Spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a single bottle of whiskey is truly a wild prospect. That’s clear. Is it ever worth it? Yes. If you love whiskey, then eventually you’ll learn of Scotch whiskies (or any whiskey variety, really) that are so rare and fleeting that they cost a whole hell of a lot. But you might still want them and if you get them you might just say “I’m glad I invested in that experience.” It all really depends on what you value, how much money you have, and how you feel the universe is constructed (your philosophy will dictate how you feel about spending on yourself vs. saving, etc.).
An extremely rare cask of whisky — one that’s maybe twice as old as you — is going to cost dearly. But remember that it’s kind of a miracle that it even exists. Imagine how many hands have touched it and how long it’s waited for a chance to be sipped by you. And recall also that whisk(e)y evaporates as it ages. After 20, 30, or even 50 years all of it can be (and often is) gone. I’ve been in warehouses where a 25-year-old barrel is dry as dirt. Then the 30-year-old barrel right next to it will be half full of delicious whiskey. So finding a barrel of, say, 40-year-old whisk(e)y that not only has whiskey still in the barrel but is also delicious is like finding a single four-leaf clover in a field the size of Rhode Island.
What would really suck in all this is spending the coin on a rare whisky only to hate it. To help on that count, I’m going to blindly taste some extremely rare Scotch single malt whisky and recommend a few that you should consider trying too. I grabbed bottles that all have extremely high age statements and even higher price points. Some of these whiskies were filled into the barrel back in the 1970s, maybe even the 1960s. This is extremely rare stuff that’s the epitome of premium.
- Glenfiddich Suspended Time Aged 30 Years, Time Re:Imagined Collection
- Glenglassaugh Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 46 Years Old
- The Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Sample Room Collection 25 Years Of Age
- The GlenDronach Grandeur Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 28 Years
- The BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Forty
- World Whiskey Society 31-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distilled by Macallan Distillery
- The Singleton of Glen Ord Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 40 Years
- The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Tale of the Dog Aged 42 Years
After the blind tasting, I ranked these based on taste alone. It was not easy. Cards on the table — these were all spectacular. There is really no other way to cut it so let’s dive right in.
Part 1 — The Ultra-Rare Scotch Whisky Tasting
Taste 1
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft hints of stewed plums cut with sweet cinnamon, bitter clove, and salted dark chocolate mingle with a sense of old but very soft suede, dusty oak beams in an old wine cellar, and this fleeting sense of old honey stored in stone pots of eons with an echo of orange blossom.
Palate: The palate builds on that mild floral vibe with and aura of rose-water-laced moist marzipan dipped in creamy dark chocolate with an edge of cinnamon bark and dried apple bushels countering everything.
Finish: The end has another note of that old honey and stone pots with a lingering sense of pipe tobacco dipped in apple honey and rolled with dry strings of cedar bark and strips of musty leather.
Initial Thoughts:
Delicious. Deep. Divine. I want this whisky in my life every day.
Taste 2
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is almost … fresh on the nose with a sense of tart and woody black currants, fresh plum, mango juice, and red grapes that then veers into the abyss with a sense of old boot leather, maple wood dipped in varnish, and waxy sense of ambergris (I swear) — think boot cream, fresh tobacco, and sandalwood with a hint of salt.
Palate: The taste takes the fruit and tosses it into a fruit salad that’s cut with seawater and nori that’s then countered by menthol tobacco and sharp citrus oils with a whisper of cherry-flavored cream soda.
Finish: A twinge of grapefruit oil drives the finish toward this fleeting sense of cellar dirt, more ambergris, and mint chocolate chip ice cream that’s laced with pipe tobacco and black currants.
Initial Thoughts:
This is wildly delicious with a hint of bourbon lurking deep in the profile. It also kind of just keeps going and I have no desire for it to end.
Taste 3
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Imagine the best, most bespoke dark chocolate-covered raisins from an expensive chocolate shop and you’ll be on the right track next to soft ginger candy, sweet oak, and malted cookies dipped in fresh honey.
Palate: Those sweet notes are the foundation for burnt orange peels, Almond Roca candies, and sweet caramel malts over a mix of smoked cinnamon bark wrapped around black-tea-soaked dates and a hint of moist marzipan.
Finish: The finish is so long that you might still be thinking about it on your deathbed, thanks to an orange/spice/nutty matrix of silky whisky smoothness.
Initial Thoughts:
This is so good. I guess it’s a tad lighter than the last two, but … who cares when it’s this goddamn tasty?
