Hotel Earns Guinness Record for Whisky: 1,031 Varieties

Fans of the tipple might want to toddle off to Scotland for their next holiday. The Guinness Book of World Records has officially recognized one hotel there for having the most varieties of commercially available whiskies.

With a collection numbering more than 2,500 bottles and 1,031 varieties, reports London's Daily Mail, the 38-room Glenesk Hotel, in the village of Edzell, Scotland, has taken the title.

The Glenesk's stash, housed in its 360° Bar, puts the previous titleholder, a casino on the West Coast of Scotland, over a barrel. 

When the hotel's current owners purchased the property, 45 minutes from Aberdeen, five years ago, they began building their collection both to attract guests and to highlight Scotland's centuries-old tradition of whisky-making. Now every working distillery in Scotland is represented, plus many that are out of commission or located in other countries. 

Guests stay at the inn (usually £59–£120/ US$79–$160 a night) just to work their way through the selections, logging their impressions of the flavors in two huge barside journals. Many rare varieties are available by the bottle here and nowhere else. The most expensive quaff? A tot of 25-year-old Lagavulin, which costs £248 (US$332) a serving.

It's not all just for peat's sake: In addition to malts, the hotel boasts about stocking 300 gins (80 of them made in Scotland), more than 80 rums, some 70 vodkas, and over 60 bottled ales.

With the world record designation, Guinness has unwittingly allowed its namesake stout to be usurped as a choice vacation beverage for alcohol aficionados.