The Last Drop Distillers will introduce its first Autumn Collection, which will consist of three very limited releases: a bourbon distilled in 1980, a 43-year-old Jamaican rum and a vintage cognac from 1959.
Taking a page from parent company Sazerac’s annual Antique Collection release, the Last Drop Autumn Collection is available in very limited quantities and offers some of the rarest spirits in the world.
The 1980 Buffalo Trace Bourbon was distilled in 1980, at what was then George T. Stagg Distillery, now known as Buffalo Trace Distillery. In 1992 Sazerac Company purchased the Distillery in Frankfort, Ky. A few barrels rested until a complete inventory was taken in 1998, at which point the barrels were 18 years old. For two years, the barrels remained in place, until at twenty years old they were vatted into stainless steel, which is a very common process distillers use to halt the aging effects of the barrel on the whiskey.
However, as Sazerac knows from its experience with prolonging its Sazerac 18 Year Old Rye Whiskey, the taste and characteristics will change over time. After another 20 years in stainless, Sazerac and The Last Drop believe the forty years total maturation has produced one of the finest bourbons ever made.
The 1980 Buffalo Trace is release number 19 from The Last Drop and its second bourbon release, both of which hail from Buffalo Trace. Only 240 bottles of the bourbon are available worldwide for a suggested retail price is $4,600.
The 1976 “Overproof” Very Old Jamaica Rum is The Last Drop’s 20th release but its first rum. Distilled from pure sugar cane in 1976 and put into ex-bourbon barrels to begin its long maturation, this rum spent its formative years at home in Jamaica. However, the extreme temperatures also mean that rum will mature and evaporate rapidly. After several years there, this barrel, along with many others, was loaded onto a ship that set sail for Liverpool, England.
When The Last Drop team tasted this 43-year-old rum, they knew they had found the elusive liquid it had long sought, one worthy of being included in its first Autumn Collection. The 1976 “Overproof” Very Old Jamaican Rum will be available for a suggested retail price of $3,400. There are 183 bottles available worldwide.
The 1959 Vintage Grande Champagne Cognac is The Last Drop’s smallest release to date. Cognac has been at the heart of The Last Drop’s collection of spirits since the company’s earliest days, and this latest release is no exception.
This single cask of vintage cognac matured for over 60 years in its original barrel, and only enough for 21 bottles remained. The 1959 Vintage Grand Champagne Cognac is The Last Drop’s 21st release. The suggested retail pricing is $5,200.
The Autumn Collection is available now. As with all of The Last Drop releases, each bottle comes packaged with a signature 50 ml miniature and pocket-sized tasting book with additional pages for personal tasting notes.
