Midleton Very Rare, the renowned Irish whiskey brand, is commemorating its 40th anniversary with the release of an exclusive edition whiskey bottle, accompanied by a non-fungible token (NFT).
The bottle is a one-of-a-kind creation, enclosed in a Waterford crystal decanter engraved by hand with 18-carat solid gold on both the neck and stopper. Also, the neck collar boasts thirty-two ethically sourced rubies.
To bring forth the design of this decanter, Midleton Very Rare partnered with Keanes Jewellers, a renowned jeweler in Ireland with a legacy dating back to 1948.
This special edition bottle will be released as an NFT, serving not only as a digital representation but also as a means to claim the physical bottle. Additionally, the NFT will function as an official certificate of authenticity from Keanes Jewellers and offer an exclusive Midleton Very Rare experience for two guests.
Scheduled for release today, February 28, the bottle will be available on BlockBar, an NFT marketplace dedicated to spirits and wine. The sale will follow an auction format, with a starting bid of 17.93 ETH or $60,000. The successful bidder will be able to redeem the physical bottle on May 30, 2024.
With this release, Midleton Very Rare joins a growing trend within the whiskey industry, leveraging Web3 technology to enhance the security and transparency of bottle provenance and authenticity through NFTs.
Notably, on February 14th, The Glenlivet marked its bicentennial with a 50-year-old whiskey collection, incorporating AI-designed labels and NFTs for ownership validation. In 2023, Grace O’Malley, another Irish whiskey brand, entered the NFT space with a collection featuring hand-painted 13-year-old Amarone grain Irish Whiskey bottles, crafted by artist KinMx.
