Our March 2023 Auction ENDS TODAY!

Only 8.5% buyer’s commission.

Auction ends Wednesday 15th February.

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We offer FREE valuations to give you an idea of what your whisky may sell for at auction.

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RARE DALMORE-50 YEAR OLD-1926 TOPS BONHAMS EDINBURGH WHISKY SALE

RARE DALMORE-50 YEAR OLD-1926 TOPS BONHAMS EDINBURGH WHISKY SALE

Dalmore-50 year old-1926. Sold for £15,860

Edinburgh – A bottle of the rare Dalmore-50 year old-1926 in a ceramic decanter and its original wooden presentation case sold for £15,860 at Bonhams online-only Fine Whisky & Spirits Sale which ran from 20 February – 1 March 2023. It had been estimated at £13,000-18,000.

Other highlights of the sale included: 

• A bottle of The Macallan Fine & Rare-30 year old-1973, bottled in 2003 and one of 534 bottles drawn from cask no. 6098. Sold for £14,640 (estimate £12,000-14,000).

• A bottle of Macallan-Glenlivet-22 year old. Liqueur Scotch Whisky, 100% Scotch Malt. Bottled by Row & Company Distillers Ltd. Imported by British American Importation Co. Ltd. 4/5 Quart. Single malt, 86 Proof. One of the earliest bottles ever to be released by The Macallan Distillery, it was imported for the US market by the British American Importation Co. Ltd, who at the time were sole importers of The Macallan. Released in the 1940s, and at 22 years of age, this bottle contains spirit distilled by The Macallan during the 1920s – a similar vintage to the legendary Macallan 1926. Sold for £6,100 (estimate: £5,000-6,000). 

• A bottle of Springbank Local Barley-24 year old-1966, bottled in 1990. Sold for £8,540 (estimate: £7,000-9,000). 

• A bottle of The Macallan-1950. Sold for £6,100 (estimate: £5,000-6,000).

• A bottle of The Macallan Anniversary Malt-25 year old-1958/59, bottled in 1985. Sold for £4,270 (estimate: £4,800-5,200). 

Georgia Porteous, Bonhams whisky specialist in Edinburgh, said, “In a strong and varied sale, the Dalmore-50-year old-1926 stood out for its rarity and desirability and not surprisingly emerged as the top lot. There were also impressive performances from a good selection of Macallans with the Macallan Fine & Rare-30 year old-1973 providing the pick of the crop.”

Sale: Fine Whisky & SpiritsLocation: online-only at Bonhams.comDate: Monday 20 February – Wednesday 1 March 2023

NOTES 

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and collectables, collectors’ cars and a luxury division, which includes jewellery, designer fashion, watches, wine, and whisky. In 2021 and 2022, Bonhams made a number of important acquisitions which form the wider Bonhams network. These include: Bukowskis, Bruun Rasmussen, Bonhams Skinner, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr and The Market by Bonhams.

There are 14 salerooms around the globe: UK: New Bond Street, London; Knightsbridge, London; Edinburgh. US: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Marlborough. Hong Kong: Admiralty. France: Avenue Hoche, Paris; Rue de la Paix, Paris. Belgium: Brussels; Denmark: Copenhagen. Sweden: Stockholm and Australia: Sydney.

With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60+ specialist areas.

In 2022, Bonhams held a number of important auctions and offered landmark single-owner collections, including the white glove sales of Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection, Sir Terence Conran: The Contents of Barton Court, Personal Property of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and The Robert & Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting. Other notable single-owner sales included Style and Substance: The Collection of George and Charlotte Shultz and The Claude de Marteau Collection.

Top lots for 2022 included a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder (Sold for US$4,185,000), a pair of blue and white octagonal candlesticks (Sold for HK$30,453,00/ US$3,911,913), La femme en rouge au fond bleu by Chaïm Soutine (Sold for £1,842,300/ US$2,236,940), and a rare emerald and diamond Cartier bracelet (Sold for US$3,240,375).

