Toast International Whiskey Day with five spirited odd news stories

March 27 (UPI) -- Monday marks International Whiskey Day, affording a perfect opportunity for connoisseurs to reflect on times the spirit has graced the odd news headlines.

International Whiskey Day was inaugurated on March 27, 2009, during the Whiskey Day Festival in the northern Netherlands. The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of British writer Michael Jackson, who authored numerous influential tomes about whiskey and beer.

Here are five times the sippable spirit made odd news headlines.

New Tennessee distillery boasts world's longest bar

The Humble Baron whiskey distillery, which opened its doors for the first time this month in Shelbyville, Tenn., was constructed to house the longest permanent continuous bar in the world.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator visited the establishment and verified the bar measured 518 feet long, breaking the previous record of 405 feet, 10 inches set by Beer Barrel Saloon on Ohio's South Bass Island.

Treasure hunters find whiskey that sank into Ontario lake in 1964

Dieter Mueller of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, said he had long been fascinated by the story of several bottles of whiskey that sank to the bottom of Otter Lake in a 1964 boat crash, so he brought friend Adam Blokzyl and diving expert Dave Davison to help him search.

Davison was able to bring three bottles to the surface during a day of diving, and the men were elated to discover one of the bottles was still sealed and intact. The men said they hope to return to search for more bottles.

New Hampshire distillery turns invasive crabs into whiskey

Whiskey maker Tamworth Distilling teamed up with the University of New Hampshire's NH Green Crab Project to develop House of Tamworth Crab Trapper, which the distillery said is "made with a bourbon base steeped with a custom crab, corn and spice blend mixture."

The crabs used in the distilling process are green crabs, a species native to Europe and considered invasive in New England. The distillery said it wanted to put the invasive species to good use while raising awareness of the threat they pose to the ecosystem.

World's largest bottle of whiskey auctioned in Scotland

An 82.16-gallon bottle of 30-year-old, single-malt Scotch whiskey from The Macallan Distillery was officially dubbed the world's largest by Guinness World Records when it was bottled by Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky in 2021.

The 5-foot, 11-inch bottle, known as The Intrepid, was auctioned the following year by Edinburgh-based Lyon & Turnbull for a whopping $1.375 million.

The world's largest bottle of whiskey, which stands 5 feet and 11 inches tall and contains 82.16 gallons of single-malt Scotch, was auctioned May 25, 2022, by Edinburgh-based Lyon & Turnbull. Photo courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull

Contractors find message, whiskey bottle under floor of Scottish kitchen

Contractor Craig Harrigan said he and a colleague were working in the kitchen of the Edinburgh, Scotland, home when they pulled up the floor and discovered a message written by the home's previous owners in 2001 and a bottle of Glenkinchie whiskey.

The message read: "Jack and May lived here -- three kids and a dog. Kitchen done up during April and May 2001. All the best, have a drink on us!"