Taste 4
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of black-tea-soaked dates blended with Saigon cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg next to blackstrap molasses, walnut cake, old oak staves soaked in floral honey, moist marzipan laced with orange oils and dipped in salted dark chocolate, and a little twinge of bourbon vanilla cherries.
Palate: The palate pops with dark cherry cordial on the palate next to stewed plums with anise and clove, old leather tobacco pouches, and a touch of creamy espresso.
Finish: The end is a mix of dark chocolate and brandy-soaked cherries next to spent oolong tea leaves, walnut shells, and salted black licorice with a bold warmth of heavily spiced caramel malts.
Initial Thoughts:
Wow. This is bold whisky. The end is almost hot but just pulls back to hold onto an incredible balance. That said, I can see this being a little hot for some palates.
Taste 5
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old fruit leather — think dried plum and fig skins — mingle with burnt grapefruit pith, caramelized orange sauce, and salted dark chocolate covered dried cranberry with a deep sense of buttery walnut cake cut with cinnamon and clove and drizzled with spiced cherry syrup.
Palate: That spiced cherry drives the palate toward apple pie filling, grilled white peaches drizzled with honey, and lychee with a hint of kiwi and star fruit leading to spice barks and tobacco boxes.
Finish: The chocolate comes back on the end with more of that walnut cake and cherry driving the finish toward a moist and soft finish full of spice, orchard fruits, and soft tobacco.
Initial Thoughts:
This is just incredible. The depth. The balance. It’s … perfect.
Taste 6
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with the softest marzipan (Niedderegger) dipped in fruity and beautiful brandy next to almost savory pear, apple taffy, and pomelo skins over Sicilian cannolis filled with orange-kissed cream and touched with pistachio and brandied-cherries.
Palate: That malted oak cake gets soaked in cognac with a floral fruitiness and a bright summer’s breeze as a hint of rye bread crusts just kissed with sweet anise brings the taste back toward clove and nutmeg sweet Christmas mincemeat pies and a twinge of dark mulled wine.
Finish: That rye and anise counter the soft malted spice cakes with a deep almond marzipan nuttiness that’s accented with pear brandy, orange oils, and vanilla cream with a deeply old wine cellar echo lingering underneath it all.
Initial Thoughts:
This ends in a dusty old wine cellar and it 100% works for me. I guess if I was being very picky, it does feel kind of all over the place like a rollercoaster through the hits of Scotch whisky. But it’s a rollercoaster I want to be on.
Taste 7
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft orchard fruit — plums, pears, quince — mingle on the nose with a light sense of roasting sage, thyme, and rosemary — all fresh and oily — before a mild note of old cellar oak and dried prosciutto skins arrive.
Palate: The taste leans into the orchard fruit before curing everything with salt, creating a tart yet salted plum/apricot/pear vibe that leads to soft yet dry cacao with a hint of spice barks.
Finish: Those spice barks get sharp and peppery on the finish as the chocolate mellows toward salted figs, plums, and pears that have just been kissed with cherry smoke.
Initial Thoughts:
This feels classic and fresh at the same time. Maybe it’s too “classic” but that’s me really stretching to not just say “it’s amazing.”
Taste 8
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a classic sense of old and sweet malts on the nose that leads you to sweet and floral perfume that’s so subtle and enticing before a hint of sticky toffee pudding and geranium bound toward old mint rolled into chocolate malts.
Palate: The palate has a soft and salted toffee with honey nut cluster dusted with light notes of sweet winter spice and floral orchard blossoms before a hint more of honey and sweet old oak arrives.
Finish: That sweet oak drives the finish toward nutty creaminess, old orchard wood, and a sense of soft summer flowers with a hint of malt cookies cut with raisin and cinnamon.
Initial Thoughts:
This is incredibly succinct while delivering an incredible depth and overall experience. This is wildly good whisky.
Part 2 — The Ultra-Rare Scotch Whisky Ranking
8. World Whiskey Society 31-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distilled by Macallan Distillery — Taste 6
ABV: 53.7%
Average Price: $9,999
The Whisky:
The World Whiskey Society bottled this amazingly rare whisky this year. The whisky in this very bespoke bottle is from a single 31-year-old sherry cask that The Macallan had in its warehouses. It was bottled at cask strength, which means only 71 bottles were filled.
Bottom Line:
This felt like the most wide-reaching pour and lacked a little bit of focus. There was just a lot going on and it almost started to feel overwhelming. That said, I kind of wanted to be overwhelmed because everything was amped up to 11 and delicious.
I’d reach for this if I wanted to think about the whisky I was drinking and really ponder it. This is a thinkin’ whisky!
