Liquid Gold: The 10 Most Expensive Whiskies in the World
By Joe Wertz
EXPENSIVE WHISKEY BRANDS: Grain, water, a wooden barrel and a little time. Whiskey is a colorful character with an ever-changing spirit. The subject of literature, culture and folklore throughout the world, finicky booze-hounds have long paid a pretty penny for bottles of the most coveted casks. Pour a finger or two of one of the finest and highest price Whiskey brands and hit the jump to drink in 10 bottles of whiskey that truly break the bank.
10: Ladybank Single Malt: $4,700
Rounding out the top of the list is the Ladybank Distillery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Only 300 bottles of the rare Single Malt Scotch are bottled each year, and to obtain one — you have to become a member of the club. The price of admission? — about $4,700 a year.
9: The Macallan 1947 Fine and Rare Collection: $6,800
This sherry cask Speyside scotch was bottled for Italy in 1962 before it was repackaged for Macallan‘s Fine and Rare line of whiskies. The distillery used peat in its kilns because of the scarcity and high price of coal during WWII, the 1947 bottle, so this 15 year old has an earthy quality not present in modern Macallans.
8: Chivas Regal Royal Salute 50 year old: $10,000
A swill special enough to be packaged for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the Chivas Regal Royal Salute is a 50 year old Scotch with smoky anise and raisin flavors. Only 255 bottles were made, 10 of which were destined for America, where collectors eagerly poured out $10,000 each, which seems expensive, until you keep going…
7: The Macallan 1939 40 year old Fine and Rare Collection: $10,125
“Peaty and powerful,” with overtones of sweet toffee and dried fruits, Macallan’s 1939 is a 40 year old first bottled in 1979. In 2002, it was added to the distillery’s Fine and Rare line and re-bottled. It can be found today for around $10,125.
6: Glenfarclas 1955 50 year old: $10,878
Wealthy tasters are warned to overlook this richly scented 50 year old Speyside at their own “peril.” Spicy and silky with a sweet start, this is the oldest batch ever bottled by the Glenfarclas distillery.
5: Dalmore 50 Year Old Decanter: $11,000
Only 60 crystal-cut bottles of this Highland single malt were produced. Filled in 1978, this dark sherry-aged Dalmore has a reputation for being intense and deeply flavored and is considered by many aficionados among the best 50 year olds in the world.
4: Macallan 55 Year old Lalique Crystal Decanter: $12,500
The eye-catching crystal bottle of Macallan’s 55 year old Lalique was based on a 1910 perfume bottle designed by Rene Lalique . Exotic, with hints of peat smoke, the taste is smooth with lingering citrus overtones.
3: Glenfiddich 1937 Rare Collection: $20,000
Rare doesn’t describe it. Only one bottle of Glenfiddich’s 1937 Rare Collection was ever produced, and it just might be the oldest bottle of whisky in the world. It was snatched up at a 2006 auction for a bargain $20,000.
2: Dalmore 62 Single Highland Malt Scotch: $58,000
Only a dozen bottles of Dalmore 62 single malt were corked in 1942. One night in 2005, a man bought a bottle for $58,000, and downed it with five of his buddies.
1: The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare: $75,000
“Dry and concentrated” — what else would you expect from one of the most expensive whiskies in the world? Help yourself to a little licorice aftertaste. In 2005, a South Korean businessman paid $70,000 for a bottle of Macallan’s 1926, the finest and rarest of the Fine and Rare.
Now that we’ve seen all of the most expensive bottles of whiskey,a lesson on if it’s worth buying the expensive bottles…
- – -
Thanks for reading, StyleCravers, Diggers, Stumblers and otherwise. Would you ever consider dropping this kind of bank on a bottle of liquor? If you had to pick one of these whiskies, which would you pick? Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Also, don’t miss our Beginners Guide to Whisky, parts one and two, available on GearCrave. If you’re a beer fan, check out our Beer of the Week column here on StyleCrave. Drink Responsibly!
Friday, April 3, 2009 9:27PM
Don't forget the $30,000 bottle of The Balvenie…
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/…
Friday, April 3, 2009 4:31PM
Heh. I always chuckle at people who become experts on things like cigars or whiskey. Basically you start with this poison thing, and then you add on the "look at me!" factor of the person desiring to be seen as an expert or connoisseur on it. Dullard squared. I get it that some of this stuff can be an investment, because there ARE dullards who are interested in it. But … damn. I'd rather have a motorcycle, or a dog. And then use the rest of the money to travel to some interesting place, maybe watch the space shuttle blast off or something like that.