More information and highlights can be found HERE

For a full list of forthcoming auctions, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, please visit bonhams.com

The Bonhams Network

Bukowskis

Established in 1870, Bukowskis offers fine art and collectables from its saleroom in Stockholm as well as online. In 2021, it sold 11 of the 15 most valuable artworks in the Swedish market – achieving the highest price for a Swedish artwork ever sold at auction – while their innovative digital presence attracts more than one million users every month.

Bruun Rasmussen

From its Copenhagen saleroom and online, Bruun Rasmussen sells more than 75,000 lots each year across categories from furniture, paintings and modern design to silver, wine and collector’s items such as books, arms and armour, stamps and coins.

Bonhams Skinner

Renowned New England auction house Bonhams Skinner holds some 80 auctions a year in 20 collecting categories – including Americana, fine art, collectables and wine, and ranging from fine violins to contemporary paintings – at its salerooms in Boston and Marlborough, Massachusetts, as well as on its highly effective digital platform for online sales.

Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr

Established in 1973, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr is famous throughout the auction world for its high-profile single-owner sales. With salerooms in Paris and Brussels, it holds auctions in more than a dozen categories, including fine art, haute couture, Asian art, collectable cars, jewellery, watches and more.

The Market by Bonhams

The Market by Bonhams is the record-setting and fastest-growing online marketplace for classic and collectable cars auctions in the UK, Europe and the United States. Combining traditional auction practices with an innovative, exciting digital platform, they offer a five-star service, no buyer’s fees and the lowest seller’s commission in the industry.

Bidding Now Open For:

Whisky & Whiskey | The Camouflage Collection Part I

Comprising Some of the Finest and Rarest Bourbon and Rye Whiskies Ever Bottled

Bidding has opened on Sotheby’s March whiskey sale in New York, led by The Camouflage Collection Part I, comprising some of the finest and rarest bourbon and rye whiskies ever bottled, and carefully assembled by a dedicated and passionate collector over a period of many years. The collection includes numerous bottles of high-end Pappy Van Winkle, Willett Family Estate, Michter’s, Eagle Rare and many more.

The full collection consists of around 1,500 bottles, including full original cases, first editions and some of the rarest and hardest to find whiskeys – a feat only made possible by the commitment and knowledge of a connoisseur who dedicated much of his life seeking out each individual bottle. Collections of this variety and scope rarely come to market, all from a single source.

Supporting these are the finest and rarest Scotch and Japanese whiskies including The Macallan Fine & Rare 32 Year Old 1969, The Macallan 40 Year Old The Red Collection and The Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara Cask.

With almost 470 lots on offer, the sale carries a combined pre-sale estimate in the region of $670,000.

VIEW CATALOUGUE ONLINE HERE

Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Head of Whisky & Spirits, North America and EMEA

Pappy Van Winkle – The Record-Breaking Bourbon

The Van Winkle line of whiskeys needs little introduction. Praised by celebrities and the subject of a bestselling book, it is by far the best recognized and most widely coveted whiskey in America.

One of the leading bottles is undoubtedly the Old Rip Van Winkle 23 Year Old Decanter, distilled in 1986 and one of only 1200 ever produced (lot 119, est. $12,000-16,000). Also coming from the Camouflage Collection are bottles of Van Winkle stretching back to the 2008 Release, including a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s 23 Year Old Family Reserve from that year (lot 118, est. $3,000-4,000). Sotheby’s recently broke records when a similar bottle sold for $52,000, more than 17 times the pre-sale estimate.

The Michter’s name originated in the decades after World War II, when a Pennsylvania businessman named Lou Forman named a distillery after his sons, Michael and Peter. But the Pennsylvania whiskey industry was in a steady and terminal decline, and the distillery shut its doors in 1990. Six years later, Joseph Magliocco, the president of New York-based Chatham Imports, acquired Michter’s abandoned trademark and moved its base of operations to Kentucky.

Today, Michter’s is one of the few whiskeys to stand alongside Van Winkle at the top of the luxury market and its 20 and 25 Year Olds are considered some of the best in the business. The Camouflage Collection Part 1 includes over 40 bottles of Michter’s, from the entry level Toasted Barrel (lot 297, est. $450-600) all the way up to the ultra-rare Single Barrel Rye 25 Year Old (lot 324, est. $9,000-12,000).

