Buyer who camped 4 days for $36K Glenfiddich says first sip was 'oh so sweet'
The Vancouver developer has already cracked open his bottle of ultra-rare single malt scotch
Bruce Langereis got his wish.
After camping out for four nights in the rain at the edge of a parking lot, Langereis has savoured a sip of the $36,000 scotch he so coveted.
In an email to CBC News, the Vancouver developer said the first taste was "oh so sweet."
He enjoyed the fruits of the bottle with his colleague, the chairman of the Delta Group from Singapore, Tony Hii.
Now, Langereis says he is "off to the Bahamas," leaving the ultra-rare Glenfiddich behind.
The cracked bottle will sit on the mantel at the pair's luxury hotel, the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver.
Sleep with a Shadbolt
The hotel is renowned for indulging high-paying guests in luxuries, including one of Canada's largest collections of privately-owned Canuck art.
Hii's 200-piece collection includes work by Jack Shadbolt, Guido Molinari, Alan Wood and Douglas Coupland.
Some of the suites go for $6,000 a night in high season, in part because of the ambiance and art.
Now the hotel brags the only 50-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich sold in 2015 in Canada.
Patrons of the hotel bar, Prohibition, can have a sip, but it will be pricey.
One shot up to $2000
Langereis said one shot may cost up to $2000.
"The taste, the textures, the sophistication of the fluids. There is a reason that a bottle costs $36,000," said Langereis while he was camping out for his purchase on Saturday.
He was not alone in the lineup. Hundreds of scotch aficionados braved November rain to bag other bottles, with prices ranging from $60 upwards.
But the Glenfiddich was the ultimate prize.
Orange marmalade with a faint wisp of smoke
"These bottles are exceptionally rare. It was put away 50 years ago so it's a really exceptional layered flavour for a scotch," said April Kemick of B.C. Liquor stores.
"Some will collect it ... but there are people who do believe that good whisky should be poured. So some people actually share it with their friends if you can believe it," Kemick said.
The single malt is one of only 50 bottles available worldwide this year, and the only one to be sold in Canada.
"On the palate what it tastes like, is you get this sweetness that comes through like orange marmalade with a faint wisp of smoke, with a lovely, velvety finish," explains Glenfiddich scotch ambassador Mitch Bechard.
The sale is part of the B.C. Liquor Stores annual premium spirit release.
Joining it on the shelves will be whiskies, cognacs and bourbons from around the world.
The Glenfiddich sold Saturday morning at the Cambie Liquor Store. The rest of the premium stock will be available at 30 stores across the province.
with files from Kirk Williams