Have an Extra $25,000 on Hand? Buy One of Only 159 Bottles of Bowmore Black 1964 Whisky

By Sam Slaughter Updated December 17, 2019

Bowmore Whiskey 1964, bowmore black 1964 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you couldn’t tell from the title, we’ve got some expensive Scotch whisky on our hands, boys. Bowmore, the oldest Islay distillery, will be releasing Bowmore Black 1964, the latest (and oldest) expression in their Bowmore 50 Year Old Vault Legends series. At a cool $25,000, this 40.9% ABV whisky will be hard to find, even if you do have the money—only 159 bottles were released worldwide.

Bowmore Black 1964 was distilled on November 5, 1964 and spent fifty years maturing in the oldest Scotch whisky warehouse in the country, Bowmore’s No. 1 Vault. (Some things that were happening while this whisky was but a wee one: the Vietnam War, “Baby Love” by the Supremes topping the charts, the failed launch of the Mariner 3 space probe.)

Black Bowmore 50 Year Old The Last Cask bottle + closed cabinet — Black Bowmore Whiskey/Photo by Beam Suntory Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first in the Old Vault Legends series, a 1961 50-Year-Old, was released in December 2016 and is no longer available for purchase due to the high level of demand for the whisky.

While this whisky is being released as a 5o-Year-Old now (thanks to one more cask being found, according to the company), the liquid itself has seen the light of day a few times before. It was released in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 2007 as a 29, 30, 31, and 42-Year-Old expression. The 42 Year Old expression had a run of 827 bottles (from casks 3710, 3713, 3715, 3716 and 3717, should you want to really nerd out on the facts).

The 1964 50-Year-Old is said to be rich and intense, with tropical fruit and honeyed black truffle that mingle with the peaty flavors you’d expect from an Islay Scotch. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on some of this magical liquid, it will come in a hand-blown glass bottle created by Glasstorm sculpting studio and topped with a cork made by Scottish Silver. A John Galvin handmade Scottish oak cabinet completes the presentation.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…

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