Cutty Sark is releasing a special edition bottle to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States.
The aptly named Prohibition Edition blended whisky will initially be released early in 2014 in the US and other key European markets. Its UK release is set for March 2014.
The whisky blend will be a premium Scotch blend including whiskies from The Macallan, Glenrothes and Highland Park. It will be officially launched in New York in early 2014. Premium scotch blends have experienced a recent resurgence in popularity due to the popular TV series like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, which follows the lives of gangsters involved in spirits racketeeering during Prohibition.
Prohibition was in effect in the US from 1920 until it was repealed on December 5, 1933. It was during this period that Cutty Sark established itself in the United States. The whisky, among other liquors, was smuggled into the country by Captain William McCoy, whose reputation for being able to supply genuine and unaltered liquor of all types, perpetuated the use of the idiom "the real McCoy" .
Cutty Sark created its famous whisky blend in 1923 especially for the US consumer during thie height of its cocktail culture.
The 750ml bottle will launch with an RRP of $29 per bottle. Additional formats include a 5cl, 700ml and 1 litre.