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Amsterdam – The Vault Bar hides a treasure trove of rare Scotch

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Amsterdam – The Vault Bar hides a treasure trove of rare Scotch

March 1, 2023

Amsterdam is already a beautiful city with its culture, architecture, and history, but did you know it has a hidden gem tucked away in the cobbled streets – The Vault Bar, located in the historic Waldorf Astoria in Amsterdam.

The Vault Bar – so called, due to the fact that it is situated in what was once a bank vault, is an exclusive bar that offers an array of rare and vintage Scotch whiskies from around the world.

Not only does it offer some of the finest Scotches available, but its knowledgeable staff can guide you through their selection, helping you find the perfect whisky for any occasion. The bar has a wide variety of vintage bottles, from the obscure to the well-known.

Just how rare are some of these whiskies?

One of the main draws of The Vault Bar is the rare whiskies on offer there, including The Dalmore 40-Year-Old Single Malt, and Port Ellen 39 Years Untold Stories.

These ultra-rare bottlings are usually restricted to private collectors and connoisseurs, but The Vault Bar offers pours of each of them as part of their vast selection. Given that these pours are a fraction of the cost of the bottle, it is an excellent opportunity to try something truly special.

For example, the Vault Bar is one of the few bars where you can try The Dalmore 40-Year-Old Single Malt in a 35ml pour. This whisky is aged for an incredible 40 years in specially selected American white oak casks, which give it a unique flavour profile.

The Vault Bar also offers a variety of other rare and interesting whiskies, including some from lesser-known distilleries as well as limited releases from more established brands. There are also cask-strength releases and special bottlings that can be difficult to find elsewhere.

The Vault Bar also offers flight tastings, which allow you to sample a selection of whiskies from the same region or distillery. This can be an excellent way to explore the whisky world and taste different expressions side by side.

Guests might opt to try a flight of The Dalmore 12YO, 15YO, Cigar Malt, and King Alexander III whiskies is an exquisite tasting experience. The knowledgeable staff at The Vault Bar can provide tasting notes and recommendations to enhance the journey through whisky.

If there’s one standout whisky in the vault bar, it’s the Port Ellen Untold Stories collection. A prestigious ‘ghost distillery,’ Port Ellen was closed in 1983, and these whiskies are a rare glimpse into the past. The Untold Stories collection featured just 1,500 bottles of the 39-year-old whisky.

Normally restricted to collectors, the Vault bar is one of the few places on earth that has the privilege of stocking just two bottles of this collection. The smooth, smoky taste of the Port Ellen Untold Stories whisky is remarkable and a must-try for any whisky enthusiast and coincidentally, it’s packaging resembles a vault box, which necessitates unlocking via 2 unique keys.