Almost as old as Homer’s The Odyssey itself, Berry Bros & Rudd has timed its new collection with Christopher Nolan’s epic.
Founded in 1698 and, like the Classics, still going strong, the wine and spirit merchant revealed the latest addition to its own Odyssey Collection, The Auld and the Bold. Comprising 20 single-cask spirits from the far corners of the world, it includes whiskies, rums, and cognac – all highly limited in number.
This marks the third release of the Odyssey Collection. Each release has gone to great lengths to show how whisky traditions have expanded to pioneering producers across the globe.
Berry Bros & Rudd spirits curator Felix Dear said: “For this year’s Odyssey collection, we wanted to explore the relationship between heritage and innovation. Scotch whisky remains the benchmark that has inspired generations of distillers, but some of the most exciting spirits being made today are emerging from places far beyond Scotland.
“The Auld and the Bold brings these worlds together, showcasing both the timeless qualities that define great whisky and the fresh perspectives that continue to push the category forward. What unites these bottlings is a commitment to character, craftsmanship and a strong sense of place.”
On the Scotch front, there’s heritage and variety from lesser-known distilleries, including Ruadh Mhor (distilled at Glenturret), and Williamson, along with drams like the fruity Glencadam and GlenWyvis.
Cask influence is of importance here, too, with the sherry-influenced bottlings of Longmorn, Glen Garioch and Tamdhu, and a rare Viognier cask bottling of a Blair Athol. Some of the age statements here are nothing to sniff at either, such as the 50-year-old Glenlossie, distilled in 1975 and aged in hogshead casks.
New World whisky big and small contrasts this cornucopia of Scotch. Tasmanian distillery Lark has a single cask here with Tawny port cask maturation, while New Zealand’s Thomson distillery showcases a Manuka smoked character.
On the European front, there are Danish and Finnish bottlings from Thy and Teerenpeli: Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez cask finish respectively; these are Scotch techniques rendered through the Scandinavian country’s local climates, barley, and maturation styles.
Rum joins the fold through three sought-after Caribbean casks: a tropical cask of Barbadian Foursquare along with a bottling of Diamond hailing from Guyana (distilled on a Versailles wooden pot still) and, rarest of all, a cask of Trinidadian 1997 Caroni, a now extinct distillery. The collection is topped off by a single cognac, cask #1 of Frapin 1990. This is a 35-year-old Cognac, one of 199 bottles, distilled in France and bottled in the UK.
All 20 single cask bottlings will be available from July 16th at the Berry Bros. And Rudd spirits store, No.1 James’s Street, London. No distillery is repeated, and while most of these single cask bottles sit around $115-160 / £85-120, the rarer bottlings breach four figures.
