Bottle of rare Irish whiskey worth $50k is given police escort on its way to charity event

The 47-year-old Midleton Very Rare whiskey was presented to 20 lucky guests at the charity fundraiser at Gormley's Pub in Rocky River, Ohio.

In a Facebook post, Gormley's Pub shared a video of the police escort as the bottle was brought to the popular Irish pub.

Gormley's Pub owner, Sean Gormley, told Newsweek that he was delighted that officers with the Rocky River Police Department had offered to provide the escort as it garnered more attention for the upcoming taste-testing fundraiser.

"I thought it would be nice and just bring a little bit more attention," Gormley told Newsweek. "The police department in Rocky River is very, very supportive and they said they would love to help."

Gormley said he was happy to host the event to benefit the Malachi House, a local hospice for terminally ill.

"That made it even more special for me, to try and do something special but at the same time, get people to get a chance, once in a lifetime, to taste something they're never going to see again," he said.

Gormley shared a photo of the bottle on Facebook, saying that it was made of Irish Waterford crystal and came in a special wooden case.

George Lichman, the Rocky River chief of police, told Newsweek that the department helped escort the bottle to the pub on Wednesday.

Barry Chandler, an Irish whiskey expert who helped set up the tasting event through his organisation, Stories & Sips, also spoke to Newsweek and explained the rarity of the whiskey, saying that it is one of only 97 bottles released in the world.

"It's a 47-year-old, single-pot still Irish whiskey," Chandler told Newsweek. "It comes from what's called a silent distillery, so a distillery that's no longer in operation, will never produce whiskey again and this is some of the last whiskey to ever leave that distillery when it closed in 1975.

"This is number three in a series of six whiskeys that are being released up until the year 2025, culminating in the 50-year-old release."

Chandler also described the rare whiskey as a "time capsule," saying that "it's a snapshot in time."

The tasting of the rare whiskey will take place at a black-tie event at the Clifton Club in Lakewood, Ohio on December 6.

Twenty guests will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for $3,500 per person to sample the whiskey with O'Gorman, along with several other whiskeys and a plated gourmet dinner.

"This is a two-day celebration of Irish whiskey which aims to raise vital funds for Malachi House in Cleveland, an organization that seeks to preserve human dignity for terminally ill individuals through the provision of food, shelter, clothing and comfort," the Festival of Midleton Whiskey said on its website.