August 2024 Whisky & Spirits Auction Results

Our latest auction had plenty of delicious malts, vintage blends and a wide range of other interesting spirits and liqueurs. Here are some of the highlights from the August 2024 Whisky & Spirits Auction Results.

*Aftersales Update*

On concluding our aftersales some post auction offers saw bottles find their way to new owners.

Speyside malts seemed to be the theme of the aftersales successes with one lucky bidder getting their hands on an entire case of 12 bottles of Aberlour 1989, a private bottling to celebrate the millennium, for £710. For £430 a sherried Speyside malt fan bagged themselves a litre of Macallan 12 Year Old bottled for duty free in the 1990s, and another chance to pick up a delicious Speyside was taken by the buyer of this Balvenie Tun 1509 with a bid of £260.

Presented in a beautifully shiny red box and etched Glencairn decanter, this Glenfarclas 20 Year Old matured in a single Port Pipe sold for £420. The bottle is one of only 600 and is the second release of five in the Glenfarclas Generation Series.

Outside of Scotch, a lucky bourbon bidder picked up this Four Roses Small Batch 2023 Release, bottled to celebrate the 135th anniversary of the distillery, for £240.

Macallan

Macallan dominated much of the upper end of the auction this month taking a clean sweep of the top five lots. Taking the number one spot with a winning bid of £4,500 was a Macallan 1950 Speymalt, bottled in 2006 by Gordon & MacPhail. Youthful by comparison, this Macallan 30 Year Old Sherry Oak sold for £3500, while a later release of the 30 Year Old fetched £3000.

A variety of Macallan decanters featured in the auction with the highest bid going to a 2017 release of the Macallan M Black Lalique Decanter that fetched £3,600. A 2022 release of the Macallan M sold for £3,300, while a stunning Macallan No.6 in Lalique from the 1824 Master Series fetched £2,300.

There were also a pair of Macallan Reflexion decanters sold for £900 each and multiple releases of the Macalan Oscuro fetched between £725 and £825.

Sensational Sixties

There were some mouth watering malts on offer from much revered 1960s vintages that saw some highly competitive bidding. Islay provided some of the most sought after lots with a trio of independent bottlings. A Bowmore 1966 36 Year Old single cask from Duncan Taylor, bottled in 2002, sold for £2,700. Fans of vintage peated malts could also compete for this Ardbeg 1966 32 Year Old Bond Reserve from Cadenhead’s (£2,200) or a Laphroaig 1967 28 Year Old single cask bottling from Direct Wines First Cask series that fetched £1,500.

From elsewhere in Scotland there was a Springbank 1965 34 Year Old bottled by Murray McDavid sold for £1,300. Orkney offered up this decadently dark sherried Highland Park 1965 37 Year Old bottled by John Scott’s and one of only 75 bottles. It fetched a winning bid of £2,000. Sherried malt lovers also had options from Speyside with this Glen Grant 1969 bottled by Berry Bros. and Rudd in 2004 that sold for £650 or a Glendronach 1968 25 Year Old (£1,100).

Stunning Seventies

Moving into the next decade, there were some equally enticing 1970s vintages on offer from the likes of Diageo’s Rare Malts Selection. This Clynelish 1972 22 Year Old sold for £1,150, a Caol Ila 1975 21 Year Old fetched £430 and a Glen Albyn 1975 26 Year Old and Glendullan 1974 23 Year Old sold for £420 a piece.

Islay fans were once again spoilt for choice as from Ardbeg there were some single cask bottlings of Ardbeg 1974 selling for £2000-£2100. A Port Ellen 1979 24 Year Old, the 3rd release of the Special Releases series from 2003, sold for £1,150 and there was an impressive result of £1000 for a Lagavulin 1979 Distiller’s Edition, the inaugural release of this series.

Indie bottlings also provided some gems with Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseurs Choice range offering up bottles of Ardbeg 1974 (£575) and 1976 (£500). From the Scotch Malt Whisky Society there was a Bunnahabhain 1975 24 Year Old interestingly titled ‘Mouthwash and Marzipan’, that sold for £525.

Vintage Blends

There were some stunning vintage bottles from White Horse in the blended whisky category with this Mackie’s Ancient Brand unsurprisingly taking top spot after some very frantic late bidding. Bottled in the 1940s-1950s, this was incredibly well preserved and came with the original box. Said to contain some of the almost mythical Malt Mill, these bottles always attract attention when they appear at auction and this one was no exception, selling for £1,800.

Other bottles from the same producer included a White Horse Spring Cap dating from the 1940s-50s that also saw late competitive bidding before ending on a hammer price of £525. A slightly earlier 1930s-40s White Horse Spring Cap sold for £360, while a large format bottle from the 1960s fetched £330 and two 75cl bottles of White Horse from the 1950s-60s sold for £180 each.

There were other interesting vintage blends to pick up as well such as this Usher’s Green Stripe from the 1940s-50s (sold for £210) and a later bottling from the 1970s (£160). A 1950s Black & White bottled for the Italian market sold for £140.

Liqueurs

There was a wide range of vintage liqueurs on offer with Chartreuse leading the way and showing the usual competitive bidding with this Chartreuse Yellow from 1956-1964 fetching £675 and a Chartreuse Green from 1966-1982 selling for £400. A 1960s bottling of Campari Bitter sold for £200, while a two part Benedictine bottle containing both Benedictine D.O.M. and B&B liqueurs dating from the 1970s fetched a hammer price of £80.

Roundup

Collectors aren’t just on the lookout for mature whiskies with this Kweichow Moutai 50 Year Old Baijiu eventually settling on £2,100.

The night’s surprise lot was a bottle of Danny Boy 2008 15 Year Old from Cooley Distillery which sold for an auction record of £490, considerably higher than it has previously reached.

One of just 1000 bottles, this Nikka Taketsuru 35 Year Old which was released exclusively for the Japanese market in 2008, sold for £2,700.

In the American Whiskey category, after an extended bidding battle, this bottle of Very Old Fitzgerald 8 Year Old distilled in 1957 eventually settled on an impressive £2,600.

Finally, in this month’s niche collectors segment, fans of bovine themed whisky paraphernalia had the chance to bid on a selection of Rutherford’s Ceramic Bull decanters. These fetched between £85 and £150 each.

See the full auction results here.

See our past auction roundups here.