tasting notes The tasting notes The award-winning Last Drop 56-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky, introduced in September, is the firm’s 16th release since 2008. Previous page: joint Managing Directors Beanie Geraedts-Espey, left, and Rebecca Jago. If it’s not good, we have nowhere to hide,” says Rebecca Jago one autumnal day in London, summing up her U.K.- based firm’s philosophy in a single, epigrammatic phrase. She and co-director Beanie Geraedts-Espey run The Last Drop, a spirits company exclusively focused on the top of the market, which puts them in an unusually precarious position. Geraedts-Espey, sitting opposite, explains: “So many other companies, whether distillers or bottlers, have great whiskies, but they live or die based on the 12-year-old, or perhaps the 18-year-old, bottles. Their premium spirits are more of a halo effect. We are unique in our premium-only position.” The Last Drop was founded by Jago’s and Geraedts-Espey’s fathers in 2008 with a single, one-of-a-kind mission: to deliver spirits of the highest quality to passionate connoisseurs. Over the past 11 years, they have had only 16 releases, each of which had 72 NetJets
© THE LAST DROP DISTILLERS a remarkably low number of bottles, ranging from as few as 32 to as many as 1,347. It is a daring concept for the notoriously fickle drinks industry—and one that proved its success in 2016 when the firm was acquired by Sazerac, the large American spirits conglomerate. Jago and Geraedts- Espey continue to retain full creative control, but they appreciate the opportunity to lay down stock for future bottlings, a luxury their fathers did not have in the early years, as Jago explains: “James [Espey] effectively bankrolled the first release, and there was no question of doing a second release until they had enough cash.” James Espey, who remains active in the firm, and Tom Jago, who passed away last year, encouraged their daughters to join the company in 2014, turning what had been extraordinary individual careers into a family dynasty. James and Tom spent decades working across the spirits industry, and their successes are legendary: Malibu rum, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Chivas Regal 18. But those projects were all for other companies—and they were often as much about marketing as they were the liquid in the bottle. The Last Drop, their first solo project, turned that formula on its head: The liquid was the only thing that mattered. In the mid-2000s, they started canvassing their acquaintances for old casks that were languishing in obscurity, either because the owner didn’t want or couldn’t afford to market it in such a small quantity. It took years to find the right whisky—and that became their first release, The Last Drop 1960 Blended Scotch Whisky. The 15 releases since then have primarily been whiskies, but they have also included three cognacs, a bourbon, and a duo of ports (from 1870 and 1970). It’s a range that appeals to connoisseurs of all types, and not just the amateur variety—there are glowing tasting notes from world-renowned experts ( Jancis Robinson loved the port; Charles Maclean effused about a 1968 single malt), as well as awards aplenty, including for the most recent release, a 56-year-old with 732 bottles, which earned the title of Best Blended Scotch Whisky (26-50 years) in the industry-leading tome “Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2020”. The bottlings are available, at the moment, only from select retailers around the globe (consult the firm’s website for a list), but a number of clients have gone on the brand’s full “journey of discovery,” as Geraedts-Espey calls it, purchasing every single release. “One of our customers,” Geraedts-Espey says with a smile, “has planned out which events he’s going to open a bottle for: his daughter’s 21st birthday, a milestone anniversary, and so on. It’s such a joy for us to have built such strong relationships.” These are relationships, she explains, that are built on trust. Clients trust that the brand will stay true to its principles; namely, that they will always put the quality of the spirit first. “Our criteria are that it is old and rare and fresh and delicious,” says Jago. “Every spirit must meet all of those four.” The vetting process is complex and includes industry experts, as well as a final tasting with the full Last Drop team, where they confirm the spirit’s quality—or disconfirm it. They reject around 95% of the spirits they seriously consider, and sometimes there is heartbreak in the room, says Jago. “The last work trip my father and I took together was to Cognac,” she says. “We were introduced to a man who had a family collection to sell. As we tasted barrels from 1906 and 1917, I was completely certain we had found our next release. But we had to bring a sample back to London to taste; we never bottle anything because of a name or an age.” Geraedts-Espey interjects: “Bearing in mind, this was 2016 and the next release was going to be 2017, so it would have been amazing: 10 0 years on, a family story.” “But we tasted it, and it wasn’t very nice,” Jago continues. “The disappointment was palpable.” “Even now,” confirms Geraedts-Espey with a sigh. It’s precisely this intense, personal dedication that connoisseurs have come to treasure, but it’s not the only thing. The prices are, given the age of the spirits, exceptionally reasonable. “Value for money is really important for us,” says Geraedts- Espey, “which is why our price point is nowhere near the £20,000 or £30,000 mark of some other brands.” The women are aware of the particularly buoyant market for old whiskies, but, as Jago puts it, they both insist that “spirits are designed to be drunk, not locked up and resold for twice what you paid for it.” “Our bottlings are like any collectible,” Geraedts-Espey continues. “Buy them because you love them. If you need to sell them, or want to, fine—chances are you’ll make a little money. But The Last Drop is not an investment vehicle.” Their boldness in this respect is admirable for its integrity and it rings true to the firm’s—and their fathers’—principles. “The hero is inside the bottle,” James Espey has said repeatedly. And for The Last Drop, it always will be. lastdropdistillers.com NetJets 73
