Our December auction is now LIVE!

Place your bids from Friday 20^th December until Sunday 5^th January 2020, at

www.whiskyhammer.co.uk

Every month, we present an incredible selection of whiskies and other fine spirits to our members right across the globe. You will find everything here from limited edition releases and vintage bottles to whole casks of rare whisky. There is certainly something for everyone – whether you are looking to collect, invest or enjoy!

Macallan – 52 Year Old (1946) 

Kariuzawa – 35 Year Old (1981)

Glendronach – 37 Year Old

Selling whisky? Why not arrange the pick-up of your bottles using our global courier service? If you’re based in Scotland, you might want to arrange the personal collection of your bottles. Wherever you’re based in the world, we will make getting your bottles into our monthly auction as simple as possible. Get in touch with the Whisky Hammer team now by dropping them a message at sales@whiskyhammer.co.uk.

Scotch Whisky Auctions · Unit C 139 Lancefield Street · Glasgow, Scotland G3 8HZ · United Kingdom

TENNANTS AUCTIONEERS’ WHISKY SALE 14^TH DECEMBER 

A wide range of Whisky is offered for sale in Tennants Auctioneers’ Whisky Sale on 14^th December, with a strong mix of bottles for investing, collecting or just for drinking during this Christmas season.

At the top end of the sale are rare bottles of desirable and collectable whiskies, such as a Laphroaig Vintage 1977 Single Islay Malt (estimate: £2,000-3,000), a Laphroaig 10 Year Old Islay Malt from the 1970s (estimate: £1,000-1,500) and a bottle of The Macallan 10 Year Old Single Highland Malt from 1980 (estimate: £700-1,000).

Good collectors lots include a selection of Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice whiskies – limited edition bottles produced by Gordon & MacPhail from casks sourced from leading distilleries from across Scotland. Consigned from a Private Cellar, highlights include a Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Imperial 1991 Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (estimate: £700-1,000).

From the same collection comes a group lot of good, drinkable whisky offering exceptional value for money – the Flora and Fauna Release Collection, comprising ten bottles of Speyside whiskies for £300-500. Further lots from private collections include 15 bottles of Bruichladdich, a bottle of Talisker 8-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (estimate: £600-800), and a bottle of Lagavulin 1979 Distillers Edition Double Matured Single Islay Malt Whisky matured in Pedro Ximenez casks (estimate: £600-800).

The sale catalogue is available to view here: https://bid.tennants.co.uk/m/view-auctions/catalog/id/786

NB: All estimates are subject to 20% buyer’s premium plus VAT. 

SALE:               Fine Wine & Whisky

Auction:           14^th December 10.30am

Viewing:          13^th December & Morning of Sale

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 01969 623780

ABOUT TENNANTS 

• 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.

MACALLAN MILLENNIUM DECANTER-50 YEAR OLD LEADS BONHAMS CHRISTMAS WHISKY SALE IN EDINBURGH

The Macallan Millennium Decanter-50 year old-1949. Estimate: £23,000-25,000.

The Macallan Millennium Decanter-50 year old-1949 is regularly voted one of the world’s most sought-after and desirable whiskies. Not surprising then that the bottle to be offered at Bonhams Christmas Whisky Sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday, 10 December carries a pre-sale estimate of £23,000-25,000.

The whisky was distilled in January 1949, and released in an edition of 900 to celebrate the millennium. It comes in a classic Caithness glass decanter, and is packaged in its own wooden case.

The sale also features:

·         A bottle of Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt-Queen of Hearts, from the famous Card Series. Estimate £10,000-12,000.  Distilled in 1990, and bottled in 2006, this bottle is number 44 of a limited edition of 324. Bonhams holds the world record of HK$7,192,000 (£725,000) for the sale at auction of the Full Card Series, consisting of 54 bottles. This was set at Bonhams Hong Kong in August 2019.

·         A bottle of Black Bowmore-1964, from the Final Edition, bottled in 1995. Distilled and bottled by Morrison’s Bowmore Distillery. Estimate: £15,000-16,000.

·         A bottle of Macallan Pure Highland Malt. Estimate £10,000-15,000. 

Bonhams Whisky Specialist in Edinburgh, Martin Green, said, “As usual our Christmas sale is the most varied of the year and it’s packed full of good things with something for everyone. The highlights, though, have to be the Macallan Millennium Decanter-50 year old-1949 that is always much in demand, and the Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt-Queen of Hearts, which is very rarely seen at auction.”

Link to the sale online here: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25375/

Sale: Whisky Location: 22 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2Date: Tuesday 10 December at 11.00 a.m.

NOTES

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com. bonhams.com

BONHAMS SETS NEW WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR A WHISKY CASK

Hong Kong – An exceedingly rare 30 year whisky sherry hogshead cask from the famed Macallan Distillery achieved HK$4,464,000/ US$572,000, setting a new world auction record for a whisky cask at Bonhams sale of Fine and Rare Wine and Whisky on 15 November. Estimated at HK$3,600,000 – 4,600,000, this is one of the oldest editions of Macallan whisky cask currently available in the market.

