Want to sell your whisky in our next auction? With no sellers fees?

We’re offering a FREE personal courier collection service (UK)  

From Tuesday 8th June, the TWSA team will be on the road on a round trip from London to Glasgow (and everywhere in between!) to pick up your bottles from your doorstep. It can all be carried out contact-free, and we’ll take care of the cost.

At the moment, we’re accepting a minimum of 10 bottles or a minimum value of £1000. Please contact auctions@whiskyshop.com to discuss details.

Want to sell your whisky before June 8th?

We can organise a courier to pick up your bottle(s) free of charge and get you booked in the next available date.

To find out more or book your free collection:

✉️ Email auctions@whiskyshop.com
📞 Phone +44(0)141 427 2950

Please note that our offices are shut on weekends, but we’ll answer your query as soon as we reopen on Monday at 9am.

Our May auction is now LIVE!

Place your bids from Friday 21^st May until Sunday 30^th May.

www.whiskyhammer.com

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!

Hibiki – 35 Year Old (Kutani)

Macallan – 72 Year Old (Lalique) The Genesis Decanter

Yamazaki – 1984 (Vintage Malt)

Macallan – Blake @ LXXX (Eight Decades Collection)

Karuizawa – 31 Year Old (Sapphire Geisha)

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.

TREASURE TROVE OF FÈIS İLE ISLAY MALTS GO TO AUCTION 

When it comes to whisky, few celebrations are as eagerly anticipated as Islay’s festival of music and malt – Fèis Ìle. Established almost 30 years ago, the festival draws visitors from across the globe to the thriving shores of the island each year to experience its community, culture, and its world-renowned whisky.

Now, the most extensive and complete collection of whiskies produced by the island’s legendary distilleries to commemorate the festival are being sold by secondary market leaders, Whisky Auctioneer with a proportion of the proceeds from the sale being donated to Islay-based charities and projects to support the local community.

From Friday (14 May) until Monday 24 May, over 240 limited-edition Fèis Ìle expressions from distilleries including Port Ellen, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich and Ardbeg will go under the hammer. The sale will celebrate the history of this iconic whisky region, the world famous festival and the incredible bottlings it has inspired over the years.

The treasure trove of bottles are part of Pat’s Whisky Collection – the largest private collection of whisky ever to come to auction. Known only to the world mysteriously as ‘Pat’, he decided to part with his 9,000 bottle library last year through a series of auctions with a mission to share his passion for whisky with the world by passing his bottles on to new owners.

Whiskies in the Islay Festival Auction include:

• The 1982 single cask Port Ellen – arguably one of the rarest Port Ellen’s around (only 220 bottles in existence), this is the only Fèis Ìle release from the closed distillery.
• Bowmore 25 Year Old 25th Anniversary – bottled to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the annual Fèis Ìle festivities on Islay, Bowmore released a mere 100 of this limited edition signed 25 year old in 2010.
• Bruichladdich 1994 Valinch ‘Festival Valinch’  – bottled for the Fèis Ìle  2008, this is one of only 20 bottles.
• Early Fèis Ìle releases from Bunnahabhain and Ardbeg including their very sought-after 1960s and 1970s vintage single casks, respectively.

Joe Wilson, Head of Auction Content at Whisky Auctioneer, commented: “Fèis Ìle is an iconic celebration of whisky and Islay culture that draws people back to the island year after year. From Port Ellen to Bowmore and Bruichladdich to Ardbeg, this collection of Fèis Ìle bottlings is without a doubt the largest and most complete that we have ever encountered. The auction presents the rare opportunity for collectors and whisky drinkers to acquire some incredibly scarce malts that have been produced to celebrate the history of this iconic whisky region.”

Examples from each of Islay’s eight single-malt producing distilleries will feature in the sale, including complete collections of every single limited edition festival bottling from legendary distilleries such as Bowmore, Laphroaig and Lagavulin. A percentage of the proceeds raised during the auction will be donated to Islay-based charities and projects that support the Island community.

