By MICHAEL OMAR

Against the fitting backdrop of his new home off the Cannes coastline, UB Group Chairman Dr Vijay Mallya’s British company Whyte & Mackay recently announced the release of one the world’s oldest and most precious Scotch whiskies under the prestigious Dalmore brand.

Containing whisky first distilled 140 years ago, this ultra-rare concoction promises drinkers “a real taste of a bygone era that no other product or brand can offer,” and is qualified to make the rare claim of having started its maturation process even before monuments like the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower were built.

The whisky, described as soft and elegant, with a multitude of complex, lingering flavours including orange peel, liquorice, almonds and cinnamon, will be released in only 191 hand blown Portuguese crystal decanters – a figure that would have been higher if not for the process of natural evaporation, which eroded a large percentage of the company’s already limited stockpile.

Weighing in at 52.8% ABV, the whisky is expected to fetch upwards of USD7,400 per 70cl bottle, and comes with a handwritten and signed letter from its founder Richard Paterson.

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Whyte & Mackay