58-year-old whisky in 222 bottles – at £1700 each

A 58-year-old Scotch grain whisky has been given its first-ever commercial bottling.

The North British Distillery, which was incorporated on this very day, October 24 1885, has joined forces with Scotch Whisky specialist Douglas Laing & Co to release a remarkable one-off 58-year-old limited edition of only 222 bottles, distilled in July 1960.

This is the first-ever commercial North British release and they have ensured that the cask selected is nothing short of exceptional. The 58-year-old single cask single grain Scotch Whisky was bottled at its natural cask strength of 51.6% vol, without colouring or chill-filtration.

After nearly six decades resting in its hogshead, the resulting spirit shows butterscotch, caramelised pineapple and coconut on the nose, with a palate full of toasted oak, cinnamon and cloves; leading to a spiced toffee and molasses finish.

The packaging of the Incorporation Edition, including its weighty hand-made oak casket, has been carefully crafted to reflect the quality, rarity and age of the whisky. Each bottle is accompanied by a stitched booklet which has been hand signed and individually numbered by Alan Kilpatrick, the distillery’s managing director.

He said: ‘As the eleventh managing director, it is my great honour and privilege to release this single cask, our first ever commercial bottling. It was distilled in 1960 on the same Edinburgh site as the company commenced production in 1885 and still does to this day.’

Fred Laing, chairman at Douglas Laing, added: ‘We are excited to be working with North British on such a special release. As a family, we have long been single grain enthusiasts and as a business, we have equally been long term proponents of the single grain category – the fit is ideal.

‘Handling the sales and marketing for such an exceptional spirit is both an honour and a great personal pleasure, such is its quality.’

The North British 58-Year-Old (70cl) will be available at specialist retailers from November, with an RRP of £1700.

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