Michael Milne with a bottle of the Ardbeg Double Barrel whisky. Photo / Simon Baker
If you enjoy just the occasional wee dram, the price is probably hard to swallow.
But a true whisky lover would surely scotch any such doubts over the value of a special new arrival.
Christchurch store Whisky Galore has managed, after months of lobbying, to secure one of
only 250 sets of one of the world's rarest and most prestigious brews.
Inspired by British hunting parties of old, the Ardbeg Double Barrel set from Scotland is valued at £10,000 ($26,300).
Presented in a handmade leather gun case, it features two bottles of 1974 Ardbeg Scotch and eight sterling silver drinking cups, an oak and sterling silver engraved pen and a leather-bound "sampling register".
The whisky has been rated by experts among the best produced. Other sets were snapped up by collectors and whisky aficionados throughout the world.
Whisky Galore owner Michael Fraser Milne said it was a coup to get a set in New Zealand - the closest other one being in Sydney.
He said it could be the most expensive whisky product offered for sale in New Zealand "but we are open to offers".
"With the internet these days people come and offer us things in all sorts of different currencies.
'We would hope it would be a buyer from New Zealand."
So what sort of person spends this much money on whisky?
Mr Milne says it may be a savvy collector, or someone with plenty of cash and a passion for a quality drop. "Certainly, if I could afford it, when I got it home, I couldn't resist the temptation to open it.
"The whisky in it is in the top tier of all whiskies.
"There's been a lot of these [limited collections] done and 10 years later it is surprising how few there are left in the market."
The set is being kept under tight security and limited public display.
Mr Milne said the days of whisky being the old man's drink are gone.
"Now the demographic has changed hugely ... we have a lot more women and people aged from their late 20s to early 40s."