Willett – The Family Estate With Unrivaled Pedigree

The Willett family traces its roots to the 1690s, when Edward Willett immigrated to Maryland from England and started making whiskey and other spirits. The family eventually moved to Kentucky, where, a few years after the end of Prohibition, Thompson Willett founded the Willett Distilling Co. outside Bardstown. The company ceased distilling in 1981; however, in 1984, Even Kulsveen, a Norwegian immigrant who had married into the family, bought the distillery.

The Camouflage Collection Part I includes over 40 bottles from the Family Estate Range, both bourbon and rye, ranging from 4 years in age all the way up to 26, including Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Rye 25 Year Old 100 Proof, lot 462, est. $4,000-6,000).

Buffalo Trace Distillery – The Whiskey Powerhouse

Whiskey distilled at Buffalo Trace Distillery features heavily throughout the Camouflage Collection Part I. From Colonel E.H. Taylor to Double Eagle Very Rare, O.F.C. to William Laure Weller, the collection spans the full range and spectrum of Buffalo Trace brands, including O.F.C. Old Fashion Copper Bourbon 90 Proof 1980 (lot 330, est. 8,000-12,000), Double Eagle Very Rare 20 Year Old 90 Proof NV (lot 224, est. $8,000-12,000) and Colonel E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash 100 Proof 2002 (lot 219, est. $7,000-10,000).

Perhaps among the most iconic of all Buffalo Trace whiskies are those in the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, released annually since the early 2000s. The Camouflage Collection Part I features the very first releases of George. T. Stagg and Eagle Rare, alongside a plethora of releases from all five of the whiskies which make up the collection each year.

Additional Rarities

Whilst the sale features mainly American whiskies, there are some additional highlights in the form of some of the most sought-after and collectible Scotch and Japanese Whiskies. Leading the sale, The Macallan Fine & Rare 32 Year Old 1969 and The Macallan The Red Collection 40 Year Old sit alongside notable lots from Japan, including an older release of The Yamazaki 25 Year Old and The Yamazaki 18 Year Old Mizunara Cask, named after the indigenous Japanese oak used to mature the whisky.

Last but by no means least, and for the first time ever at auction, Sotheby’s sale introduces the Redemption Rye 36 Year Old Barrel Proof – the oldest Rye ever bottled (lot 370, est. $10,000-15,000). This was released in extremely limited quantities with only 18 in total and gives collectors and drinkers the almost mythical opportunity to procure a whiskey aged for well in excess of 30 years.

About Sotheby’s Wine

Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s premier destination for art and luxury. Sotheby’s promotes access to and ownership of exceptional art and luxury objects through auctions and buy-now channels including private sales, e-commerce and retail. Our trusted global marketplace is supported by an industry-leading technology platform and a network of specialists spanning 40 countries and 70 categories which include Contemporary Art, Modern and Impressionist Art, Old Masters, Chinese Works of Art, Jewelry, Watches, Wine and Spirits, and Design, as well as collectible cars and real estate. Sotheby’s believes in the transformative power of art and culture and is committed to making our industries more inclusive, sustainable and collaborative.

Sotheby’s Wine’s annual worldwide auction sales of wine and spirits achieved a record total of $150 million in 2022, a 14% increase from 2021. Sotheby’s currently holds the world records for any whisky collection ever sold at auction, any private wine collection ever sold at auction, the most valuable bottle of wine ever sold at auction and the most valuable bottle of spirits ever sold at auction, in addition to the highest ever total for a charity wine auction.

In addition to auction, Sotheby’s Wine launched a retail business in 2010. With a retail store located in Sotheby’s New York headquarters and e-commerce at www.sothebyswine.com, Sotheby’s Wine offers a carefully curated selection of wines from the world’s most prestigious producers and important regions. Expertly assembled by our experienced specialists, the selection is built upon lasting relationships with winemakers from across the globe, with bottles that are ready for immediate consumption, in addition to investment-worthy wines from highly sought-after vintages. A second retail location opened in Sotheby’s Hong Kong galleries in 2014.