Friday, April 3, 2009 10:00PM
Hank… better get on that – Killing off the Shuttle Program in 2010. Even if I had $1m to burn, could't fathom drinking any thing this expensive. Rather give it to charity then trip on down and get my bottle of Morangie 10yr.
Friday, April 3, 2009 10:46PM
I would order the Dalmore 50yo for my father since he is past 50 and enjoys whiskey.
Friday, April 3, 2009 10:53PM
zooming around the neighborhood says alot more about "look at me", than spending the money on something you do privately. "Poison thing?" – LOL – you're really not quite sure where to start are you?
Friday, April 3, 2009 11:13PM
Dude, you are boring…
Friday, April 3, 2009 11:44PM
And how many starving people in this world could have been fed for a year on the cost of one of these? what kind of a world are we living in?
Saturday, April 4, 2009 5:19AM
One cannot worry about starving people all the time. If you have made it to the level where you can purchase a $70,000 bottle of whiskey then by all means treat yourself, you have worked very hard and deserve a drink of whatever it is you want. Liquid Gold you say…I'll take a double on the rocks!
Saturday, April 4, 2009 9:04AM
Whisky on the rocks? Surely not! Are you sure you don't want some Coke in there as well?
Saturday, April 4, 2009 4:49PM
::facepalm::
ditto bdsquared
Saturday, April 4, 2009 5:07PM
I agree with Aaron below. There have been starving people since I was a kid, and nothing has made a dent in it. To give help is good, but to be EXPECTED to help is not. You don't have to be a slave to the idea of helping every needy person before you allow yourself to have any joy in your own life. What kind of world are we living in? The kind where billions of people are willing to bring more kids into, when there already isn't enough for everybody to fulfill their basic human needs. I'm glad there are all sorts of luxuries for people to enjoy; I just think this is one of the dumb ones.
Saturday, April 4, 2009 5:10PM
no these were scotches not whiskeys…. and we all know that true whiskey comes from Kentucky
Saturday, April 4, 2009 5:10PM
Nope. Actually, I live a fairly interesting life. I've jumped out of planes, ridden dog sleds, flown in hot air balloons, ridden bulls, written books, been whitewater canoeing, gotten a standing ovation, hopped a ride on a freight train, all sorts of stuff. It's just that I spend my time and money on what *I* considering to be valuable, and not what some idiot thinks is valuable.
Saturday, April 4, 2009 5:56PM
Yes, and it spends 35 years mellowing inside of a banjo
Saturday, April 4, 2009 6:54PM
scotch is whiskey…… so yes they are whiskeys
Saturday, April 4, 2009 8:13PM
scotch is whisky, not whiskey.
Saturday, April 4, 2009 11:20PM
If I won the lottery I might buy a fifth of Hennessey King Richard (like $1500), 'cuz I'm more into cognac than whiskey. I like whiskey too, but these are ridiculous – you'd have to be so obsessed w/ this stuff to appreciate it, and then you'd probably think it was too valuable to drink.
If you ask me, buying the best liquor in the world and deciding you can't drink it = fail.
Sunday, April 5, 2009 4:27PM
Oh just drink it & send me a shot
Monday, April 6, 2009 10:08AM
Bdsquared, you fail at grammar.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 3:40AM
Not Coke! Scotch is best mixed with root beer! Grape Kool-Aid is nice too.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 5:18AM
hank…you fail….whoever corrects the spelling of whiskey and gets it wrong…you fail
whoever can buy these whiskey brands….you win
case closed
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 3:02AM
BLASPHEMY!!!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 8:39AM
Pair these whiskies with a rear caviar and you have the most expensive duo in your list.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 10:53AM
whisky is scottish.
whiskey is irish.
