While the $1.3-billion Powerball draw is creating a frenzy, there’s another lottery that’s creating a stir among Scotch lovers in Vancouver.
On Wednesday night, the Scottish distillery Balvenie will hold a draw to find out which lucky drinker will take home one of its rarest bottles of whisky.
The 50-year-old Scotch, being stored behind lock and key at the BC Liquor Store on Cambie Street, has a price tag of $45,000.
To put that in perspective, that’s roughly $2,000 per ounce.
It’s one of just 131 bottles of the single-malt released this year, and the only one being sold in Canada.
Balvenie will decide who gets to buy the rare bottle through a lottery system. Interested whisky lovers can put in their name at the store, and a winner will be selected at random.
Brand ambassador Beth Havers says they’ve already received “a lot” of inquiries from people trying to win.
“People are very interested in getting their hands on it because it’s so rare,” she told CTV Vancouver.
In fact, because Canada is one of the last countries to get its allotment, the bottle is one of the only ones left in the entire world.
Havers says Vancouver was chosen as the city for the Canadian release because it has a “very discerning whisky population.”
A similar bottle was sold at the Cambie Street liquor store more than a decade ago, and sold out quickly.
Havers believes this year will be the same, adding that whoever wins the lottery isn’t just getting a drink.
“You’re also tasting a little bit of history -- you’re purchasing a bit of Scottish history,” she said.
