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.

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