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 Craft Irish Whiskey Co., in partnership with Fabergé. Eighteen months later, that record is still held by The Emerald Isle, despite the releases and sales of a number of exceptional whiskeys.

The inaugural launch of the highly limited boxes of The Emerald Isle set a world record at $2million USD, making The Emerald Isle not only the most expensive Irish whiskey in the world, but also the most expensive whiskey in the world. The final bid and private sale of the first Emerald Isle box to be released was secured jointly on St. Patrick’s Day (17th March 2021) by Houston-based Fabergé collectors, James and Korrine Whipkey, and a second group of private investors led by Scott H. Weissman. As part of this sale, all proceeds were donated to the Correa Family Foundation, a charity supporting children affected by cancer. The remaining six Emerald Isle experiences boxes were released at auctions and events in key cities throughout 2021.

Speaking at the time, Jay Bradley, Founder, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. commented: “We are absolutely thrilled to have set a world record, for the second time in three months, for the most expensive bottle of whiskey, with the launch of ‘The Emerald Isle Collection’. At The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. we share the same brand vision as Fabergé – to strive to create timeless beauty and a lasting legacy, faithful to heritage, which also embraces new methods. Collaborating with Fabergé has been a tremendous experience and together we have created an extraordinary bespoke set that truly celebrates Ireland, its craftsmanship and unique heritage.

“I am also delighted and proud to be able to donate the full proceeds of this sale to the Correa Family Foundation, a cause which is very close to my heart as my own daughter was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer when she was just five-months-old. Thanks to the charities like the Correa Family Foundation, she is now a healthy 19-year-old and I am honoured to be able to support the foundation through this contribution.”

Ian Duignan, Managing Director of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. said “The sale marks another milestone on our journey to become the world’s leading ultra-luxury whiskey. The pioneering partnership with Fabergé has allowed us to commission the first Celtic Fabergé Egg the world has ever seen, paying homage to the Isle of Ireland by creating the most expensive whiskey in Ireland.”

The generous donation to the Correa Family Foundation supported underserved childhood cancer patients. The charity helps cover daily expenses including food, transportation and rent for over 15,000 children with cancer. It also continues to sponsor over 1,000 patients and their siblings with financial support and gifts during Holidays and Christmas.

Carlos Correa, Major League Baseball star and founder of the Correa Family Foundation said: “I’m very thankful to The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Jay Bradley for being generous enough to donate the first release of The Emerald Isle to our foundation. This is a huge contribution to the Correa Family Foundation and will change thousands of lives. Seeing a sick child battle cancer and what it does to their families in normal times is heartbreaking, and something that Jay and his family have experienced first-hand, but going through it during a global pandemic is truly unimaginable.” 

‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ is The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s second release, following the launch of The Devil’s Keep – a triple-distilled, 29-year-old single malt whiskey – which also set a world record for most expensive inaugural release when it sold at auction in November 2020 for $60,000 USD (approximately £46,000/€51,000 Euros). Comprising a seven-piece custom-made whiskey set that celebrates the ‘Seven Wonders of Ireland’, ‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ took the crown as the oldest triple-distilled Irish whiskey in the world and the world’s most expensive whiskey, records it still holds to this day, a year and a half later.

The Emerald Isle’s ultra-rare single malt whiskey was taken from a single barrel, a small 40l Pedro Ximénez cask that was only half filled. Deep treacle in colour, it offers butter toffee and chocolate fudge on the nose, followed by hints of brine and tobacco. A powerful combination of old leather-bound books and a hint of tobacco smoke on the palate are delivered with a silky smooth mouthfeel, interwoven with some cherry drop notes, ripe banana and caramel. Christmas cake spices on the back palate flow into a wonderfully long and decadent finish with hints of creamy meringue and vanilla cigar smoke, spice and sweetened leather.

Beautifully presented in a dark walnut experience box, each set features a bottle of ultra-rare, single cask, 30-year-old, triple-distilled single malt Irish whiskey, accompanied by two unique and exclusive creations from Fabergé – the first-of-its-kind Fabergé Celtic Egg and bespoke 1/1 Fabergé watch. Each collection also includes a humidor with two limited edition and sold out, ultra-rare Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva (2009) cigars. Top-rated scoring 100/100, it is the holy grail of cigar collectibles and has increased by over 1,200% in value in the last decade. It also features a gold-plated cigar cutter, gold plated water pipette, pure obsidian whiskey stones, a hip flask with a sample of The Emerald Isle whiskey, which is the rarest Irish whiskey in existence, and a carafe filled with Irish spring water from the same region where the whiskey was made.

‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ fuses Fabergé’s unique heritage with rich Irish tradition and mythology, as well as the distinctive flavours of an ultra-rare whiskey, in a highly collectable and unique special-edition, legacy bottle. It is little known that Ireland invented whiskey in the 15th century and dominated the sector for centuries until an unfortunate fall due to both world wars, embargoes and their fight for independence. With the launch of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s collection, Irish whiskey is being restored to its former glory as the world’s most iconic whiskey.

Each experience box has been inspired by the shape of an emerald, representing the natural beauty of Ireland, and features an illustration of one of the ‘wonders’ of Ireland and its geographical coordinates. Inside each box is the pièce de resistance, the handcrafted whiskey bottle containing the ‘liquid gold’ – a collector’s item in its own right, with a design inspired by the Imperial Fabergé Hen Egg from 1885. All bottles of whiskey are accompanied by a bespoke Fabergé Celtic Egg. Each egg is handcrafted from 18k yellow gold and features Fabergé’s legendary guilloché enamel in a pastel green; the green, white and gold colours of the egg symbolising the Irish flag. Inside, a unique surprise awaits in the form of a rough, uncut Gemfields Zambian emerald.  This represents a feature that is truly historical, as it is the first time Fabergé has ever featured an uncut gemstone as the egg’s surprise. The uncut gem can be customised by Fabergé into an exquisite one-of-a-kind piece of Fabergé jewellery.

In addition to the whiskey and one-of-a-kind Fabergé Celtic Egg, each box features another ultimate collector’s item – a bespoke 1/1 Fabergé Altruist 18k rose gold watch. Each individual piece has a unique dial, inspired by the landscape of one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Ireland’.

This exceptional collection of future heirlooms reimagined the potential of Irish whiskey as a luxury collectable. As the most expensive whiskey ever sold, The Emerald Isle entered the history books and created an extraordinary legacy for The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Jay Bradley. The company’s innovative crafting methods and obsession with the perfect whiskey tasting experience have revolutionised the world of whiskey forever. Creating a whiskey collection that has not only become the most expensive Irish whiskey in the world, but the most expensive whiskey of any style, including Scotch, placed it firmly in the record books, and the history books. 

For further information, please contact Bethan Lawrence: [email protected]