The Top Shelf: Scotch

It takes a lot to impress a Scotch drinker these days. It’s no surprise since the selection of whiskies is bigger than it has ever been before. Good liquor stores now stock dozens of fine single malts and blends from all over Scotland. But to get your attention, brands are digging out their most precious casks and selling some truly remarkable bottles. Here are five of the rarest—start saving for them now.

Glenfiddich 50-Year-Old (Sold at auction for $38,000):

Up until recently your chances of drinking the Glenfiddich 50-Year-Old were pretty slim. Just five bottles of the single malt whisky were available in the US. But the brand will open one of the bottles on June 17 for a special tasting in New York City. Enter Liquor.com’s contest to attend this amazing event.

Glenlivet Cellar Collection 1973 ($1,250):

Glenlivet’s recently released Cellar Collection 1973 bottling is the first whisky to bear the signature of the brand’s new master distiller, Alan Winchester. There are just 240 bottles of this impressive, rich and fruity spirit for sale in America. (Available by special order from Park Avenue Liquor Shop.)

Gordon & MacPhail’s Mortlach 70-Year-Old ($18,000):

There are few septuagenarians as spry as the Mortlach 70-Year-Old single malt. (Pictured above.) The spirit, according to whisky expert and Liquor.com contributor Charles MacLean, is still surprisingly “fresh” and “vital” after so many decades aging in a Spanish sherry cask. There are just two 750 ml bottles and five 200 ml bottles ($5,000) of this senior citizen for sale in the US. (To get a bottle contact Matt Chivian, mchivian@martignetti.com.)

Brora 30-Year-Old ($400) and Port Ellen 30-Year-Old ($400):

Whisky collectors prize bottles from distilleries that are no longer operating, including Brora and Port Ellen. Once the stocks of these so-called ghost distilleries are gone, they’re really gone. Fortunately, you can still buy bottles of Brora’s rich, oaky 30-year-old and the slightly sweet and smoky Port Ellen 30-Year-Old.