Fraters Libertas

And I'll Bet He Enjoyed A Fine Smoke With It

From this morning's WSJ:

The dollar has been down, the demand for single-malt scotch has been up, and where supplies are limited to what's left after many decades in the barrel, prices have soared to giddy heights. A bottle of the most expensive whiskey on the market -- the Dalmore 62 -- sold for $55,000 six months ago, up from a still far-from-shabby $40,000 in 2002. A bottle of Macallan 1926 single malt that traded for about $1,500 when it was first released in 1988 now runs north of $35,000.

Dang. Dalmore 62 for $55k. It's hard to imagine what a $55k Scotch would taste like but it's fun to imagine. A big shooter in England was able to find out earlier this year:

One advantage of collecting rare whiskey is that it is likely to become rarer still as others fully indulge their expensive tastes by actually tasting the goods. The Pennyhill Park resort hotel outside London bought one of the 12 bottles of Dalmore 62 to display at its swanky bar. Earlier this year, a middle-aged businessman paid about $55,000 to have the bottle brought to his table and opened. He and a few friends drank it in one sitting. And here's to them!

Agreed. Here's to the middle-aged businessman in London who enjoyed almost $60k worth of Scotch. I will probably never taste the Dalmore 62. The closest I will come to experiencing what this man had is when I get my bill after several hours of drinking at Keegans.

Salud!