The Last Drop 2024 collection: I tasted Tomintoul 55 Year Old Single Malt Scotch and it’s a whisky for the ages

Connoisseurs of truly unique and extraordinary spirits will be thrilled with the 2024 collection from The Last Drop Distillers. The eclectic trio of treats comprise a 40 year old single malt scotch whisky from the Auchentoshan distillery (Release No. 34), a 22 year old ‘infinity’ rum blend (Release No. 35) and a 55 year old single malt scotch from the Tomintoul distillery (Release No. 36).  

Each comes with its own unique story, be it the production methods of Auchentoshan, the happenstance that led to the creation of the Infinitum rum, and the innovation that bequeathed this remarkable Tomintoul.  

The trio were unveiled this week at a lavish London launch and tasting, hosted by Managing Director Rebecca Jago, and Master Blender Colin JP Scott.

The evening was prefaced with a sampling of The Last Drop’s 15th Anniversary 40 year old blended scotch whisky, created by Scott. An 845 strong release, this delightfully flavoursome and smooth dram features grain whisky distilled at the North of Scotland distillery, the smallest grain distillery in Scotland, which closed in 1980  At 47.1% ABV, it sells for £2,880.

The trio were unveiled this week at a lavish London launch and tasting…

The Last Drop Distillers specialise in rare liquids, and has launched just 36 limited bottlings since its founding in 2008, covering Scotch Whisky, Cognac, Bourbon and Rum, Japanese Whisky and Irish Whiskey, as well as aged Ports and Pineau des Charentes. 

All are eagerly anticipated, none more so than these…

Release No. 34: The Last Drop 40 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky from the Auchentoshan Distillery 

With just 72 bottles produced, this sensational Scotch has been laboriously aged for four decades. Auchentoshan, famed for the mellowness of its single malts, is the only existing distillery in Scotland to distil its spirit three times, resulting in a liquid that’s both refined and luxurious. 

Tasting notes: Bottled at 44.8% ABV, this lowland malt is extremely light of hue, a consequence of its triple distillation, offering ripe cherries and fruitcake on the nose, alongside hints of toffee and sweet spice. On the palate I found it reveals a floral character, complementing its fruity disposition.

The angels took more than 80 per cent of the cask, so they must have enjoyed it, quips Master Blender Scott.

Release No. 35: The Last Drop 22 Year Old Infinitum Rum Blend

This sipping rum is, by all measure, a happy accident, and for many it may be the surprise hit of the collection. A startling blend of different aged rums from a wide array of distilleries, its DNA spans Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Venezuela, Guadeloupe, Brazil and Fiji.

A creation born from hundreds of duty-suspended samples casually consigned to an oak rum cask and left in a Liverpool warehouse for 22 years, the result is astonishingly complex and spicy. We’re told there was only enough spirit left for 136 bottles.  

Tasting notes: Bottled at 53.1% ABV, this light amber rum proffers nutmeg and honeycomb on the nose, but is most definitely tropical on the palate, with spices to the fore. 

Liverpool has long been a traditional dock for landing rums in the UK, and is home to The Main Rum Company. Every year it draws duty suspended rum, to distribute to the trade. Samples left at the end of the year are put into a barrel and sealed, and that becomes that year’s Infinity rum. This is the barrel from the year 2000. 

“While we call this a 22 year old rum, everything in it is older than that,” explains Jago. “This is a rum from everywhere and nowhere. It sums up what we want to do as a business – find the interesting, find the remarkable, and give it an opportunity to be showcased.”

Release No. 36: The Last Drop 55 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky from the Tomintoul Distillery

The Last Drop’s final 2024 release is its oldest to date, a sumptuous time capsule laid to rest at the end of the Sixties, when The Beatles Abbey Road was new in record shops and Led Zeppelin released their titular debut. Fittingly, this Speyside Scotch, bottled at 41.8% ABV,  really rocks.

Having aged for 53 years in six oak casks, the remaining liquid was married into an Amoroso cask for a further 20 months for even greater depth of flavour, resulting in a harvest of 582 bottles.

Tasting notes: Deep amber in colour, a result of those many years confined to rich sherry casks, it offers fruitcake and raisins on the nose, then delivers cartloads of toffee apple and tingly spice on the palate, with a cheeky kiss of liquorice. It’s a magnificent, multi-layered dram, built upon a bedrock of sweetness.  A whisky for the ages!

The Last Drop 2024 Collection is now rolling out globally in limited quantities. 

The 40 Year Old Auchentoshan Single Malt Scotch (700ml + 50ml miniature) sells for £3,500; the Infitinum Rum (700ml + 50ml miniature) is priced at £2,200, and the 55 Year Old Tomintoul Scotch Whisky (700ml + 50ml miniature) sells for £6,600.