Trinitas was released by Dalmore in October 2010 in an edition of just three bottles, hence the Latin name — three. Each bottle held a 64-year-old single malt drawn from a marriage of casks distilled in 1868, 1878, 1926 and 1939, some of the oldest stocks ever held at Alness. It was bottled at 40.5% ABV and presented in a hand-blown crystal decanter.
At launch the bottles were offered at £100,000 apiece, a price that briefly made Trinitas the most expensive whisky in the world. Two were sold to private collectors before the official release, with the third sold at The Whisky Show in London. The transaction was widely reported and helped cement Dalmore's position at the top end of the luxury market.
Master distiller Richard Paterson, who oversaw the marriage, has described Trinitas as the most concentrated whisky he has ever bottled. The age of the component spirits — particularly the 1868 — meant that careful work was required to balance the oak, and the marriage was reportedly held back for further integration before release.
Whether any liquid is worth £100,000 is a matter for the buyer's conscience. As a piece of distilling history, Trinitas drew from stocks that no living distiller will ever lay down again.