kentucky is shit.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 11:29AM
To these starving people, people spending a few hundred dollars/euros/pounds on clothes, videogames, nights out… etc., whatever you spend your money on, is just as bad. It's all relative, this may seem like an outrageous waste of money for you, but what you buy seems the same for the starving people in this world.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 2:19PM
You deserve non of these fantastic imbibes. Surely you cannot be serious, adding something to a glass of whiskey?! You should be ashamed!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 2:25PM
both spellings of whiskey/whisky arte correct one is from Scotland the other is Irish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 5:28PM
@hank : you may be right about not being expected to care about all those people. but since being a child and now what have you done about it. im assuming not much. and its because of shits like you who never tried nor will ever try to make a difference, the world and those poor who dont have money or the means like you for an education to know about the population problem, or contraceptives or fucking tv news! if you think this problem of poverty is an unsolvable one, its because most ignorant selfish dipshits can only think of amassing more wealth and power.
no one is asking you to be a slave to helping, you're surely far from it, but because you see this problem thats so overwhelming, you will just sit your ass down on your well earned couches and watch your kids say the same thing when theyre drinking ridiculously expensive whisky while BBC has dying kids on the news.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 7:25PM
LOL starving people in the world…really? Thats the dumbest comment of them all Ron. You probably threw away 2-3 lbs of food that you couldn't finish yesterday in your meals and spent $3.50 / gallon filling up your SUV with a 40 gallon tank. Kinda like calling the kettle black don't you think? How much could that feed a family?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 9:25PM
@Zorro: Please spare us your rhetoric. Find a soapbox where some one is to pay attention. You are right in what you say, without the swearing, however, for all your great aspirations a single person makes little difference in the world, a group may and a government can. But unless you are a member or working in the last 2 you will not make a difference for all the will and spirit in the world to affect anything more that a few individuals.
As such to try to make a difference is great but will you achieve nothing other than appeasing your own conscience and helping a few individuals (which is good) …………..
There have always been expensive things the few can afford and there always has been kids dying…the are not necessarily linked and the removal of the former can not eradicate the latter..
Have fun, enjoy yourself and always look to those around you who you can help.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 9:51PM
"I get it that some of this stuff can be an investment, because there ARE dullards who are interested in it. But … damn. I'd rather have a motorcycle, or a dog."
As an investment opportunity id rather have the whisky over the dog. Good luck trying to sell that to some "dullard" in fifty years time. But then again perhaps you were talking about buying a fifty year old dog in the first place.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 10:15PM
Nope. Taste is taste. Scotch is scotch. While I love scotch. I need bourbon. Bourbon doesn't have quite the refinement, I'll give you that, but perhaps thats why it's so much fun…
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 10:23PM
Yeah, too bad about all this wealth and power I've amassed, huh? Kiddo, I've taken homeless people into my house for as much as two months. And I've refrained from having kids. Plus other stuff that you don't deserve to know about, seeing as how you're one of those hate-screaming Bill O'Reilly types. Go pick on somebody else, child.
Thursday, April 9, 2009 1:37AM
I love scotch, scotch scotch scotch down into my belly. I'm proud to say my taste buds couldn't tell the difference between a 70k and a 7$ bottle. Cool list; but if I was trying to blow some coin, I'd put it all on red baby.
Thursday, April 9, 2009 4:35AM
i remember when the white man arrived.
Thursday, April 9, 2009 6:22AM
Couldn't have said it any better
Thursday, April 9, 2009 6:27AM
That's because you don't have enough money!
Thursday, April 9, 2009 9:27AM
you people make me sick! so what if have enough cash to enjoy the rarest of whiskiez! if that’s what i want to spend my cash on i will! i’ve spent over 100 beans on a bottle of whisky and i don’t feel guiltu! those starving people can all go to hell! i revel in laughing at the misery of the poor! if you cant feed yourselr in america you are total idiot and deserve to starve! you people probably voted for obama! it’s pretty sick and hillarious that obama is looting the entire treasury and givin bonuses to wall street while the middle and lower classes are gonna have to eat each other to survive! i’ll think about that tonight when i crack open a 1000$ bottle of champagne and eat my fillet mignon! ha
Thursday, April 9, 2009 3:58PM
Most of you couldn't tell the difference between one of these so called "Liquid Golds" and Jim Beam. I guess everyone is just looking for a way to stand out from the crowd.
Thursday, April 9, 2009 5:33PM
Hell Yeah!! and who gives a damn about poor people. its sad that they are poor but this is a blog about WHISKEY. So go save the world the ones that want to. I just wanna read about WHISKEY!!!
