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| Wine & Spirits |
Spirited Portfolios
Richard Carleton Hacker
01/01/2004
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A Distinguished Mélange of Malts
• Bowmore Black 1964. A heavily sherried, darkly hued Islay whisky, only 99 bottles were produced. Back in 1993, it sold for about $245. Today, this bottle fetches between $2,000 and $4,000, depending on the market.
• Dalmore 150th Anniversary 30 Year Old. Only 20 bottlings were made for the workers at the distillery. A few unopened teardrop-shaped decanters are still known to exist.
• Highland Park 1958. This whisky from Scotland’s northernmost distillery was released in October 2003. Each of the 665 bottles, in individually numbered, hand-blown, hand-engraved Caithness glass decanters encased in wood, is accompanied by a book signed by Jim Robertson, Highland Park’s previous distillery manager, that celebrates both the whisky and the Orkney islands.
• Port Ellen. The distillery, named after Islay’s famous port, closed in 1998, thus, remaining bottles are highly collectible. Collector interest centers on the 21 years and older cask-strength whiskies.
• Springbank. This is one of the last three remaining family-owned distilleries in Scotland. Anything 25 years or older is not only highly drinkable, but also collectible. None of these whiskies has ever been sold for blends. The 1966 Local Barley has become a cult favorite. Distilled with locally grown barley, only seven barrels were produced of this particular vintage.
• Mortlach. Knowledgeable collectors seek the older vintages, which are highly regarded. Int-erest in cask-strength samples bottled by Gordon & MacPhail also abounds.
• The Macallan 1841 Replica. This is a recreation by the distillery of one of the oldest surviving whiskies, right down to the irregularly shaped, hand-blown bottle. Many of the 12,000 bottles, priced at $190—along with those of the previously-issued 1861 bottles at $180—will no doubt be opened out of curiosity’s sake, boosting the appreciation of sealed bottles over the long term. The highly sherried The Macallan Gran Reservas from 1979 through 1982 are also worthy of note.
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