By Demian van der Reijden
Carefully, Manny Myburgh lifted the bottle from its oak box.
"This," he proudly proclaimed, "is the Maybach among whiskies."
"Or the Picasso," his brother Phillip added, standing in their upmarket Caffé Della Salute in Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The bottle of Glenfiddich that Myburgh was handling was one of the rarest, oldest and most expensive.
"It was distilled in 1937 and bottled in 2001, making it, with 64 years of maturation, by far the oldest whisky available on the planet," said Andries Kruger, a representative of the official distributor for Glenfiddich in South Africa, who handed over the bottle to its new owners.
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"Because of the age and the rarity, only 61 bottles were left in 2001. The price is extraordinary. The fixed price worldwide is £16 500 (R181 500), but in auctions prices up to £20 000 (R220 000) are paid a bottle."
Most bottles are sold through auctions and are in private collections.
"Only three restaurants in the world have a bottle," Kruger said.
"And this is the only one in South Africa."
Usually, a cask produces about 240 bottles of whisky, but over the decades that cask No 843 matured, most of its content evaporated. It left 61 bottles of exquisite-tasting whisky with an alcohol percentage of 44 percent.
The Myburgh brothers, who say they are passionate about whisky, are pleased with their newest acquisition. All 80 exclusive Scottish whiskies they have - now containing the full range of Glenfiddich - are on display in their restaurant.
"For now, it is not for sale. Only if you want to buy at least 10 measures for R60 000 a tot will we consider coming to your party," Manny laughed.
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This article was originally published on page 1 of The Mercury on March 23, 2006
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