And no! I'm not a drunk!
I am not even allowed to drink yet
I just Want to make the best WHISKEY EVER!!!!
Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:26PM
are you fukin serious this went from a 10 most expensive whiskeys discussion to a fukin feed the starving commercial. we all buy dumb shit mayb not 10,000 bottles of booze but shit i really dont give a damn in a discussion about fukin whiskey
Friday, April 10, 2009 3:39AM
Hank, I understand that you need to have a point. Expensive whiskey as with all great and collectible items are what they are due to those that desire them to be that way. If you have no interest in such things don't focus on them. Why must you ridicule? If on the other hand you love whiskey and have a deep taste for the good stuff, and no ability to purchase it, do what we all do. Sit back with a bottle of you favorite saint and just pretend.
By the by fine whiskey was being made long before Kentucky had European settlers.
Friday, April 10, 2009 4:28AM
Brenda, did you know that restaurant in the Woodlands that you ate the pork chop at has cognac in the bar that sells for $450.00 a shot. It's in a glass case by itself, very rare. I have never tried it and
won't at that price, but know people who have.
Friday, April 10, 2009 4:45AM
It's not ridicule so much as a counterpoint argument, a little heavy on the irony.
So much of what gets slung in our faces out here in ConsumerLand is the point that you really, really need THIS (whatever it is they're advertising) in order to feel cool or complete. It starts with something like Happy Meals with brightly-colored cheap plastic toys for little kids and goes up to "luxury" cars, $20M houses in Aspen, and the demonically-clever pitch that "A Diamond is Forever." (If you really love her, you'll buy her this tiny little virtually-worthless clear rock. And if she's as stupid as you are, she'll want you to spend your hard-earned money on it. You’ll both be poorer, but it’ll look like love. Plus the clowns who run the diamond monopoly that artificially jacks up the prices will be able to afford to buy ever-nicer island paradises — and we all want THOSE guys to prosper, right?)
The point is not that we shouldn't want any of these things, the point is that we need to be aware that the reason we want them MAY be the ceaseless huckstering of an entire class of predatory assholes who see us as nothing but sheep with money.
This is a point worth making, yet it’s not anything you would ever hear from any commercial source.
I like single malt scotch. But it only gets so good, doesn’t it? I can imagine spending $15 or $20 for the occasional extra-good glass, but anything after that is pure predatory huckstering.
You might buy a ream of printer paper for $9, and it’ll be perfectly adequate. But, hey, what about the Bilderberg Richter Para-Brite Royal Magnum Printer Paper that costs $20,000 a ream? Somewhere out there is someone who will believe that he needs that special better-than-any-other paper. “Oh, man, the first extra $20,000 I get, THAT’S what I want.” And if his book becomes a best-seller, or his rock band hits it big, or his stocks go up, or he inherits big money, he really will buy it. When the $9 paper would have worked just fine.
That’s what I hate. Not that these things exist. But that people — whom I care about — will get roped into buying them. I don’t want people to be eaten by predators.
If they see it clearly and buy it anyway, I’m okay with that.
I just want them to see.
Friday, April 10, 2009 1:03PM
Ok, hank wow that was the most RETARDED fucking comment i have ever read. seeing as how this BLOG is not an advert, but rather just a list that somebody compiled of the 10 most expensive whiskeys. no one is telling anyone to go out and buy them. yes you are entitled to your own opinion but if your going to post an opinion about consumerism, make sure it has something to do with the article or blog. you have just earned yourself epic fail of the year. now do the world a favor and find a way to earn yourself a Darwin award you dumb shit.
Friday, April 10, 2009 1:04PM
i would buy the macallan 55 yr if i had that kind of money, i bet that would be an amazing experience.
Friday, April 10, 2009 11:40PM
Thirsty
Saturday, April 11, 2009 12:47PM
I have a bottle of Canadian Masterpiece by Lord Calvert 1957 unopened in original case. Any idea what it's worth?
Sunday, April 12, 2009 8:21PM
Theres no way any drink is worth that much. Why not just get a 20yr old half-way decent one, rather than these overpriced, probably not all tha nice tasting monstrosities. Lets face it, Whiskey isn't really delicious like a good hot chocolate is.
