It certainly seems to be heading that way.

However, I am unsure whether it should happen. Just because you can create a 100 Year Old doesn’t mean you should. It would be no mean feat – a milestone in the history of whisky – but it should only be done if the dram’s quality is retained.

Craftsmen dedicate their lives to creating delicious drams, and those whiskies deserve to be enjoyed at their best, not just made into trophy pieces for collectors with an eye for an investment.

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I have tasted some very old whiskies that have lost all sense of character