Here at The Arb, we’re not, it’s fair to say, the sort to spend ninety minutes shouting at a television over an offside decision. But pour us a proper single malt and suddenly we’re as tribal as the next man in a replica shirt. And anyway, everyone comes together for the World Cup, don’t they? Even those of us who can’t explain the away goals rule but can wax lyrical about the merits of an Oloroso finish.
So, in a move we can very much get behind, Master of Malt has launched a five-bottle limited-edition whisky collection inspired by football’s greatest summers. Think Italia ’90 tears, France ’98 glory, and the sort of nostalgic kit design that has grown men of a certain age misty-eyed into their pints. The labels, by in-house design duo Ben McKeown and Chris Gunter, are a loving nod to tournaments when football was apparently “proper football”, and haircuts were crimes against humanity.
Inside the bottles, thankfully, things are considerably more sophisticated.
There’s an Adnams 9 Year Old English rye from Southwold, matured in French oak wine cask, all orange cream, ginger and honeyed sponge — a dangerously drinkable opener at £39.95.
An unnamed but no doubt quietly smug ‘An English Distillery 12 Year Old’ single malt weighs in at a hefty cask strength 54% ABV, all bourbon-cask bravado and notes of melon rind, molasses and waffles. English whisky, clearly, is no longer just making up the numbers.
Scotland, naturally, fields two strong players. Another secretive A Highland Distillery 12 Year Old matured in Oloroso cask offers roasted nuts, sultanas and salt-laced sweetness — balanced, friendly, dependable. You might consider this the workhorse in the midfield.
Then there’s the show pony: Ben Nevis 27 Year Old, distilled in December 1998 — ahem, the last time Scotland qualified for a World Cup — which feels both poetic and faintly cruel. At £249.95 and with just 129 bottles available, this is the kind of bottle you buy either to celebrate a win or numb the pain of a penalty shootout. Think tropical fruit, oak, spice and a finish longer than extra time.
And finally, because whisky selection is evidently more forgiving than tournament qualification, there’s an Irish Whiskey 8 Year Old double cask bottling: fruity, fleshy, and full of vanilla custard and grapes. Ireland may be out, but this one deserves a call-up.
The collection is available exclusively at Master of Malt, but with bottle numbers so limited to get your hands on them you’ll need to move faster than a winger in stoppage time.
So, while we may never understand the intricacies of VAR, we do understand this: football may or may not be coming home, but with a dram of 27-year-old Ben Nevis in hand, we can certainly enjoy the tournament all the more.
For more information on The Master of Malt’s World Cup bottlings, please visit www.masterofmalt.com.