7. The GlenDronach Grandeur Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 28 Years — Taste 4
ABV: 48.9%
Average Price: $800
The Whisky:
The GlenDronach Grandeur Batch 11 was created by Dr. Rachel Barrie (who also created the BenRiach above). Dr. Barrie hand-selected a tiny number of rare Pedro Ximénez and oloroso Sherry casks that were filled with The GlenDronach malt almost 30 years ago. Those barrels were vatted and bottled with a touch of water into just over 3,000 bottles.
Bottom Line:
That bold warmth and deep woodiness is a lot. This is not for the passive whisky drinker. This is for someone looking to be challenged. I’d pour this over a single large rock and be very happy.
6. The Singleton of Glen Ord Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 40 Years — Taste 7
ABV: 45.9%
Average Price: $1,127
The Whiskey:
This new release from The Singleton of Glen Ord is a well-aged masterpiece. The malt spent 12 years aging in old bourbon casks before being re-barreled into fresh used oak for another 37 years. Finally, those barrels were vatted and that whisky was re-filled into a mix of rum casks which were ex-solera rum casks of Zacapa XO Rum and Zacapa Royal Rum. Finally, the whisky was vatted and bottled as-is.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for the best “classic” unpeated single malt experience that will not challenge you, this is the pour for you.
5. The Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Sample Room Collection 25 Years Of Age — Taste 3
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $499
The Whisky:
This masterpiece from Glenlivet is their iconic whisky that’s left to mature for 25 years. That whisky is finished in first-fill Pedro Ximenez sherry and Troncais oak cognac casks for that final chef’s kiss before going in the bottle at an incredibly accessible 80 proof.
Bottom Line:
This was more than classic unpeated malt. This felt (and tasted) quintessential. It’s so deep and satisfying while feeling like going home again for the holidays.
4. Glenglassaugh Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 46 Years Old — Taste 2
ABV: 41.7%
Average Price: $4,800
The Whiskey:
Glenglassaugh is a reborn distillery in Scotland — having operated from the 1800s to the 1980s before getting mothballed for over two decades before its resurgence in 2008. This is important to know in that the whiskey in this bottle was made in 1975 during the last years of the distillery’s 20th-century heyday. Living legend Master Blender Rachel Barrie found this barrel (a bourbon cask) in the stocks, and by some sort of whisky miracle, there was juice in the barrel. That whisky was bottled as-is at barrel strength and sent exclusively to the U.S.
Bottom Line:
This is great whisky. If you’re looking for a killer single malt with a hint of Kentucky bourbon lurking in the profile, give this a shot.
3. The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Tale of the Dog Aged 42 Years — Taste 8
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $18,799
The Whiskey:
This whisky was named after a famed whisky thief — or “dog” — that was flattened to stop too much whisky being thieved back in the day. The actual whisky in the bottle is from two casks that were put on the racks in 1974 and 1978 and left alone.
Bottom Line:
This is an incredibly delicious whisky. And at this point in the ranking, I’m splitting hairs so microscopic that you’d need a NASA-grade microscope to see them.
2. Glenfiddich Suspended Time Aged 30 Years, Time Re:Imagined Collection — Taste 1
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $1,399
The Whisky:
This new line from Glenfiddich is all about slow and steady aging over decades. In this case, this ultra-rare whisky was aged for three decades in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks until it hit a perfect point for batching, proofing, and bottling this year.
Bottom Line:
This has the perfect balance of being incredibly deep but still 100% accessible. You feel like you’re being nourished with every sip. The word “perfect” actually pops into your head when you sip it.
1. The BenRiach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Forty — Taste 5
ABV: 43.5%
Average Price: $4,500
The Whisky:
Legendary Master Blender Rachel Barrie assembled this from a few select barrels that survived to 40 years. The peated malt rested in both bourbon casks and Port casks. Those barrels were batched and just kissed with water for this amazingly rare bottling.
Bottom Line:
This stuff is amazing. It’s just… amazing. Get me a thesaurus — I’m at a loss for words.
Part 3 — Final Thoughts on the Ultra-Rare Scotch Whisky
I’m going to be honest here. The top four whiskies on this list are all basically tied for first. The difference between them quality-wise or taste-wise is so minuscule that it’s silly. Then the bottom four are all there because they offer something a little different from each other. But they’re all incredible pours, too.
Look at it this way, go back through the tasting notes and find the whisky that speaks to you. Then hit up the best whisky bar you know and maybe you’ll get to try one of these too. Or hit those price links and see if you can score a bottle in your neck of the woods. These are truly amazing whisky experiences that will deliver something special in every single nose and sip.
Moreover, these whiskies feel like you’re getting a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can’t put a price on that.