Monday, April 13, 2009 8:48PM
I love this quote: 'Only a dozen bottles of Dalmore 62 single malt were corked in 1942. One night in 2005, a man bought a bottle for $58,000, and downed it with five of his buddies.'
That's a man who knows how to live!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:48AM
Steve, thank you for reconnecting with the spirit of this page about crazy expensive bottles of amber colored joy. These sites and pages are about an escape to a finer, funner place – not to create a forum of seriousness about God knows what. By the way, I just filled up my SUV with premium, I've got a gun and a dream to drink at least 5 of the whiskeys on the list! Who's in?
Thursday, April 16, 2009 5:23AM
Wow, cheapest one on the list cost more than my car! good work if you can get it though. I love Single Malt Scotch and would try any…..but alas, I will be satisfied with a $50 bottle of Aberlour or Ledaig.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 8:10AM
Hy everyone.I have a bottle of "WHITE HORSE" also old maybe 1930.How much i can sale?
Friday, May 1, 2009 3:34PM
[...] we cherish them. If you enjoyed this article, you’re certain to love our coverage of the Most Expensive Whiskies in the World. Check that out too! Posted In: Drinks, Editors [...]
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:39PM
Wow. This stuff makes inkjet printer ink, at only 16,000 per gallon, look cheap!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 11:58PM
define 'true' whisky. I thought the word is Celtic, Uisge
Monday, June 15, 2009 2:13AM
Buck, you are one of the biggest D-bags I have ever run into in my life, and havent even MET YOU. Oh, and you are REALLY cool posting that. You can afford that? REALLY???? THATS SOOOO AWESOMMME….. You fucking loser. The person who said that (and I am not defending them.) They didnt even specify that they were speaking of hungry people in the U.S. You are probably just another asshole that thinks he is better than everyone. I bet your wife bangs other men just because she cannot stand you. Oh, I am not poor, starving, or even defending the hungry probably homeless people you laugh and mock at. Shows how mature you are and that everything you posted is BS.
Oh… sorry… Got side tracked.
If I had the money for this kind of stuff, it would be much better spent on a car. Maybe as part of a percent of a house. After 4 shots of this stuff, you cannot tell the difference between these and Makers Mark. IF you even open it. Which, if memory serves me right, that is why you buy liquor. Just give me a fifth of some reg and that will be just fine. Unless your like buck, he is above all of us!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 6:17PM
I have a bottle of Aberlour Single Malt distilled in 1989 is one of a limited number from a resereve hogshead.
Reserved for the Millennium
Bottle Number 253/360.
Trying to find a price for this.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 7:35PM
Our Club have a FAMOUS GROUSE Robert Burns special edition (one of 250 bottles ever produced). It was sold 5000$ a few weeks ago in an auction in USA… We will open it in september in a charity tasting in Quebec city
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 5:12AM
Saw a Glenfiddich 40 Year old at HK air port or HKD 800.000. – USD 103,000
Saturday, September 5, 2009 4:06AM
"Your name is Toby". "I'm Kinte….Kunta Kinte, and I prefer my gay d-bag whiskey-drink comments shaken, not stirred
Friday, November 6, 2009 9:48AM
Your a ok guy because you dont care about poor people because they dont deserve anything. But your not that bright because you think that you have a choice because you vote. its just a system designed to make you think your free. and if middle class and lower class start killing each othere they will kill rich people to and probably first. well i will at least
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 7:25PM
can we please stick to the point? Surely this is about slagging off rich, capitalist Yank basterds??
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 4:38AM
im a collector of whisky….my only fault is that i keep tasting them, but that is the good thing about whisky, you can open the bottle, have a swig, pop back the cork and it will keep for ever, not like wine…if i could afford to buy one of these bottles..i would..but i cant so i sharnt…..Americans make crap whiskey…if you add ice to a whisky…you are a fool….if you add coke..you are an American…..
Saturday, January 9, 2010 9:15PM
we have a bottle of JOHNNY WALKER BLACK , bottled in 1966. It is still in the cardboard box ( slightly damaged fom age) We were wondering what it is worth / if anything & where we would go to sell it. Can you shed any light ??
Monday, February 8, 2010 10:19PM
Beautiful collection. I just bought royal salute 38 years from thailand for 16000 bath and i want the 50 year old now. Lemme know where i can buy this. Thanks