It’s almost a year since the first bottle of The Emerald Isle sold at auction for $2,000,000 but it’s still making waves amongst the whiskey community and beyond. GQ India recently featured it at the top of the list of ‘Rs 14 crore whisky bottles & 4 other rare and most expensive whiskey bottles for those who have the collector’s eye’. Having taken the top spot from The Macallan Fine & Rare as the most expensive whiskey in the world, The Emerald Isle is sought-after by collectors around the world, but with only seven collections ever released and only two remaining, it’s in short supply.
As GQ India notes, the original liquid was sourced from the world’s oldest distillery, Bushmills. But it’s the journey that whiskey then took that transformed it from a great whiskey into a truly exceptional one. Drawing on a skilled appreciation for flavour and understanding of the effect of wood on the flavour of whiskey, The Emerald Isle took a bespoke course. Matured in 200l American bourbon barrels for the first fill, The Emerald Isle was then finished in rare 40I Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. It’s this journey that imbued it with the nuanced, rounded flavour profile for which The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has become known.
From the type of barrel to how the staves were treated, we spare no expense to source and treat the finest barrels. We underfill those barrels, allowing maturation to begin at once rather than waiting for the Angels’ Share to evaporate, and we add water during maturation rather than before bottling which would dilute the rich flavours and viscosity. Whiskey in the cask is a living, breathing entity so we don’t rely on an age statement and instead taste the whiskey regularly to catch it at the peak of perfection. The craft doesn’t end once the whiskey is bottled. Just as a Michelin starred restaurant elevates the experience, so we surround our whiskeys with accessories that enhance the appreciation of the flavour and aroma.
In addition to the Fabergé Celtic Egg – the first in the world, the ultra-rare Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva cigars and a 1/1 bespoke Fabergé watch, The Emerald Isle Collection included our Finn glasses which have been scientifically designed to remove the ethanol vapours that burn the nose and hinder the enjoyment of the whiskey. That same scientific approach was applied to the pipettes to calculate the perfect amount of water to break open the spherical micelles that trap some of the flavour compounds, releasing them and adding more notes to the whiskey.
As GQ India states, the proceeds from the $2,000,000 auction of the first collection of The Emerald Isle were donated to The Correra Family Foundation. Subsequent collections were sold throughout 2021 for upwards of $3,000,000. Just two remain.
The Rarest, Triple-Distilled, Single Malt Irish Whiskey and First Fabergé Celtic Egg featuring Rough Uncut Emerald Surprise sells for $2 million. 2 September 2022: On 19th March 2021, a new world record was achieved for the most expensive whiskey collectors’ set, following the global unveiling of the highly anticipated ‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ by The […]
While only a select number of people have been lucky enough to sample The Emerald Isle, the Editor of Elite Traveler is one of them. He’s chosen The Emerald Isle Collection as one of the finest whiskeys he’s sampled this year, amongst others of impeccable pedigree. As he notes, the demand for fine, rare and […]
Men’s Gear has selected The Emerald Isle as the whiskey with ‘the upper hand’ over others. As they note, in a market full of very good whiskey, it takes something truly spectacular to stand out. And The Emerald Isle is certainly that. The ultra-rare 30-year old Irish single malt may be the star of the show, but its rarity and […]
here was a time, not so long ago, when a list of the most expensive whiskeys in the world would have been headed up by Scotch, namely Macallan. The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. has changed that, redefining Irish whiskey as a luxury collectable unlike any other. Sitting ahead of four Scotch whiskies on CN Traveler’s list of […]
The Emerald Isle is featured in Signature Luxury Travel & Style this month, alongside Dolce & Gabbana, Breguet Tradition Quantième Rétrograde & other luxury desirables. Featured as part of The Men’s Edit, The Emerald Isle is in esteemed company amongst a refined selection of elegant collectables chosen to suit the cooler months. This ultra-rare whiskey […]
Our record-breaking second release, The Emerald Isle, has made waves across the world both for its rarity – the oldest and rarest triple distilled single malt in the world – and its artistry. Featuring the world’s first Celtic Egg from Fabergé, The Emerald Isle is a breathtaking example of the innovative and forward-thinking approach of […]
Jay Bradley and The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. topped off their appearance at Belfast Whiskey Week in spectacular style with a display of The Emerald Isle. Marking the first time the Fabergé Celtic Egg has been shown on Irish soil, it was a momentous occasion for all involved. Set against a backdrop of the Belfast […]
While some rest, others forge ahead; aiming higher, achieving more. The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and founder and entrepreneur Jay Bradley are of the latter. As this article on Forbes notes, in less than a year, Jay and The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. have produced the most expensive whiskey of all time with The Emerald […]
The Emerald Isle sits proudly at the top of Elite Traveler’s round up of the most expensive whiskeys in the world. As a record-breaker and holder of the title of ‘World’s most expensive whiskey’, it has a deserved place at the very top of a list dominated by Macallan. With six of the eight whiskeys […]
£46,000 is the price that the first bottle of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s inaugural release, ‘The Devil’s Keep‘, sold for at auction in November 2020, a figure that has broken historical records as the most expensive inaugural whiskey release. The explanation as to why this whiskey is so special can be seen in its […]