A View from the Top Shelf: The Last Drop Distillers Triumvirate of Rarities

TLD Autumn Collection Box and mini Set of 3

In the telling, it almost seems like The Last Drop Distillers was started up as a lark more than a serious attempt at a business. Two retired titans of the spirits industry, James Espey and Tom Jago — who between them had created iconic brands including Chivas Regal 18, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Malibu Rum and Johnnie Walker Blue Label, to name a few — decide to tramp around Scotland hunting for one-off casks of rare and delicious whiskies. Sounds like more fun than sitting around and waiting for the next Lifetime Achievement award to roll in, right?

By all accounts, Espey and Jago did have plenty of fun, but they were also deadly serious about establishing The Last Drop as a premiere boutique label. From their first release in 2008 — a blended Highland malt distilled in 1960 and aged for almost half a century — they focused on bottling extraordinary and rare whiskies and cognacs. They knew how to market the brand to collectors, housing the bottles in embossed leather cases with signed certificates of authenticity and swanky notebooks for jotting down one’s thoughts about the precious elixirs. Vividly written backstories accompanied each release (even if the names of the distilleries couldn’t always be included for legal reasons), along with tasting notes by well-known industry experts. They even included bonus 50 ml samplers with each package, so owners could have a taste without having to open the full bottle. The Last Drop has released only what they deemed worthy, as they found it, without a set release schedule. And of course, they’ve charged top dollar, with each release, generally limited to a few hundred bottles, selling for a few thousand dollars apiece. 

Founder Tom Jago died in 2018, and over the last several years the reins of the company have been passed to Rebecca Jago and Beanie Espey, daughters of the founders. They’re putting their own stamp on the brand; in 2018, they released The Last Drop’s first port, followed in short order by a vintage bourbon. And they’ve sped up the timetable as well. After releasing only about a bottling, a year for their first decade, they’ve issued another ten since 2018 — including a triumvirate of rarities, called “The Autumn Collection,” this fall. 

TLD 1980 Bourbon Lifestyle

The Last Drop’s partnership with Sazerac has given the brand access to vintage bourbons from the Buffalo Trace distillery. The Last Drop 1980 Buffalo Trace Bourbon (45% ABV, 240 bottles available, $4,600) is their second Buffalo Trace bottling, and its truly history in a glass. It was distilled when the distillery was still named after George T. Stagg, and the American whiskey industry was smack in the middle of a decades-long downturn. The bourbon spent 20 years in oak before being transferred to stainless steel tanks, where the aging process is much more subtle, though it never stops completely. Two decades is a lot of time in the barrel for a bourbon, and while this elder statesman has weathered the years well (better than the previous Last Drop bourbon, in fact), it’s still a little past its prime. Rich caramel, jammy fig, and walnut notes fight for space with the dry, spicy oak, tobacco and leather that come from the wood. It’s highly drinkable, but I wish I could try a version of it that’s five years younger. Vintage bottles of younger Kentucky bourbons distilled in the ‘80s can be found on the auction market for a fraction of the price, though without all the bells and whistles you’ll find here. For a bourbon collector, this is a great one. For a bourbon drinker, maybe not so much.

The Last Drop 1976 Very Old Jamaica Rum (67.3% ABV, 183 bottles available, $3,400) is The Last Drop’s first rum bottling. It’s an indication that not only is the brand branching out, but that rum has also become a whole lot more collectible in the last dozen years. This column still rum from the south of Jamaica has a distillation date — December 6, 1976 — but not a distillery name, as legalities sometimes prevent The Last Drop from revealing the origins of their finds. It’s unavoidable, but frustrating for collectors who want to know every last detail about the liquid they’re buying.

43 years of aging is almost unheard of for a rum. This cask managed the feat by spending much of that time in England, namely Liverpool, where a surprising amount of rum spends its formative years before being blended and bottled. The color alone — a dark reddish amber — says that this baby means business. Its pungent aroma of acetone (think nail polish remover) and tropical fruit also indicates that it’s no shrinking violet. On the palate, it’s as intense as a spirit that’s more than 2/3 alcohol would lead you to believe. But it’s also very flavorful, with the alcoholic heat balanced out by powerful notes of baking spices like ginger and nutmeg, and a fruity tartness reminiscent of marmalade. The finish has a meaty, slightly funky flavor that’s a hallmark of older Jamaican rums. Surprisingly, it doesn’t need water — you’ve got to hold on to your seat a bit with this one, but it’s too thrilling a ride to want to smooth out. This rum is a masterpiece, and it would be pretty difficult to find something similar anywhere else. If you love rum and spending $3,400 on a bottle of it is the kind of thing you do, this is a legit pick.

The third member of the Autumn Collection is the rarest Last Drop release yet — a mere 21 bottles are available worldwide. Created at an unnamed “small family-owned distillery” in the Grande Champagne region of France, The Last Drop 1959 Grande Champagne Cognac (40.8% ABV, $5,200) would probably, for some collectors, be worth investing in solely for the “nyah-nyah” factor of owning such an exclusive edition. Fortunately for those who buy expensive booze to drink, it’s also a very fine cognac. It tastes its age, with bright orange leading into dry tobacco and leather notes that conjure up the musty elegance of a cigar room at a vintage men’s club. A little time in the glass opens it up enough to reveal subtle peach and melon notes as well.  This kind of cognac isn’t necessarily for everyone, but for the well-heeled imbibers who like their cognac the way they like their money — old — there’s no time to waste when it comes to snapping this one up.

A trio of bottles for $13,000 may not be on everyone’s shopping list this year, but it sure is fun to fantasize about, isn’t it? If I had to rank them, I’d go with the rum first, then the cognac, and finally the bourbon. And if I had the cash to buy them… to be honest, I’d probably help a few of the many needy individuals, businesses, and organizations that are in desperate need of assistance right now. But if any of them somehow wind up in your possession, I wouldn’t turn them down.