The sale will also feature bottles that have been donated to the Fèis Ìle Committee by distilleries in order to raise charitable funds for the island through their Islay Wave Project, which will focus on ways to support culture, artists and youth. Included in the charity lots will be the oldest and rarest release direct from the iconic Islay distillery, Port Ellen. The Port Ellen 40 Year Old ‘9 Rogue Casks’ is the second release in the ‘Untold Stories’ series, which explores the intriguing history of the Islay distillery ahead of its reopening after closure almost three decades ago.

Florence Grey, Chairperson at the Fèis Ìle Committee added: “Fèis Ìle was delighted to be given the bottles in this charity auction from Diageo, plus a signed bottle from the legendary Islay whisky maker Jim McEwan. All the proceeds raised from these bottles will benefit our island community as the funds will kickstart our Islay Wave Project – an ongoing project that will begin after this year’s virtual festival. Focusing on ways to support our island’s culture, artists and youth, The Islay Wave Project concentrates on everything we celebrate throughout Fèis Ìle. We are very grateful to Whisky Auctioneer for their support in bringing these bottles to auction.”

To register for the auction, visit www.whiskyauctioneer.com  

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NOTES

Whisky Auctioneer will produce an exclusive ‘Ultimate Guide’ for collectors and enthusiasts about the Fèis Ìle bottlings, and host a live event with faces from the whisky industry. Inspired by the traditional format of the Fèis Ìle festival, each distillery will have a dedicated day during the auction across Whisky Auctioneer’s social media accounts and newsletter features.

About Fèis Ìle

The Fèis Ìle festival is a week-long celebration of music, malt and culture on Islay held annually. The festival originally evolved from the want to revive the Gaelic language and culture on the island.

In 2000, the island distilleries became more involved and introduced their Open Days with each distillery taking its turn in the spotlight. Ultimately they offered a calendar of exclusive events and introduced their special Fèis Ìle bottlings.

Usually only available for visitors to the island during the festival, enthusiasts are regularly seen camping out in legendary distillery queues to get their hands on these special limited-run single malts.

This year’s virtual Fèis Ìle festival will run from Thursday 27 May to Sunday 6 June with an interactive programme of events.

For more information on Fèis Ìle and the 2021 virtual festival, visit www.feisile.co.uk

About Whisky Auctioneer

Whisky Auctioneer is the global market leader and trusted authority on the buying and selling of whisky and spirits at auction. Founded in 2013 and located in Perth, Whisky Auctioneer utilises its expertise and knowledge combined with its auction platform, to increase interest and passion in the whisky and spirits community.

Whisky Auctioneer endeavours to make the market more accessible for buyers and sellers of any background and geography. Its monthly global auctions feature the most comprehensive selection of old, rare and collectible whiskies and spirits available online. Whisky Auctioneer is passionate about connecting these bottles with those who share in their passion and actively support their customers in their aims, whether that be consuming, collecting or investing.

In February 2021, the Perth-based online auction house made history during the iconic sale of The Perfect Collection when a bottle of The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old sold for a hammer price of £1m, the first time a single bottle of whisky has sold at an online only auction for one million pounds.

Whisky Auctioneer became the first online auction house to sell a million-pound bottle and outperformed the nearest traditional auction house by 200% in value from spirits sales in 2020, showcasing the move that whisky collectors, investors and drinkers have already made online and firmly establishing their leading position within the modern secondary whisky market.

The business currently sees over 100,000 bids per month and has conducted deliveries to 74 countries across the globe. It also opened its first European base in Germany last year.

The business’ Founder, Iain McClune, was listed as ‘One to Watch’ in The Telegraph’s Most Ambitious Business Leaders 2020 programme.

To mark World Whisky Day today, we have decided to auction a bottle of whisky drawn from the first cask we ever filled at the Cotswolds Distillery and donate the winning proceeds to The Drinks Trust. This bottle is the first and only bottle filled from Cask #01, which is owned by our founder, Dan Szor.

