$12,500 Whiskey Tops 2012 List for Discerning Drinkers

The whiskey industry tends to move at a slow pace, and for good reason when a spirit aged for three years is considered "young." The launch of a new whiskey is usually a singular event, which makes the opening months of 2012 noteworthy, with a handful of new whiskeys coming onto the market. That word "new" must be used carefully, however, because some of the new stuff is, in fact, quite old.

Glen Grant's 60 Year Old: This extremely rare single malt is being released to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. The scotch in question is exceptionally well-chosen, as it was laid down scant days before the Queen's 1952 accession to the throne. Only 85 bottles of this rarefied whiskey have been issued, making it a certain collectible with a recommended retail price of a whopping $12,500 a bottle.

Scotch in a Can: On the negative side of this year's new whiskey products is the idea of putting scotch whiskey in a can. A Florida company is marketing 12 oz. cans of 8 year old scotch for a recommended retail price of $5 a pop. Whatever the merits of canning scotch or the scotch chosen therein, the price is certainly cheap. One can is roughly the same as half a normal 750 ml bottle.

Shackleton's Rare Old Highland Malt: One of the more legendary stories to come out of Sir Ernest Shackleton's early 20th century Antarctic expedition was the 2006 discovery of 11 bottles of Mackinlay 1896 scotch, frozen in the ice for just short of 100 years.

For whiskey-lovers, the fascinating part of discoveries of very old whiskey is that how whiskey is made has changed over time, and whiskey-makers periodically cash in on this by introducing new labels made in an old fashioned way (such as Isle of Jura's Prophecy).

Mackinlay responded to the discovery of its historic products in Antarctica by reproducing the original 1896-style scotch, now available as Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland Malt. "Shackleton's scotch" retails for an approachable $125 a bottle.

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon: Woodford Reserve has been experimenting with limited editions for some years now, but has yet to introduce a permanent extension of their bourbon whiskey. That all changes in March 2012 with the introduction of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. The bourbon is essentially Woodford Reserve's basic product finished in a separate and distinctive set of oak barrels for several extra months. This release is hotly anticipated in the bourbon community, and bottles of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked will sell for $50.