Once in a blue moon, we are approached by one of our Scotch suppliers with a deal that’s simply too good to pass up. This is one of those occasions. Looking to move some inventory, Alexander Murray presented us with this quartet of mature whiskys at prices we simply couldn’t believe. As an independent bottler, Alexander Murray is well known for serving up some of the best values in the whisky biz, but this set takes things to another level entirely. We love opportunities such as this, as it enables us to offer some truly special whiskys to a much broader audience. We urge you to scroll below for the full details on these remarkable drams, as each possesses a personality and character that’s all its own. These are exactly the kind of whiskys that collectors search for far and wide. As you might expect, quantities are exceptionally limited and demand will be high, so you definitely don’t want to sit on your hands for this one.
1986 Glenturret 30 Year Old “Alexander Murray” Cask Strength Small Batch Single Malt Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $230) ($149.99)
After years of absolutely nobody ever asking about Glenturret, it’s suddenly become a place of serious intrigue. We hadn’t seen a good cask of Turret since 2015, but this year we received a massive sherry bomb from Old Particular, which was easily one of the best values we bottled all year. Then we get word their owners, the Edrington Group, are looking to sell the distillery after years in the shadows of their other two properties, Macallan and Highland Park. The spiritual home of the Famous Grouse blend, Glenturret is not Scotland’s most luxurious, but it does boast one of the oldest histories of distillation in Scotland. They claim that illicit distillation was occurring on the site in Crief as far back as 1717. The distillery buildings are hidden below the road and guarded by a large copper grouse. The small distillery boasts only 2 stills and produces less than 350 thousand liters of spirit a year. Compare that to the more than 8 million being made at Macallan and you can see why Edrington felt they wouldn’t miss the little guy. Ultimately, the Highland distillery produces a very solid spirit and when we can offer old cask strength Turret for a great price, we’ll always say yes. This small batch is drawn from three refill hogsheads and bottled at cask strength without chill filtration or coloring of any kind.
1984 Glenturret 34 Year Old “Alexander Murray” Cask Strength Small Batch Single Malt Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $250) ($179.99)
The underappreciated Glenturret Distillery isn’t on most single malt drinkers’ radar, but their position as one of the component whiskies to the popular Famous Grouse blend means they don’t have to be. They haven’t marketed any distillery bottlings in the States and the demand for the blend has meant very little makes it out to the independent bottlers. But our friends at Alexander Murray have had good success with bottling large volumes of malt for big box retailers and that’s allowed them access to some exceptional stocks at very reasonable prices. As they become more comfortable with bottling products at cask strength and marketing them to specialty retailers like K&L, we find more and more exceptional products that we can work with. This wonderful 34-year-old single malt is a perfect example. Originally priced to sell upwards of $300, the final bits of this need to move out of the warehouse so they’ve offered us an exceptional deal for the whole lot. While this one doesn’t have the power or intensity of the 30 year, it shows more complexity and tons of nuance. It’s very rare that we see even mediocre single malt at cask strength of this age for anywhere close to these prices, but almost unheard of from a relatively rare distillery like Turret. If this is the kind of product we continue to see from Alexander Murray, you can expect to see a lot more of it on the shelf in the future.
1972 Speyside (Glenfarclas) 40 Year Old “Alexander Murray” Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $700) ($474.99)
There has been wild speculation about where these outrageous 40-year-old single malts from Alexander Murray have come from. While many have speculated that these are from Glen Grant or Glenlivet, one little taste will tell a different story. And indeed, the supplier has confirmed, that while they are legally prohibited from revealing the source of this special whisky, it is from what some consider to be the FINEST Speyside whisky distillery in Scotland. That special, independently-owned plant on the road between Ballindaloch and Aberlour is a darling of many. Famous for big bold sherry, their single vintage family casks have become extremely expensive. So we were very surprised to hear that our friends at Alexander Murray had secured some older stocks, which they bottled way back in 2012-13. They’ve been trickling out to the market as people catch wind of their provenance and that they were well worth the extremely high prices that were originally asked. Some of the softest, roundest malt we’ve ever seen, there’s little opportunity to explore malt this old at anywhere close to this price. The only serious complaint is that it was bottled at 40%, which is a sacrifice we can live with, considering distillery bottlings from this vintage can cost several thousand dollars. It might not be the big, powerful sherry bomb that some aficionados expect, but it is easily the best 40-year-old malt $500 can buy.
1972 Speyside (Glenfarclas) 41 Year Old “Alexander Murray” Single Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $800) ($499.99)
There has been wild speculation about where these outrageous 40-year-old single malts from Alexander Murray have come from. While many have speculated that these are from Glen Grant or Glenlivet, one little taste will tell a different story. And indeed, the supplier has confirmed, that while they are legally prohibited from revealing the source of this special whisky, it is from what some consider to be the FINEST Speyside whisky distillery in Scotland. That special independently owned plant on the road between Ballindaloch and Aberlour is a darling of many. Famous for big bold sherry, their single vintage family casks have become extremely expensive. So we were very surprised to hear that our friends at Alexander Murray had secured some older stocks, which they bottled way back in 2012-13, . They’ve been trickling out to the market as people catch wind of their provenance and well worth the extremely high prices that were originally asked. Some of the softest, roundest malt we’ve ever seen, there’s opportunity to explore malt this old at anywhere close to this price. The only serious complaint is that it was bottled at 40%, which is a sacrifice we can live with considering distillery bottlings from this vintage can cost several thousand dollars. It might not be the big powerful sherry bomb that some aficionados expect, but it is easily the best 40-year-old malt $500 can buy.