Since 1886, The Drinks Trust has provided care and support to the people who form the drinks industry workforce, both past and present. Today it provides vocational, practical, emotional and financial support to those who are currently working, or have worked, in the UK drinks industry.

On the 22nd September 2014, we filled cask #01, a first-fill American oak ex-bourbon cask. Dan says it’s the most expensive cask ever filled because back in September 2014, his wife decided to buy him the barrel for his birthday (even though he already owned the whole distillery!). With now over 1,000 shareholders, he’s very happy with his wife’s well-planned initiative, as he’s still the owner of Cask #01!

During the 6 ½ years it’s had to mature in cask, this whisky has taken on the typical vanilla and honey notes one would expect from the American oak, its maturation having been accelerated by the relatively warmer climate of the Cotswolds and the larger temperature variations due to its storage here at the distillery over its whole life.

Dan hasn’t mentioned this sale to his wife yet, and once she finds out about it this may end up being the only bottle from our first cask ever sold publicly – so be aggressive in your bidding to own this piece of Cotswolds Distillery history. Good luck!

BID NOW

A CHRONICLE OF THE FINEST KARUIZAWA WHISKY AT BONHAMS MAY SALE

Presenting the best of the famed Japanese distillery throughout its lifetime from 1960s to 2000s

Also featuring single-owner collection of the most coveted wines with impeccable UK provenance

Link to sale: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26983/

A series of the finest whisky ever made by famed Japanese distillery Karuizawa will be presented at Bonhams Fine and Rare Wine & Whisky sale in Hong Kong on 21 May. More than 90 bottles are offered and they span the best editions of every decade of the legendary distillery’s history from the 1960s to the 2000s.

Highlights include:

·         From the 1960s: Lot 703. Karuizawa-1963-50 year old. Estimate: HK$800,000-1,000,000.

·         From the 1970s, including more than 20 bottles of the very rare ‘circle label’ editions: Lot 839. Karuizawa-1971‐41 year old-#1842-Noh. Estimate: HK$160,000-230,000.

·         From the 1980s: Lot 569. Karuizawa-1986-#2399. Estimate: HK$100,000-140,000.

·         From the 1990s: Lot 433. Karuizawa-1995-Rouge Cask Collection (9 bottles). Estimate: HK$125,000-160,000.

·         From the 2000s: Lot 425. Karuizawa-2000-花鳥繪系列 (4 bottles). Estimate: HK$80,000-120,000.

Bonhams Director of Wine and Whisky Asia Daniel Lam commented: “This is probably the most comprehensive offering of the sought-after Karuizawa whisky to have ever appeared at auction. For collectors and fans of the distillery or Japanese whisky in general, the sale represents a rare opportunity to acquire some of the best editions ever known – decade by decade and all on one single occasion.”

The wine section of the sale is highlighted by a sublime private cellar – A True Wine Lover’s Collection. Having begun his journey collecting fine wines some thirty years ago, the owner has built a genuinely magnificent cellar, all by purchasing through one of the leading and most prestigious fine wine merchants in the United Kingdom. The provenance is therefore impeccable. Highlights include:

·         Lot 285 & 286: 2007 Harlan, The Maiden (6 bottles OWC). Estimate: HK$8,000-10,000.

·         Lot 297 to 300: 2007 Bond Assortment Case (5 bottles OWC). Estimate: HK$7,000-9,000.

·         Lot 268: 2009 Masseto, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia (1 Imperial – #18/80 OWC). Estimate: HK26,000-34,000.

·         Lot 147: 1995 Château Latour, Pauillac 1er Cru Classé (6 magnums OWC). Estimate: HK$42,000-60,000.

·         Lot 204: 1995 Chevalier-Montrachet 1995, Domaine Leflaive (12 bottles). Estimate: HK$60,000-80,000

Other key wine highlights of the sale include:

·         Lot 382: 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Assortment Case (12 bottles OWC). Estimate: HK$420,000-560,000.