 *Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.

Images are available upon request

Stream live auctions and place bids in real time, discover the value of a work of art, browse sale catalogues, view original content and more at sothebys.com, and by downloading Sotheby’s app for iOS and Android.

A short reminder that our collection dates for March 2023 have now been finalised.

Please click HERE for the list of dates, locations and to register your interest in this service. The deadline for collection requests is 12noon on Monday 13th February 2023.

Please note the date of our local and Edinburgh collections have changed.

Home collections are available for those customers sending 10+ bottles or bottles to the value of £1000. Unfortunately this service is not available in London or to those customer who live within 10 miles of a collection point.

Collections are limited and offered on a first come first served basis.

It would be appreciated if bottles could be packed for uplift. In addition a submission form and label should be completed. Submission forms can now be completed via your main accounts page.

A winner in our auction? We are now offering a delivery (to collection point) service to customers who are dropping bottles off for a future auction. This service is charged at £12 (inc VAT), optional loss and breakage cover is available.

Submission Form & Label

AUCTION NOW LIVE!

ENDS SUNDAY 19^TH MARCH FROM 8PM

A Royal Offering

We have several bottles of Macallan in our March auction, including this wonderful set, celebrating 60 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Our auction also features Macallan James Bond 60^th Anniversary bottlings Decade I and Decade V, celebrating the fictional spy in style.

We have a soft spot for Balvenie and so we are delighted to offer several bottlings in our auction this month, including The Second Balvenie Red Rose. In 2002 Balvenie started using one week in the year to use peat in their malting kiln, as was common practice long ago, this spirit is kept for their limited releases, including Week of Peat 17 Years Old and 19 Years Old which are also in this month’s auction.

Register now at www.clickwhiskyauctions.com to bid on these iconic bottlings and many more besides.

Our March Auction is LIVE TONIGHT!

Only 8.5% buyer’s commission.

Auction ends Wednesday 15th February.

 www.highlandwhiskyauctions

Click here to register as a user.

 Looking to sell in our next auction? 0% Sellers commission & FREE* UK doorstep collections.

We offer FREE valuations to give you an idea of what your whisky may sell for at auction.

Contact us to arrange a valuation or collection.

 www.highlandwhiskyauctions.com

The 141st auction is now live with more than seven thousand quality bottles to choose from.  As usual we thought we’d save you some scrolling time and highlight a few special expressions in this months auction to get you started.

A very rare and much sought after Largiemeanoch – Bowmore by another name – bottled in 1979 after twelve years of maturation.  The Largiemeanoch brand was created in the 1970’s for The Howgate Wine Company Ltd, and vanishingly few bottles remain. This legendary bottling is rarely seen at auction and the dark malt has tropical notes drawn from the years spent slumbering in the finest sherry casks.

A bottle that seems to get more impressive each time we see it, The Macallan 72 Year Old Lalique Genesis Decanter.  A fantastic expression this one, distilled in the 1940’s the whisky comes in a bespoke decanter by celebrated French crystal producers Lalique which is itself held in a case designed by Burgess Studio and handcrafted by cabinet maker NEJ Stevenson.  One of the oldest whiskies Macallan have ever bottled, this is your chance to purchase one of the most sought-after expressions on the secondary market.

An incredible old Mortlach distilled in 1936, and bottled in 1986 – 50 years later. 1936 was the year when the Spanish Civil War began, BBC started the first public TV broadcasts from London, and King Edward VIII abdicated for Wallis Simpson.  In keeping with the historical nature of this expression the label features artwork taken from The Book of Kells, a 9th century tome of inimitable beauty featuring Christian iconography combined with Celtic art.  A heady mix of art, history and rare whisky this one is not to be missed.

