The Whisky.Auction February Whisky & Spirits auction is now live, and this month our team has been particularly excited by some of the excellent historic bottles available.
Despite negative news on The Macallan prices recently, the brand is still very much driving top sales at auction, and we have a great selection of historic Macallan bottlings available this month, alongside beautiful old bottles from other auction favorites including Rosebank, Clynelish, and, of course, Springbank.
The February Whisky & Spirits auction is now live at www.whisky.auction, ending at 19:30 GMT on Sunday, February 18th.
The Macallan 1928 50 Year Old Anniversary Malt
This one is a rare find that we hardly ever see at auction, and the Whisky.Auction team is very excited to offer it in the February auction.
Bottle number 140 of 500, this Macallan 50 Year Old Anniversary Malt was bottled in 1983 as part of the inaugural ‘Anniversary Series’ release from The Macallan. As the series was created by the marketing lead of the time, Hugh Mitcalfe, the focus wasn’t so much on the age of the whisky inside the bottle but on the occasion it was being sold for. That’s why eagle-eyed whisky lovers will notice that the whisky isn’t actually 50 years old—it’s 54. But who celebrates their 54th anniversary with a bottle of single malt?
The 500 bottles were originally sold for just £50, which—while we can only dream of picking up such old liquid for that price—was actually quite expensive at the time when single malt wasn’t fashionable. However, early collectors recognized that this one was special, and about a year later, it broke records by becoming the most expensive bottle ever sold, reaching £1,100—22 times its retail value.
Our valuations team is a little more optimistic than the 1980s market was, predicting a hammer price of £30,000–£35,000. Place your bids here.
Hanyu 1988 Ichiro’s Malt Three Of Diamonds
In a roundup of the best bottles in our February auction, we couldn’t overlook an entry from the legendary Hanyu ‘Card’ series, which has become the most sought-after Japanese whisky series ever released.
This ‘Three of Diamonds’ 1988 Ichiro’s Malt was distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2007, matured in a hogshead before being finished in a bourbon barrel. Whether you’re missing a bottle or two from the series or are new to collecting Japanese whisky, the Card Series bottlings are a must for any Japanese whisky collector’s cabinet.
The Whisky.Auction team has valued this bottle at £7,000–£9,000. You can place your bids on this stunning bottle here.
Clynelish 12 Year Old Ainslie & Heilbron 1970s
One for the whisky historians, this Clynelish 12 Year Old was bottled in the 1970s by Ainslie & Heilbron (Distillers) Ltd. James Ainslie originally owned Clynelish Distillery between 1896 and 1912, and by the 1970s, when this whisky was bottled, his company—now part of DCL after several mergers and takeovers—was a licensed bottler for Clynelish.
To make matters more complicated, this whisky would have been distilled at the original Clynelish distillery, which by the 1970s was known as Brora due to a new law prohibiting two distilleries from having the same name.
Complicated history aside, Clynelish (and Brora) continue to inspire whisky collectors old and new.
Our valuations team expects this bottle to reach a hammer price of £500–£800. Place your auction bids here.
Rosebank 1981 Cask Strength Flora & Fauna
Of the 35 Flora and Fauna releases available, only nine were bottled at cask strength, including this Rosebank 1981, which was released in 1997. While the lower-ABV 12-year-old continued to be available until the 2000s, this was the only time the 63.9% ABV version was on the market.
We expect this bottle to reach a hammer price of £600–£900. Place your bids here.
Springbank 25 Year Old Bottled 1990s – U.S. Import
Last but not least in our roundup of the top five bottles for whisky lovers at auction this month is a distillery that needs no introduction. It was the Springbank releases of the 1980s and 1990s that truly drew attention to the distillery, which has survived the twists and turns of Scotch whisky-making that led to most Campbeltown distilleries closing their doors.
This 25 Year Old, known colloquially as ‘the parchment label,’ continues to turn heads whenever it goes to auction.
Our valuation team expects this bottle to reach a hammer price of £1,100–£1,600. Bid on this awesome Springbank at auction here.