·         Lot 344: 2016 Scharzhofberger Eiswein, Egon Müller (1 magnum). Estimate: HK$20,000-25,000.

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

The Grand Whisky Auction is…closing TOMORROW tonight @ 9pm!

www.thegrandwhiskyauction.com/live-auction

3000+ lots to bid on…including this Karuizawa

Interested in selling whisky in our next auction?

T. +44 (0)1463 210 427

E. sales@thegrandwhiskyauction.com

Do you want to sell your whisky in our next auction?

Drop your bottle(s) off with Scott at The Whisky Shop Inverness, and we’ll do the rest for you – at no cost at all!

Every Tuesday evening, manager and whisky expert Scott Dunn will be keeping The Whisky Shop Inverness open after closing time (6-9pm) for anyone looking to sell a bottle. Your appointment will be private, and a dram will be poured for you upon arrival!

Why sell with us?

0% Sellers Commission ✔️

No bottling deadlines; our auctions are rolling ✔️

Fastest pay-out in the industry ✔️

To book your appointment, get in touch with Scott via inverness@whiskyshop.com.

Exclusive Dornoch Single Malt Release to Raise Funds for India’s Covid-19 Relief

Phil and Simon Thompson of Dornoch Distillery donate exclusive bottlings to raise money in support of the country’s urgent crisis.

Phil and Simon Thompson of Dornoch Distillery have partnered with Whisky Auctioneer to offer their support to India’s urgent Covid-19 relief efforts, as the country records 20 million coronavirus cases and saw a single-day death toll of 3,780 on Wednesday 5 May.

The brothers have donated 11 unique and highly limited bottles as bonus entries to Whisky Auctioneer’s April Auction (which ends on Monday 10 May) with all proceeds going directly to two Covid-19 relief programs in India.

Never before available, and only the second whisky ever released from the distillery, the 2017 Dornoch single malt bottles offered at auction are 10 of only 12 produced to raise funds for India’s Covid-19 relief efforts. This makes the current April Auction the first and best chance for whisky lovers to make sure they get their hands on the excruciatingly limited second single malt whisky release from Dornoch Distillery.

Recognising the urgency in support required, conversations at the tail end of last week resulted in 12 bottles of 2017-distilled spirit drawn from cask 26A at a natural cask-strength of 58.43%. This spirit was originally matured for 12 months in a first-fill PX Butt, before transferring into a refill octave. The bottles were filled by hand at Dornoch Distillery on the 4th of May and labelled in the nick of time to make it to Whisky Auctioneer for the closing weekend of the auction.

Katie Guthrie, the artist that Dornoch Distillery regularly work with, quickly turned around some amazing artwork and the team at NSD international donated and expedited the labels for the cause.

In addition to the exclusive Dornoch single malt release, Bottle #1 of a 1997 Braeval has also been donated to raise funds for the charities under their independent bottling arm, Thompson Brothers. One of only 208 bottles, this is a 24 year old bottling of 1997 Braeval (Braes of Glenlivet) bottled as the third anniversary bottling for the London Whisky Club. Upon its release to club members, the Thompson Brothers and London Whisky Club both decided to make a £10 donation per bottle sold to aid charities focussed on providing aid in India. Bottle #1 has now also been generously donated to Whisky Auctioneer’s April auction with the entirety of its sale to be donated to the cause.

100% of the hammer price from all 11 bottles in the auction – plus Whisky Auctioneer’s 10% buyer’s commission – will be donated to both the India Covid Relief program by Khalsa Aid and the O2 For You initiative by Hemkunt Foundation.

“As the UK is making hopeful progress in emerging from the worst of its own Covid-19 crisis, it has been more than devastating to see the news from India. We, like many others, have been deeply affected by the dire predicament and found ourselves thinking of ways to help from afar to lessen the tragedy of their situation.