A bottle of Orcadian gold make no mistake, this is the Highland Park 1958 Vintage with Decanter & Book.   This 40 year old whisky was distilled in 1958 and is presented in this fantastic wooden box with its own Caithness Glass Decanter and a hardback book that celebrates whisky and Orkney.  Jim Robertson, Highland Park’s previous Distillery Manager, has signed each book.

As always there are some pretty special drams available this month, but with well over 7000 lots available there is something to suit everyone.  So the time has come to delve into this month’s auction, start building your watchlist, and as always best of luck to everyone in the auction.

Our collection dates for March 2023 have now been finalised.

Please click HERE for the list of dates, locations and to register your interest in this service.

Please note the date of our local and Edinburgh collections have changed.

Home collections are available for those customers sending 10+ bottles or bottles to the value of £1000. Unfortunately this service is not available in London or to those customer who live within 10 miles of a collection point.

Collections are limited and offered on a first come first served basis.

It would be appreciated if bottles could be packed for uplift. In addition a submission form and label should be completed. Submission forms can now be completed via your main accounts page.

A winner in our auction? We are now offering a delivery (to collection point) service to customers who are dropping bottles off for a future auction. This service is charged at £12 (inc VAT), optional loss and breakage cover is available.

February 2023 Auction  ENDS TONIGHT! – 06.03.23

ENDS SOON: February Auction

Our February auction features over 6,000 rare whiskies, this is a unique opportunity to bid on some of the world’s most sought-after bottles.

Our live auction features some of the most iconic releases from The Macallan and Karuizawa to ever come to auction. Highlights include The Macallan Six Pillars Collection 65 Year Old & the 1965 Japonisme Edition Karuizawa – one of only 60 bottles in existence. Discover rare bottlings from Speyside’s finest distilleries, including well-aged Benromach and a wonderful Strathisla collection from Gordon & MacPhail. We also feature an array of rare expressions from Bowmore’s most iconic vintage – 1964.

Discover this and many more in our auction now.

Browse our live auction.

The Heralded 1964 Vintage at Bowmore

Macallan 65 Year Old Lalique Six Pillars Collection

Karuizawa 1965 Japonisme Edition / LMDW 60th Anniversary

Highland Park Highlights – Avery for Corti Brothers

Strathisla 1954 -1972 Gordon & MacPhail Collection

Meet The Maker: Phil Cleaver Sits Down With Mark Littler 

Professor Phil Cleaver gives insight into the creation of the Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake in an exclusive interview with whisky broker and market analyst, Mark Littler. 

The Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake is a piece of art as much as it is a whisky release. Containing one miniature for each decade of Sir Peter Blake’s life at the time of release, the miniature Macallans have vintages ranging from the 1930s until the 2000s. Some of the miniatures contain whisky from The Macallan Fine & Rare Selection.

This legendary artwork is highly sought after by both whisky collectors and art connoisseurs alike due to its association with Sir Peter Blake, a commanding figure in the British pop art scene who worked on iconic pieces such as the cover for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

However, it may surprise you that the idea was not initially conceived to celebrate Sir Blake’s 80th birthday, but that his birthday coincided with the production of the set. And so, Peter Blake, David Holmes, Phil Cleaver, and a whole host of expert typographers, woodworkers, and Macallan whisky makers worked as a team to create one of the most impressive whisky bottlings ever made: a whisky release that is also a Peter Blake original artwork.

This is just one of the interesting revelations about the creation of this piece of art that you can expect from Mark Littler’s new YouTube series.

Whisky broker and whisky market analyst, Mark Littler, sits down with Phil Cleaver, an award-winning designer who played an integral role in creating the Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake.

Episode 1 of Meet The Maker is now live on YouTube.

About Mark Littler Limited

Mark Littler is an independent whisky broker, market analyst and consultant with over a decade of experience in the industry. Each week he publishes new videos on his YouTube channel about topics such as cask investment fraud (and how to avoid it), the history of distilleries and bottles, debunking whisky investment myths and much more. For more information visit www.marklittler.com

If you are interested in the Macallan Eight Decades of Sir Peter Blake or would like to chat with one of the team about our services, please get in touch.

Email: whisky@marklittler.com

Telephone: 01260 218 718