Distilled in May 1989 and never since been moved from the distillery, this cask with perfect provenance can be stored at Macallan for as long as the buyer wishes, or yielded into a total of 261 bottles by an independent bottler.

Daniel Lam, Bonhams’ Director of Wine & Spirits, Asia, explains: ‘Not only has this 30 year-old cask set the new world auction record for a whisky cask, but it is also the most expensive per bottle cask ever sold at auction, and is expected to produce 261 bottles valued at HK$17,103/ US$2,200 per bottle.’

This marks the second whisky world auction record set by Bonhams in 2019. Only three months ago, Hanyu Ichiro’s Full Card Series established a new record for a Japanese whisky collection for HK$7,192,000 (US$917,000), selling to an Asian female collector.

About Bonhams 

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The main salerooms are in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, with auctions also held in Knightsbridge, Edinburgh, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney. With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com.

Our November auction is now LIVE!

Place your bids from Friday 15^th November until Sunday 24^th November at

www.whiskyhammer.co.uk

Every month, we present an incredible selection of whiskies and other fine spirits to our members right across the globe. You will find everything here from limited edition releases and vintage bottles to whole casks of rare whisky. There is certainly something for everyone – whether you are looking to collect, invest or enjoy!

Macallan – Exceptional Single Cask (1950)

Highland Park – 50 Year Old

Kariuzawa – 35 Year Old (1981)

Talisker – 41 Year Old (The Bodega Series)

Tullibardine (2007) Ex-sherry butt #191

(*Cask investment opportunity*) 

Selling whisky? Why not arrange the pick-up of your bottles using our global courier service? If you’re based in Scotland, you might want to arrange the personal collection of your bottles. Wherever you’re based in the world, we will make getting your bottles into our monthly auction as simple as possible. Get in touch with the Whisky Hammer team now by dropping them a message at sales@whiskyhammer.co.uk.

JUST WHISKY LAUNCHES ROADSHOW & GUIDE TO

AVOID FAKE WHISKY INVESTMENTS

Rising prices mean investing in whisky is an increasingly popular investment option. But the downside is that the market is now attracting the unwelcome attention of counterfeiters. With the potential for fake whisky on the rise, online auctioneers Just Whisky will be travelling to venues across Scotland in November holding a series of free valuation sessions and advising customers on what’s fake and what’s not.

To coincide with the valuation roadshow, Just Whisky is launching a simple guide to help buyers invest safely and know the tell-tale signs of a fake. It aims to arm investors with the basic information needed to avoid forgeries and make intelligent investment decisions. Crucially, the guide defines what a fake actually is. That can range from a basic label swap (taking a label from a more expensive bottle and transferring it to a cheaper bottle) to refilling an empty bottle with a cheaper whisky, to counterfeiters simply creating their own labels.

The guide also offers tips on what else to look for to avoid purchasing a fake in error. For example, bottle codes can also be a very useful tool. Sometimes, on more modern bottles, the glass is imprinted with a unique code. Usually it’s a code printed directly to the glass, which the distillery will do as part of the bottling process, including information about where it was bottled, what time and even what the whisky is inside. Sometimes, the difference between a £500 bottle and £3000 one will be a vintage identifier shoulder label. It may well say ‘1937’ or similar. Check that the label hasn’t been replaced as that’s one of the most common attempts at counterfeit.

But Just Whisky offers reassurance that there’s no need to be Sherlock Holmes when it comes to identifying the real thing. Graham Crane, Co-founder of Just Whisky, explained:

“Paying attention to something as simple as the colour of the whisky is a simple but effective way of identifying that all is not well. Buyers should ask is the colour what they would expect – How does it compare with other sold examples?

“Where a bottle is being sourced is also an indication of whether it may be fake. Is it from a reputable supplier, does it have a box and certificate as it should? If in doubt, always buy from a reputable source, then the buyer has some form of comeback. Auction houses will deal with any discrepancies swiftly as it is not in their interest to sell fakes or to damage their reputations.

“Investing in an appreciating asset like whisky is both enjoyable but carries an element of risk when bought privately – for buyers parting with substantial cash, it is essential that it is the genuine article. Our roadshow and guide are designed to take some of the guesswork out of making what might be a very costly mistake.”

The Just Whisky Valuation Roadshow will be taking place in the following locations:

• Islay on 25^th November at The Bowmore Hotel
• Glasgow on 27^th November at the Hallmark Hotel
• Aberlour on 30^th November at Speyside Whisky Shop

To register your interest to attend one of these events please visit www.just-whisky.co.uk

NOTES 

About Just Whisky

Just Whisky Auctions, owned by Just Whisky Limited, specialise in selling Whisky online to a worldwide market.