Without the good folk at the London Whisky Club, Katie Guthrie and NSD International – who in extremely short notice worked with us to make this happen – this would not have been possible. We hope that with the generous support of the global whisky community, the funds raised from the auction can make a small but meaningful difference to help the most vulnerable communities.”

Phil and Simon Thompson

INDIA COVID RELIEF – KHALSA AID

Khalsa Aid are currently supporting medical networks across India, comprising of established medical organisations, facilities and NGO’s who are working on the ground to assist COVID-19 patients. Your generous donations will go towards their vital medical programmes to support vulnerable communities and people across India.

O2 FOR YOU – HEMKUNT FOUNDATION

The Hemkunt Foundation are seeking funds for O2 Cylinders to help COVID-19 patients across India. The cylinders will be distributed to those in need by conducting drives and tying up with hospitals. People in need can also reach out to our social media handles or our helpline number and have the cylinders delivered to them by us.

Sotheby’s First Auction of American Whiskeys 100% Sold, Soars to Nearly $1M

Earlier today, Sotheby’s first American Whiskey auction, The Thoroughbred Collection, was 100% sold totaling an impressive $965,813—triple the overall pre-sale low estimate. Featuring over 250 lots of the rarest American Bourbon and Ryes ever produced, the auction also marked the first single-owner spirits sale in the US, which was accrued over decades by a dedicated and knowledgeable anonymous private collector.

Concluding on the eve of the Kentucky Derby horse race, the collection was fittingly led by Kentucky whiskeys; the top lot was a LeNell Red Hook Rye 24 Year Old Barrell, which doubled its pre-sale high estimate, selling for $43,750. Other notable lots included an A.H. Hirsch Reserve 18 Year Old 46.5 abv from 1974 that achieved $40,000, 20x its pre-sale low estimate and the oldest vintage in the sale, an Old Sunny Brook 7 Year Old 100 Proof from 1912, soared to $12,500, over 35x its pre-sale low estimate.

About Sotheby’s

Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s premier destination for art and luxury.  Sotheby’s promotes access, connoisseurship and preservation of fine art and rare 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 50 categories, which include Contemporary Art, Modern and Impressionist Art, Old Masters, Chinese Works of Art, Jewelry, Watches, Wine and Spirits, and Interiors, among many others.

Sotheby’s Wine’s annual worldwide auction sales of wine and spirits totaled an outstanding $92 million in 2020, with over 15,000 lots sold across 41 sales – a nearly 50% increase in the number of auctions held in 2019. Over $60 million of wine and spirits were sold to online bidders in 2020 versus $28 million in 2019, with 85% of all lots offered finding online buyers. Demonstrating continued strength in Asia, Sotheby’s led the market in the region for the third consecutive year, with over 70% of the total bid amount in all Wine and Spirits sales attributed to collectors in Asia.

Sotheby’s Wine’s has had the privilege of auctioning numerous record-breaking wines and spirits in recent years, with 2020 alone witnessing new world auction records for any bottle of Japanese whisky, any bottle of whisky produced by the Dalmore Distillery, as well as any bottle of Cognac. Sotheby’s Wine currently holds the world records for any whisky collection ever sold at auction, any private wine collection ever sold at auction, the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction and the most expensive bottle of spirits ever sold at 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.

Do you want to sell your whisky in our next auction?

Drop your bottle(s) off with Scott at The Whisky Shop Inverness, and we’ll do the rest for you – at no cost at all!

Every Tuesday evening, manager and whisky expert Scott Dunn will be keeping The Whisky Shop Inverness open after closing time (6-9pm) for anyone looking to sell a bottle. Your appointment will be private, and a dram will be poured for you upon arrival!

Why sell with us?

0% Sellers Commission ✔️

No bottling deadlines; our auctions are rolling ✔️

Fastest pay-out in the industry ✔️

To book your appointment, get in touch with Scott via inverness@whiskyshop.com.