An Aberdeenshire hotel has acquired a bottle of an 81-year old single malt whisky worth £150,000.
Meldrum House Country Hotel in Inverurie will display The Reach by The Macallan in its “iconic” 800-year-old cave bar.
It is the second hotel in Scotland to purchase a bottle of the whisky, with Gleneagles displaying the other.
Opening the bottle will come at a cost for guests – with the hotel saying one nip of the special dram likely to set you back more than £8,000.
Displaying history at Meldrum House
Meldrum House managing director Jordan Charles wants guest to be able to surround themselves in history at the hotel.
He said: “When we were approached about this whisky it was incredible to be given the opportunity to display and sell something so special.
“It’s not every day you can put a whisky like this for sale in your Bar so it took a lot of thought and planning.
“We had the burr elm cabinet specially built by Patersons of Oldmeldrum to fit into the stone wall.
“As guests pass by the room where it is displayed, they will be able to see this stunning Macallan masterpiece. Any guest that wants to purchase it is in for a real treat.
“This is one of the oldest expressions released by The Macallan to date. We’re extremely proud to have it displayed in our Cave Bar.
“It’s a chance for our guests to come and view this legendary and very special whisky in all its glory whilst enjoying a dram -surrounded by our very own history of 800 years at the hotel.”
Meldrum House Country Hotel said its 800-year-old cave bar is a “fitting place” to display this iconic whisky.
It currently offers more than 120 rare and independent whiskies and has also added a further four to its collection.
A 2023 Macallan 25-year-old sherry cask, a 2022 Macallan M decanter as well as both 18-year-old and 25-year-old Glenrothes are now available behind the bar for guests.
What’s so special about The Reach by The Macallan?
The Macallan spirit has been maturing since the Second World War – being laid to rest in 1940.
The distillery was then forced to close its doors due to the conflict – the first tine since founding in 1824.
The Reach has been highly limited with just 288 bottles available worldwide.
It comes in a decanter cradled by a bronze sculpture of three hands – each representing characters in the company’s history.
One symbolises the distillery workers of 1940 when the country was at war.
Another of one-time chairman Allan Shiach, whose grandfather was in charge when the spirit was consigned to its cask.
The third represents today’s master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell, who selected the special cask used to create the dram.
The bottle will be stored in the whisky club at Meldrum House, sitting on a plinth behind glass to protect it.
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