In the world of fine liquor, it’s easy to spend a small fortune on a prestigious bottle. But few people can say they’ve spent seven figures on alcohol, like the bottle of whiskey that sold for $1.4 million recently.
According to Food & Wine, the world’s largest bottle of whiskey (known as ‘The Intrepid’) has a new owner following an auction put only Lyon and Turnbull.
“An elegant whisky, with subtle complexity. Its pale hue implies second or third fill casks, which has prevented the flavour being dominated by wood extractives. Intriguing and easy to enjoy straight – with (many!) friends – on any occasion,” the listing describes it as.
As for its taste, the million-dollar whiskey is said to have a “smooth texture” with a “sweet overall taste with some white pepper in the lengthy, warming finish and a suggestion of French apple tart in the aftertaste.”
The listing adds that it’s “lightly mouth drying at reduced strength, and more spicy.”
The auction house says bids were open online and via telephone, though the bottle eventually went to an international collector whose name hasn’t been released. Proceeds made from the auction are going towards a variety of charitable initiatives.
The Intrepid is a record-breaker. The bottle earned a Guinness World Record in September 2001 for being the biggest whiskey bottle on the planet. At 5 feet, 11 inches, the bottle contains 311 litres of whiskey. That’s enough to fill 444 bottles or make 5,287 whiskey sours.
The 1989 Macallan single malt sat in an oak cask at the producer’s Scotland distillery for over 30 years. It was finally bottled in 2021 and now has an owner.
The Intrepid was originally conceived a project between Fah Mai, a Thai investment company, and Rosewin Holdings, a U.K. investment firm that specializes in spirits, such as whiskey. The project was specifically founded by Daniel Monk, who says he was motivated to create the whiskey to honor his father.
“For me and the whole team The Intrepid project has always been about more than money,” Monk explained. “This is a passion project to celebrate the life of my late father, Captain Stanley Monk who was himself an explorer and achieved many amazing things during his life. Today would have been his birthday so it was a perfect date to put The Intrepid up for auction.”
As a nod to Monk’s father, the bottle’s label features the faces of 11 of the world’s most famous explorers, including Ranulph Fiennes and Robin Know-Johnston.
As CNN points out, though this is the biggest bottle of whiskey sold, it’s not the most expensive. The record is held by a 60-year old Macallan bottle that was sold for $1.53 million in 2018.
Sources: CNN, Lyon and Turnbull, Food & Wine,
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