Why This Bottle Of Scotch Could Be Worth Almost $2 Million
Like most food and beverages, Scotch (aka whisky if you're from the United Kingdom) has a long history that stretches all the way back to the 11th century, according to Scotland's official website. Like their wine-making counterparts, early Scottish monks wanted to create their own popular spirit and because they didn't have access to grapes they instead started to use different grains that were available to them at the time. The result? A spirit that early Scottish monks called uisge beatha (Gaelic for "water of life," per Scotland's official website).
Today's Scotch now features four main ingredients — namely water, malt, peat, and yeast — and is seen as a drink that carries a lot of prestige. Food and Wine cites it as a sipping drink perfect for those that love to savor the spice of life a little longer than most. Now thanks to investment firm Fah Mai Holdings Group, assets company Rosewin Holdings, and bottler Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky, you and several generations of your family can enjoy what Guinness World Records has dubbed the largest bottle of Scotch in the world. Just how big is this bottle of Scotch and why does it cost so much?
The bottle can hold about 82 gallons and is filled with 32-year-old Macallan Scotch
Food and Wine reports that the bottle, which stands at a whopping 5-feet, 11-inches, can hold up to 311 liters of Scotch. According to the publication, the large bottle took over an hour to completely fill and used up two whole casks of Scotch. Two 32-year-old Macallan Scotch casks were used to filled the massive bottle, which is just one inch shy of the six-foot-mark. For reference, Forbes details that a single cask of Scotch can give a group of 30 people about eight to 12 bottles each. According to Food and Wine, the 311-liter bottle officially beat out the previous record-holder, The Famous Grouse, by 83 liters (roughly about 21 gallons).
How much can a bottle of Macallan cost someone? According to Food and Wine, a single bottle of 30-year-old Macallan Scotch can cost "about $5,500 to $7,000," which means that the 311-liter mega bottle comes in at about $1.84 million. In a move that proves everything was planned out down to the last detail, the remaining Scotch that didn't get bottled will be repurposed into "The Intrepid" collection, which will boast 14 separate 12-bottle sets featuring all 11 explorers whose pictures decorate the mega bottle.