Just Whisky is a whisky auctioneer setting new records in prices achieved. Hosting a monthly online sale, customers can browse the catalogue of whiskies and bid to win some of the most rare and collectable malts in the world.

www.just-whisky.co.uk

Islay whisky collection up for auction in aid of RNLI

The Islay Sea Collection, a group of seven malt whiskies from each of Islay’s coastal distilleries presented in a one of a kind display case is set to go under the hammer in this month’s Just Whisky auction with all proceeds going to the Portrush and Islay volunteer lifeboat crews. The bottles and cask staves, which form the display case, were collected by a group of keen sailors who rowed 110 miles from Northern Ireland to Islay earlier this year.

The crew of seven, all passionate supporters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Scottish islands, wanted to recreate the journey made over the generations using only manpower to raise money for the volunteer lifeboat crews based in Portrush and Islay.

Setting off from Ballintoy on the north coast of Northern Ireland, the group rowed in the ‘Home to Portrush’, a local boat famous for crossing the Atlantic in record time in February 2018. The expedition to Islay took nine and a half hours to complete and followed by three days rowing around the Hebridean Island, visiting each coastal distillery to gather the whisky.

Following the return row to Northern Ireland, team member and architect Graeme Montgomery designed and created a unique display case to hold the bottles with each piece of wood marked with its origin. It’s a one of its kind piece and will attract attention from Islay whisky fans.

The team created a short film documenting the adventure and how the display case was made. View it at https://youtu.be/77ZRWUO35D4.

Commenting on the charity auction, Graham Crane, Director at Just Whisky said: “This is a really exciting collection and we are honoured to have been asked to auction it in support of the RNLI. We are in awe of the journey these men took and hope to fetch a substantial amount for the charity. We look forward to seeing the bids rolling in.”

Keith Gilmore Lifeboat Operations Manager at Portrush Station said: “This is a really exciting and novel way to raise funds for the two stations. We often have to work with Islay, and this is a great way to work with one of our neighbours and local supporters to raise funds for the RNLI.”

There is no reserve on The Islay Sea Collection and all proceeds, including the registration fee, will go to the charity. The collection includes;

• Bespoke cask created with wood from each distillery
• Bowmore 15 Years Old – Feis Ile 2018 52.5%
• Caol Ila 12 Years Old 43%
• Bruichladdich Scottish Barley – The Classic Laddie 50%
• Bunnahabhain 12 Years Old – Small Batch Distilled 46.3%
• Laphroaig 10 Years Old 40%
• Ardbeg An Oa 46.6%
• Lagavulin 16 Years Old 43%

The auction will until 8pm Sunday 17th November and uses a proxy system which bids on the customers behalf up to their maximum bid. Visit www.just-whisky.co.uk to take part.

NOTES  

About Just Whisky

Just Whisky Auctions, owned by Just Whisky Limited, specialise in selling Whisky online to a worldwide market. Just Whisky is a whisky auctioneer setting new records in prices achieved. Hosting a monthly online sale, customers can browse the catalogue of whiskies and bid to win some of the most rare and collectable malts in the world.

www.just-whisky.co.uk

Upcoming Whisky Cask Sale on Wednesday 27^th November at 2pm.

We have a number of excellent casks from across the Highlands and Islands – not forgetting Speyside!

If you are a true lover of Islay, and of Bruichladdich Distillery in particular, we have casks of Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Lochindaal, a trio of different expressions from the famous re-born distillery on the shores of Loch Indaal.  There is also an exceptional cask of Bruichladdich 1989 which has now reached a very significant age for bottling.

Campbeltown was once considered the whisky capital of Scotland and is represented by two casks in the sale, one cask of Glen Scotia 1992 which is always very popular and a very special cask of Springbank 1992 which is a rare cask of the first truly organic Single Malt Scotch Whisky produced in Scotland by Springbank for Da Mhile Whisky and laid down to mature in ex-sherry hogsheads.  This cask has now passed its 27^th birthday and is perfect for bottling now or to hold on to for its 30^th birthday!

The Highlands and Speyside are nowadays the home of the bulk of Scotch Malt Whisky Distilleries with some cracking Single Malts available from distilleries that are less well known to the general public or who rarely release official bottlings.  We have a number of casks available from this region including a rich and sherried Aultmore 2009; an elegant Linkwood 2008 and a young Royal Brackla that was maturing in an ex-sherry Butt and has now been re-racked into a fresh Fenando de Castilla Oloroso Sherry Hogshead – definitely a whisky to watch out for!

As usual we will be holding a Pre-sale Tasting Event at The Trades House in Ingram Street, Glasgow.  A limited number of tickets are available so drop us line on 0141 225 8181 or e-mail stewarts@mulberrybankauctions.com to reserve a ticket.

The full printed catalogue should be released asoon, to request a copy contact us using the same details, we will also send out digital copies of the catalogue as soon as it is ready.