Prince Charles whisky raises £225,400 for charity
A 1988 cask of 30-year-old single malt Scotch whisky gifted to Prince Charles by Royal Lochnagar distillery has so far raised £225,400 (US$294,525) for charity.
Prince Charles visited Royal Lochnagar Distillery in October last year and was presented with a 30-year-old whisky that he decided to bottle for charity – making it the brand’s oldest single cask bottling to date. Royal Lochnagar presented the cask to the prince to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the first royal visit to the distillery by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1848. The American oak hogshead cask generated 206 individually numbered bottles, 184 of which were sold via The Whisky Exchange through a ballot selection process, priced at RRP £1,470 (US$1,921). The whisky has an abv of 52.6%. The proceeds will be donated to Prince Charles’ charity, The Prince’s Foundation, and will support its work at The Carriage, at Ballater Station on Royal Deeside, which is a bistro and tearoom at the village’s restored Old Royal Station. Sean Phillips, Royal Lochnagar distillery manager, said: “It is heartening to know that this celebratory Royal Lochnagar whisky will support the work of The Prince’s Foundation at The Carriage at Ballater Station on royal Deeside, which is so important to Royal Lochnagar and our people who live and work here. “We hope that the auction of bottle number one will provide a further boost for this good cause.” Bottle No. 1 Bottle number one of the Royal Lochnagar 30 Year Old single malt is yet to be sold, but will go under the hammer this month via online auction house Whisky.Auction. The auction will run from 3-12 February. Twenty of the remaining bottles will be retained by The Prince’s Foundation for future fundraising endeavours, while one bottle will be placed in the Diageo Archive in Scotland. Isabel Graham-Yool, auction director for Whisky.Auction, said: “We are proud to be offering this stunning 1988 Royal Lochnagar 30 Year Old from His Royal Highness’s cask in aid of The Prince’s Foundation and delighted that leading whisky writer Charlie MacLean will donate his handwritten tasting notes to the winning bidder for bottle number one.”
