Now that’ll give you a headache! Guest blows £160,000 on rare whisky at upmarket Scots hotel

Scotland is famous the world over for its love of a wee dram every now and then, with drinkers savouring the delicious taste of a fine whisky.

But one group will be waking up with more than a headache after working their way through an eye-watering £159,000 worth of the drink in one day.

A receipt, posted online, shows the whisky lovers splurged on some of the world’s most sought after spirits at the five star Fife Arms in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, as they celebrated the New Year.

The breathtaking bill shows the group drank their way through £40,000 worth of Laphroaig 1940s, £67,500 worth of 50-year-old Balvenie, and £12,750 worth of Glenlivet 1943.

Coming in at an astonishing £158,914 had they chosen to spend their money on something else they could have snapped up a one-bedroom flat in Glasgow’s trendy Finnieston or bought a used Ferrari Portofino which boasts a top speed of 199 mph.

But the 19th century hotel, which was also visited by celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Stein over the Hogmanay period, was keeping tight lipped about the big spenders. 

Its spokesman said last night: ‘We would never comment regarding our guests.’

Whisky expert Ann Miller, The Dram Queen, said: ‘I wonder how much they could have appreciated the last few drams as most people find their palates become jaded after the first few.

The hotel in Braemar serves a range of rare and very expensive single malts

‘They certainly chose some interesting drams – and a total of around 100 between what appears to have been 15 people, so at least six or seven each.

‘No doubt Rachel Reeves welcomes the contribution to the black hole in the nation’s tax income.’

The whiskies bought are some of the most luxurious money can buy.

Among those bought are those dating back 50 years, well before the recent boom in distilleries saw the industry boom to one worth billions every year.

Ms Miller added: ‘Older whiskies are often thought to be more complex and richly flavoured than younger drams, and their relative scarcity means a higher price.

‘The selection of drams listed are almost all of considerable age with plenty of complexity.

Iwan and Manuela Wirth, owners of the Fife Arms

Her Majesty The Queen Consort visiting The Fife Arms as part of the Braemar Literary Festival in 2022

Celebrity chef Rick Stein spent Hogmanay at the Fife Arms

‘Had I been invited to join them, I would have recommended taking their time to savour each of them in order to really enjoy the experience.’

Rick Stein revealed to his social media followers on December 30 he was ‘very excited’ to be back at the Royal Deeside hotel. 

It is unknown if he enjoyed a whisky during his stay.

Mr Stein said: ‘I must say it’s so nice to be back in the Fife Arms again, this time we’re in the Scottish poet Marion Angus room and tomorrow night we’re celebrating New Year’s Eve, my first Hogmanay in Scotland.’

Surrounded by the dramatic landscape of the Scottish Highlands, the Fife Arms is a short drive away from the King’s beloved Balmoral Castle.

Inside it has 46 individual guestrooms and suites, and rates for a long weekend start at £2,145.

The high-end hotel also boasts Bertie’s Whisky Bar, named in honour of Queen Victoria’s eldest son King Edward VII who was also known as Bertie.

Inside there are more than 500 whiskies to choose from, and online the hotel promises an experience like no other whisky bar with guests able to ‘lose themselves in a labyrinth of whisky bottles, arranged like books on shelves, backlit in a lustrous amber liquid casting a seductive glow across the room’.

It added: ‘Bertie’s can be said to be a “whisky library” where guests are actively encourages to discover, wander and browse with bartenders as “librarians” to answer questions and make suggestions.’