70-year-old Scotch aged well

EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 12 (UPI) -- It was love at first taste for aficionados who gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland, to sip a 70-year-old Scotch whiskey, the world's oldest malt whiskey.

The Mortlach 70-year-old Speyside, bottled in a hand-blown crystal decanter with a silver stopper, made its debut to enthusiasts at Edinburgh Castle Thursday, The Times of London reported Friday.

David Urquhart and Michael Urquhart, grandsons of a former owner of Gordon and MacPhail's Scotch producers, are making the Speyside product available in 54 full-size bottles and in 162 smaller bottles to the public.

But sipping the septuagenarian Scotch ain't cheap, The Times said. A full bottle costs $15,100 and the mini-bottles cost $3,000.

The Urquhart brothers their family anticipated the moment "for generations."

"This is a very special day for us," they said. "Our family has been in the whiskey business for a long time, with each generation building and handing on a lifetime's expertise to the next. If the reaction of those lucky enough to enjoy a dram today is anything to go by, whiskey fans and people wishing to own a unique piece of Scotland's liquid history will be very excited about it."