This Rare 72-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey Is Up for Auction in Hong Kong This Week
72 years sounds like an extraordinarily old age for a whiskey—and it is. Whiskeys don’t usually get aged for more than 25 years because of the diminishing returns (got to drink it quick!) but Gordon & MacPhail, an independent whiskey bottler, is putting its 72 Year 1948 Glen Grant, one of the the oldest whiskies in the world, up for auction with Bonhams’ Hong Kong on January 29.
Expected to fetch anywhere between $49,000 to $63,000 CAD, this expression from the legendary Speyside distillery Glen Grant was aged in an American Oak ex-sherry cask and according to renowned whiskey writer Charles Maclean, is “one of the finest malts I’ve ever tasted in forty years of exploration.”
Bonhams
Unlike many other super-aged whiskeys, this one is bottled at 52.6% (cask strength) to help preserve its potency and vitality. On the nose, the whiskey has the aromas of slightly burnt Christmas cake (trust us, you’ll like it). On the palate, you get a sweet start but a dry kick to finish with a surprising punch of spice, whispers of espresso and deep dark chocolate. G&M didn’t scrimp on presentation either: the bottle comes in a Dartington crystal decanter and is housed in an American walnut presentation box.
If you’re racking your brain for a Valentine’s Day gift, consider one of the rarest and finest scotch whiskeys on the planet.
