The art of whisky distilling stretches back centuries. One of the things we love most about whisky is its rich history and the connecting thread it offers between modern day Scotland and what came before. What makes the world’s oldest whiskies especially alluring to fellow whisky lovers is the idea we’re sipping on a little slice of bottled history.
Here are four of the world’s oldest whiskies, and the stories behind them…
The Dalmore 64
thewhiskyexchange.com
Just three bottles of The Dalmore 64 were ever produced, and it smashes the record for most expensive whisky ever sold when it became the first bottle to sell for six figures in October 2010. According to thewhiskyexchange.com, the Dalmore 64 “contains spirit dating from 1868, 1878, 1926 and 1939”, making The Dalmore Trinitas “as exceptional
as it is rare.”
Mortlach 70 Year Old Speyside
sothebys.com
This 70-year-old rarity went on sale in 2004, as one of only 54 full-size bottles made. Distillers Gordon and MacPhail, who released the whisky, filled this batch into a former sherry cask.
Old Vatted Glenlivet
bonhams.com
One of the world’s oldest whiskies, the Old Vatted Glenlivet 1862, was opened in 2017. Drops of the rare whisky were captured inside 50 Swiss watches, the most expensive of which cost more than £35,000. Read more about the collaboration here.
The Sovereign
winesearcher.com
Released by an independent bottler named Hunter Laing, only 267 bottles of The Sovereign were produced. This limited run of single grain Scotch whisky is over 50 years old, making it one of the oldest whiskies in the world. Aged in a refilled bourbon barrel and bottled at cask strength, The Sovereign has a volume of 49.2%.
