ne of the world’s oldest whiskies might be auctioned off after being found hidden in a Scottish fortress.
The whisky was discovered behind a cellar door at 750-year-old Blair Fortress, Perthshire, the ancestral residence of the Dukes of Atholl.
The Scotch, stated to be one of many oldest on the planet, is believed to have been distilled almost 200 years in the past and should have sipped by a younger Queen Victoria, who visited the fortress and developed a style for the whisky and honey concoction Atholl Brose.
Round 40 bottles of the uncommon tipple had been found in late 2022 when Bertie Troughton, resident trustee at Blair Fortress, occurred upon them within the cellar.
They’re believed to have been distilled in 1833 and bottled in 1841, and later rebottled in 1932.
The bottles had been sampled by the household then examined by an area professional.
Analysis within the fortress archives backs the whisky’s early nineteenth century origin, as does authentication from the Scottish Universities Environmental Analysis Centre by way of carbon courting.
A complete of 24 bottles at the moment are occurring sale individually by way of Perth-based enterprise Whisky Auctioneer.
Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist at Whisky Auctioneer, claims the bottles comprise the “world’s oldest scotch whisky” and stated with the ability to supply them at public sale is “really a once-in-a-lifetime prevalence”.
He stated: “I’m lucky to be properly acquainted with previous and uncommon liquid, as Whisky Auctioneer handles a few of the world’s rarest whisky bottlings.
“This, nevertheless, is a transcendent discovery that’s positive to seize not simply the creativeness of the whisky trade but additionally these properly past.
“Distilled within the 1830s, the whisky was made throughout a captivating interval when whisky manufacturing was experiencing large change following the 1823 Excise Act, making it a very thrilling discover for these within the historical past and heritage of the Scotch whisky trade.”
The archives included cellar inventories generally known as “bin books” and one, dated July 23 1834 – one 12 months after the whisky was initially casked – reveals cask whisky recorded within the cellar.
It states: “Bin 65 – Retailer Whiskey – 72 bottles = 40 Gallons in wooden”.
Mr Troughton stated: “Blair Fortress is lucky to have the most effective archives of any historic home in Scotland and it’s been fantastic to see the story of those fabulous bottles come to life within the archives.
“Whisky has all the time been an enormous a part of the historical past of Blair Fortress and we might be constructing an exhibition across the bottles we preserve after the public sale so that each one who go to Blair Fortress can see it and listen to the historical past of this unimaginable whisky.”
Angus MacRaild, a specialist in previous and uncommon whiskies, is among the many small group of people that have sampled the distinctive spirit.
He stated: “It is a profoundly historic whisky and a exceptional artefact of Scottish distilling that’s unlikely to ever be equalled by way of provenance and preservation.
“That it has been fastidiously re-bottled and preserved at pure energy, sustaining the freshness and energy of this spirit for almost two centuries is, frankly, astonishing.
“To style it myself, has been a terrific privilege.”
He stated it has “a flavour profile that strongly entails medicinal traits with none notable or pronounced peat smoke”.
The bottles will go up for public sale on November 24 till December 4.
For extra details about Whisky Auctioneer and to register curiosity within the public sale, please go to: whiskylink.co/Blair-Fortress