Mystery Buyer Spends $17,000 on Single Malt Masterpiece at LAX

Only five days after its grand unveiling, one of the few bottles of the rare and precious Glenfiddich 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky available in the U.S has been sold to an anonymous buyer at Los Angeles International Airport for $17,000.

The extremely rare bottle, one of only 6 available in the United States, and the only bottle in the world available at international travel retail, was purchased by an anonymous buyer travelling from Los Angeles to Taipei on November 11. Having been unveiled at an exclusive event on Monday, November 7th at the DFS Duty Free store in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), the bottle of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old was featured on a custom display at the entrance of the store, where it stood for a mere 5 days before the sale.

Glenfiddich 50 Year old is one of the world’s most acclaimed whiskies, and is the ultimate expression of the company’s pioneering spirit and expertise in distilling Nurtured over many years by generations of dedicated and distinguished long-serving craftsmen using techniques lost to most other distilleries, Glenfiddich 50 stands as proof that only an independent, family-owned distillery can remain true to its founding principles and continually pioneer in its pursuit of excellence. When first released in 2009, the first bottle of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old was sold at auction by Christie’s for a staggering $38,000, reaffirming the superior quality, rarity and desirability of the product.

“The remarkable speed with which this bottle was acquired is testament to the rarity and desirability of the phenomenal whisky,” said Lindsay Prociw, Senior Brand Manager, Glenfiddich. “Since first introducing this pioneering expression in 2009, the demand for the yearly limited release has been extremely high, and this sale reinforces and reflects our unrivalled quality credentials as the world’s most awarded single malt.”

Peter Gordon, the Chairman of William Grant & Sons and the great-great-grandson of William Grant, the founder of Glenfiddich, commented “Staying true to the pioneering spirit of William Grant, who laid down stocks of whisky for future generations to enjoy, we have consistently planned ahead and have more aged stock than any other distillery. Our whisky spends years being carefully matured in our warehouses, with each additional year imparting light and elegant notes to the liquid. Every new year is important when it comes to making exceptional whisky - and Glenfiddich 50 Year Old is the ultimate expression of this pioneering foresight.”

Glenfiddich 50 Year Old is the crowning achievement of Glenfiddich, the world’s most awarded Single Malt Scotch Whisky, which took home 9 awards at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London on November 16, including an unprecedented 3 Best in Class trophies. At present, 5 bottles of Glenfiddich 50 remain for sale in the U.S., at various exclusive locations around the country.