This speyside distillery is coming to Sydney to give 51 year old whisky away for free

Speyside distillery Craigllachie, known as “The Bad Boy of Speyside” for their famously rebellious nature, is about to make whisky history by doing something no distillery has done before. In short, they’re about to give away a recently uncovered, long forgotten 51 year old whisky (that’d be worth a fortune) for free.

Specifically, the traditional distillery will be hosting a pop-up, Bar 51, in Sydney, much like they have in London and New York previously. Here, they’ll be giving 80 lucky competition winners the chance to come along for a tasting of the storied whisky, Craigllachie 51, as well as the distillery’s award-winning 13, 17 and 23 year old age statements, as well as a specially made cocktail using the 13 year old.

The Craigellachie 51 was discovered just sitting there in a long forgotten cask, or as Georgie Bell, global malts ambassador for Craigellachie owner Bacardi, puts it “slumbering in a blanket of oak for 51 years”.

Once they discovered it, and the incredible depth, of the whisky, the Craigellachie team decided that instead of selling it for an exorbitant price so it can sit on a collector’s shelf forever, they would give it away. 51 bottles (yep, coincidence) were then set aside to give away, dram by dram, at pop ups around the world.

Now it’s Sydney’s turn. Enter the competition at the link below, and if you’re name is part of the random draw you’ll be able to attend (with a guest) the Bar 51 pop-up, which runs from 23rd to 25th October at The Duke of Clarence.

The competition for Bar 51 is now open and closes on Friday 11th October (Midnight AEST). To be in with a chance to be one of the lucky 80 winners to attend Bar 51 for a tasting of CRAIGELLACHIE 51, enter the lottery at craigellachie.com.

Chris Singh

Chris Singh is an Editor-At-Large at the AU review, loves writing about travel and hospitality, and is partial to a perfectly textured octopus. You can reach him on Instagram: @chrisdsingh.