THE WHISKY SALE: A PRIVATE COLLECTION

AN EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION OF WHISKY 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING COMES TO AUCTION  

A Private Collection of Whisky, 50 years in the making, comes to auction on 20^th March 2020 at Tennants Auctioneers in North Yorkshire. With a focus on Macallan, the collection includes such highlights as a bottle of The Macallan 52 Year Old Select Reserve 1946 (estimate: £20,000-30,000 plus buyer’s premium).

Comprising over 300 bottles, the collection was amassed by a businessman who was first introduced to whisky when his father-in-law gave him a bottle of The Macallan 10 Year Old. It proved revelatory, sparking a life-long interest in whisky and a deep love of Macallan. Indeed, The Macallan 10 Year Old has been his drink of choice ever since.

Tennants’ Wine and Whisky Specialist William McNab says of the collection: “It is a pleasure to handles such a fine collection of whisky put together with much dedication by a true connoisseur. Not only are there examples of some of the most desirable single bottles around, but there are year runs and top bottles from Scotland’s finest distilleries. The collection even includes an example of my favourite whisky, a rare and now discontinued Balvenie 10 Year Old Founder’s Reserve, Cognac Bottling”.

At the heart of the collection is Macallan, which is led by a bottle of The Macallan 52 Year Old Select Reserve 1946 (Estimate: £20,000-30,000 plus buyer’s premium). Distilled just after the War when production of whisky – a luxury good – had stopped, it was made with peated malt due to the scarcity of coal. A rarity on Speyside, it is now recognised as one of the greatest Macallans ever released. The collector has also put together a near-complete year run of The Macallan 18 Year Old from 1963 to 1997, missing only seven years, offering other enthusiasts the opportunity to add missing years to their collection.

Further star lots of Macallan include The Macallan 1951 Fine and Rare, which is bottle number 1 of 632; a very rare bottle from just after the War, it is estimated at £15,000-20,000 (plus buyer’s premium). Two rare bottles of The Macallan Red Ribbon, which was bottled for merchants around the world, are also on offer from 1938 (estimate: £10,000-15,000 plus buyer’s premium) and 1950 (estimate: £5,000-7,000 plus buyer’s premium).

The majority of the collection was bought in the UK, however, approximately 20% was sourced from Spain, Italy, France and Holland. The collector even travelled as far as Barbados to collect a particularly prized bottle. Amongst interesting lots sourced overseas are four bottles of The Macallan Cadenheads, Scotland’s oldest independent bottler (estimate: £800-1,200 plus buyer’s premium each), which he purchased from Cadenheads Amsterdam shop; here he also found a rare bottle of The Macallan 12 Year Old French Revolution 1789-1989 (estimate: £500-700 plus buyer’s premium).

The collection also offers good, collectable bottles of Glenfarclas and Glenmorangie as well as bottles from the top distilleries across Scotland; there is a particular focus on good bottles from the 1970s. In addition, the collection offers affordable bottles of single malt for drinking.

For further details of the auction and related events, or to register your interest, contact William McNab on william.mcnab@tennants-ltd.co.uk.

The sale catalogue will be available online from Friday 6^th March at www.tennants.co.uk and it will be on view to the public from Sunday 15^th March.

SALE:               The Whisky Sale: A Private Collection

Auction:           Friday 20^th March

Viewing:          Sunday 15^th March 11am-4pm

Monday 16^th March 10am-4pm

Tuesday 17^th March 10am-4pm

Wednesday 18^th March 10am-4pm

Thursday 19^th March 10am-5pm

Morning of sale from 8am

Venue:             Tennants Auctioneers, Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 5SG

Details:            www.tennants.co.uk

Whisky Specialist:      William McNab

William.mcnab@tennants-ltd.co.uk

+44 (0)1969 623780

Pictures 

• Part of the Year Run of The Macallan 18 Year Old
• The Macallan 52 Year Old Select Reserve 1946 – Estimate: £20,000-30,000
• The Macallan Red Ribbon 1938 and 1950 

1. All prices quoted are the Hammer Price, excluding buyers’ premium. 

NOTES 

Full sale results are available on our website: www.tennants.co.uk  

• Tennants Auctioneers is a fourth-generation family business and is one of the UK’s largest international Antiques and Fine Art auctioneers. Situated in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, Tennants holds over 80 sales a year.

• Tennants connects more than 200,000 buyers and sellers a year.
• As a family business, Tennants stays true to its Yorkshire heritage and offers its clients unrivalled service, expertise and value.
• In 2014 Tennants expanded the Auction Centre to 80,000sq ft with the development of The Garden Rooms – a dedicated venue for events, weddings, conferences and exhibitions. The venue is one of the region’s largest event spaces with a capacity of over 600 people.