Mystery Drop 4.0 Follow-Up: Two I'd Never Have Picked

The results are in. Master of Malt's Mystery Drop 4.0 opened at 12:00pm on 20 October and sold out all 4,072 boxes in just 51 minutes, so there wasn't much time to dither. My boxes have now arrived, and after the two Bunnahabhain 12s last time, this round was a very different story.

What I got

Two boxes, two different bottles, and both from the Heavy Hitters tier:

• The Macallan Rare Cask (2024 Release), listed at around £300
• Highland Park 16 Year Old, Between You and I by Björn Frantzén, listed at around £145

The Rare Cask is the one that made me do a double take. Its box was much bigger than a normal Mystery Drop box, so I knew I had something special before I'd opened a thing. There were only six of them in the whole drop, so I'm still a bit amazed it landed on my doorstep.

All told, that's around £450 of whisky for £160, nearly three times what I paid. Remember the Macallan tax from my preview: a good chunk of that £300 is the name on the label. But even if you shave a fair bit off it, I'm well ahead.

The bit that matters more

The numbers are nice, but they aren't really why I'm pleased. At £80 a box, these are probably the most expensive bottles I've ever bought, and I'd never have spent the full price on either of them myself. I've reviewed a Macallan 12 Double Cask and a Highland Park 12 here before, but a Rare Cask and a 16 Year Old are a proper step up in price from either.

That's the thing I love about the Mystery Drop. Someone else picks the whisky, and sometimes they pick something you would never have reached for. After two of the same bottle last time, getting two completely different, not to mention exciting, ones feels like the format making up for it.

What happens next

I haven't opened either yet. They feel like bottles for a special occasion, so they're staying on the shelf until the right moment comes along. When they do get opened, I'll write them up here.

Up for the next one?

Absolutely, and it turns out I won't have long to wait. Mystery Drop 5.0 opens at 12:00pm on 10 November, just three weeks after the last one, which I certainly wasn't expecting. This time it's £75 a box across 3,979 boxes, built around Dalmore, Fettercairn and Jura, with a Dalmore 45 Year Old (and a trip to the distillery) worth around £18,500 as the headline prize.

I'm still weighing up how many boxes to go for, but given the last one sold out in 51 minutes, set a reminder and be ready when it opens. And if you do get in, fingers crossed you end up with something you'd never have picked yourself.