Relief, given smooth nip named to mark victory

John Evans holds a bottle of 16-year-old single malt whisky which has been labelled Vindication....
John Evans holds a bottle of 16-year-old single malt whisky which has been labelled Vindication. Photo by Jane Dawber.
The label says it all - Vindication.

A 16-year-old single malt whisky has been labelled to celebrate New Zealand's success in the Rugby World Cup.

It complements another single malt, distilled in Dunedin in 1987 - the same year the All Blacks won the inaugural Rugby World Cup - which was released to coincide with this year's international rugby tournament.

New Zealand Whisky Company spokesman John Evans said the Vindication-labelled whisky was particularly appropriate, given it was put in barrels in Dunedin in 1995 - "the year New Zealand should have perhaps won the World Cup".

Had the unpalatable occurred and the All Blacks had not won on Sunday night, Mr Evans admitted it would have forced a "major rethink".

"You couldn't really bring out a New Zealand whisky to celebrate a French win. It would probably be Cognac," Mr Evans said.

He did suggest that it could have been relabelled Bugger or Frog-Marched.

The label also states that it was "not aged in French oak".

Whisky and rugby lovers have snapped up the 1987 single malt, which was also labelled with a rugby-theme.

Interest in Vindication was very strong, with Mr Evans taking 85 orders in one day last week.

"You can have a bottle that celebrates both wins," he said.

 

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