'World's oldest whisky' for sale

maximus otter

maximus otter

Joined
Jul 20, 2002
Messages
4,187
A bottle of whisky which experts believe could be the oldest in existence is to be sold at auction.

The Glenavon Special Liqueur Whisky, believed to have been bottled about 150 years ago, is expected to fetch up to £10,000 at Bonhams in London.

The Glenavon Distillery, which was located in Ballindalloch in Banffshire, ceased operating in the 1850s.

_42369928_glenavon203300pa.jpg


The green bottle, which has been owned by an Irish family for generations, is unusually small in size.

It holds about 14 fluid ounces of pale gold liquid.

It is believed to have been bottled by the Glenavon Distillery between 1851 and 1858.

However, uncertainty surrounds its exact age.

The label reads "Glenavon - Special Liqueur Whisky Bottled by the Distillers," but Glenavon stopped operating in the 1850s.

Experts have said that if the whisky was indeed "bottled by the distillers", it could be the oldest to come to auction.

The Glenavon Distillery was licensed to John Smith, son of George Smith, founder of the nearby Glenlivet Distillery.

John Smith joined his father in the business in 1846 and established a small distillery at Delnabo in 1849.

Bonhams' consultant Charles MacLean said: "It has been suggested that Delnabo and Glenavon may have been one and the same.

"What is certain is that the Smiths closed Delnabo in 1858, and in the following year they consolidated all their distilleries - including Glenavon/ Delnabo - at Minmore, the site of the present Glenlivet Distillery."

Mr MacLean said the label implied that it was bottled before the move to Minmore.

"Yet even if it had been bottled by the Smiths after the closure of Glenavon, authentic bottles of Scotch from the 1870s are extremely rare," he said.

"John Smith died in 1901, so we know it was bottled before then."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6194442.stm

maximus otter
 
Maximus , there was some beer [what was left of it] recovered from a sunken ship in the UK. They were able to extract some yeast. They then could make the beer as it was in the past. Have you had any of that ??
 
mete said:
Maximus , there was some beer [what was left of it] recovered from a sunken ship in the UK. They were able to extract some yeast. They then could make the beer as it was in the past. Have you had any of that ??
Click to expand...

Sorry, first I've heard of it.

A quick Google reveals no clues either.

m.o.
 
So if you had 10,000 quid to burn and you bought this bottle, would you drink it? It would be a high price to discover that it had turned into turpentine. Of course, if you didn't drink it, you'd never really know.

I've always thought it strange when collectors buy usable items and then deliberately don't use them. For example, a master gunsmith spends hundreds of hours building a beautiful 1911 that can hit a dime at 50 yards, and then sells it to a collector for thousands of dollars, who then leaves the gun in his safe without shooting it, to protect its collectibility value. What was the point of the fine craftsmanship if it is never used?
 
You are paying for the rarity of an item. I collect rare US paper money and I always find it odd to pay $1000 for $1 or $5 bill from the late 1800's. Down the road there is always someone who will buy it from you for more then you paid.
 
mete said:
Maximus , there was some beer [what was left of it] recovered from a sunken ship in the UK. They were able to extract some yeast. They then could make the beer as it was in the past. Have you had any of that ??
Click to expand...

Dogfish head has made some brews based on ancient recipies such as midas touch. Also Hair of the Dog brewery makes a beer called Adam. Very interesting stuff. I'll have to look for the flag porter out of curiosity
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top