ONE OF THE SCARCEST WHISKIES IN THE WORLD AT BONHAMS CHRISTMAS WHISKY SALE IN EDINBURGH

The Royal Brackla 60 year-old 1924, estimated at £3,500-4,500

Bonhams Annual Christmas rare and fine whisky sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday 9 December features one of the scarcest whiskies in the world – a bottle of The Royal Brackla 60 year-old 1924 estimated at £3,500-4,500.

The Royal Brackla 60 year-old 1924 was never officially released by the distillery and its appearance on the market has a fascinating history.  In 1985, over-production within the industry led to Royal Brackla’s closure. In 1991, its owner, United Distillers, decided to re-open the distillery. To mark the occasion, casks, which had been found in 1984 lying undisturbed in one of the warehouses and subsequently bottled at James Buchanan & Co., were released from bond.

This special issue of 62 bottles of very rare 60 year old Royal Brackla was presented to local dignitaries who attended the re-opening ceremony and to the workforce whose hard work had ensured the distillery was ready to resume production on time.

Leading the sale in value is a single lot of the Bowmore Trilogy. The three bottles – Black Bowmore-42 year old-1964, released in 2007; White Bowmore-43 year old-1964 released in 2008 and Gold Bowmore-44 year old-1964 released in 2009 – are much sought after by whisky connoisseurs and collectors. The Bowmore Trilogy is estimated at £12,000-14,000.

Other bottles in the sale include The Macallan Select Reserve-52 year old-1946 estimated at £5,000-6,000 and Dalmore-50 year old-1926 with an estimate of £4,000-5,000.

Bonhams Whisky Specialist Martin Green said, “This is a particularly strong sale and I’d happily settle in front of the Christmas fire with a glass from any of the bottles we have on offer.  If I had to pick a favourite, however, I’d go for the Royal Brackla 60 year-old for its incredible rarity. I’ve never been lucky enough to try it so this would be the perfect opportunity.”

NOTES

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. Today, the auction house offers more sales than any of its rivals. The main salerooms are in London, New York and Hong Kong. Sales are also held in the UK in Knightsbridge and Edinburgh; in the US, in San Francisco and Los Angeles; in Europe, in Paris and Stuttgart and in Sydney, Australia. Bonhams also has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of forthcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com.