A name synonymous with the very best blended whisky for nearly 170 years, Dewar’s Legacy collection 1893 edition is the first of three exceptional whiskies from the collection.

Just 1,000 bottles of each edition will be released and they will be available exclusively first through travel retail outlets, and then domestic channels.

This first edition of The Legacy Collection marks 1893 – the year that John Dewar & Sons was granted its first Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria. The Royal Warrant was, and still is, an extremely prestigious honour recognising the quality of a product that is ‘fit for a queen’.

Priced at $3,888, the 1893 edition is an exquisite blend of 20 malt and grain whiskies that have been sourced from rare and long-aged casks from Aberfeldy and Royal Brackla distilleries.

The blend undergoes a period double-ageing with the whisky returning to a cask for another year to evolve, mellow and harmonise into a beautifully smooth blend. In a final luxurious flourish, the rarest, oldest and most precious Royal Brackla single malt has been added to make the 1893 edition.

The bottle is presented in the finest hand-blown crystal decanter, decorated with silverware made with exquisite details in 22 carat gold highlights.

The design is inspired by the dirk – the Scottish ceremonial dagger – with detailing that embodies the craftsmanship of the decorative arts of the era.

The traditional thistle motif has at its heart nine sapphires, inspired by the famous Stuart Sapphire – a gem that passed through the hands of several kings and cardinals before being mounted as the centrepiece in Queen Victoria’s State Crown.

The next 2 editions of The Legacy Collection: 1899 – a celebration of the marrying technique still used today in the double-ageing of Dewar’s blends to add extra character and smoothness; and, 1902 – in honour of Tommy Dewar’s knighthood, will also be released in limited quantities of 1,000 bottles.