In 1882, William Anderson set out to create the ultimate blend—one that would come to symbolize the Anderson family legacy. After maturing around 100 different blends, he worked alongside master blenders to carefully select the ideal flavor. The cask they all unanimously chose bore the number “69.” Thus was born the legendary blended Scotch whisky: Vat 69.

From VAT 69 -Rakuten sakecolle-

That Tokkyū-era bottle of Vat 69 I once drank at this bar was what set me off on a long and rather masochistic whisky journey. I realized there were better whiskies out there — and that many of the answers lay in old bottles. As for the price? If you start worrying about that, you’ve already lost. At home, I sometimes drink the current Vat 69 as a highball.
One day I found myself wondering: What would a highball made with today’s Vat 69 taste like at a proper bar? So I ordered one. The master quietly reached for an old bottle of Vat 69.
I had to stop him. “That would be a sin… please, the current release,” I said with a laugh. To be honest, modern Vat 69 actually performs quite well as a highball. The sweetness opens up, it becomes lighter, more fragrant, and very easy to drink. If you asked me, “Is it a whisky worth slowly contemplating neat?” …well. That’s another story. But as a whisky — especially in a highball — it’s honestly quite good.