THE chance to own a rare piece of Scotch whisky history is being offered to the public, but you might need to be a high roller or a lottery winner to secure it. For the 50-year-old Bowmore malt whisky from the island of Islay is on sale at the cool price of £20,000 a bottle, or £935 per dram if measured by Scottish pubs’ larger measure of 35ml per nip.
The reason for the price is its rarity – only 74 bottles have been produced from the single cask of Bowmore that was set aside in 1966 and carefully tended to by legendary distillery manager Eddie MacAffer.
MacAffer join the distillery in 1966 and it was also the year that the Islay distillery first officially bottled Bowmore as a single malt.
Potential purchasers should know the provenance of their cratur – Bowmore 1966 spent 50 years in cask number 5675, a single ex-Bourbon hogshead. The bottles will be available at whisky specialists from next month. Tasting notes for the Bowmore 1966 say it has “elegant bursts of lychee, pineapple, and watermelon, developing into light floral notes and a dry finish on the palate”. At nearly a grand a dram, most of us will have to take their word for it.
David Turner, the current Bowmore Distillery manager, said: “I am honoured to celebrate such a pivotal year in Bowmore’s history and launch this incredible whisky, which was not only nurtured by Eddie himself but also created the very year Eddie joined us.
“The Bowmore 1966 50 Years Old demonstrates the rewards of our meticulous ageing process and proves the unparalleled quality of the whiskies coming from our passionate and dedicated distillery team.
“This single malt whisky is set to be treasured among Bowmore fans and will undoubtedly build upon Bowmore’s legendary collectors status.”
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