February 2026 Whisky & Spirits Auction

As ever, there was no shortage of desirable bottles in our February Whisky & Spirits auction. Read on for a selection of highlights.

*Aftersales Update*

Popping up into the top three at the conclusion of our aftersales was this stunning pair of Rosebank single casks complete with a wooden display plinth and framed tasting notes signed by the distillery manager. Not only that, both bottles were the first bottle filled from their respective casks so making for a very unique lot indeed. The lucky winner parted with £6,000 to own the set.

Moving to Speyside and this 2020 release of the Macallan M Black in a gorgeous Lalique decanter sold for £2,900 while a single cask bottling of Glenfiddich 26 Year Old, one of only 250 bottled for COP26, fetched £1,025.

Commemorating the Battle of Culloden, the scene of the final Jacobite Rising, this Glenmorangie 1971 The Culloden Bottle sold for £800.

Outside of Scotch, there were buyers found for this Suntory 60th Anniversary bottling (£500), Chichibu 2012 Virgin Oak (£475) and a Clase Azul Ultra Tequila (£650) in its instantly recognizable decanter.

Top Lots

The top lots were a mixed bag this month with representation from the Highlands, Japan, Speyside, Islands and Islay among the top ten. The best price of the night was taken by one of the oldest malts in the sale, this beautifully presented 2023 release of the Dalmore 45 Year Old that fetched a hammer price of £9,000.

The Macallan category was led by a 1950 Handwritten Label (£4,000) with a 1947 Campbell, Hope & King bottled in the 1960s also featuring with a price of £2,800.

Island malts were represented in the top ten lots by this enticing Talisker 1964 100 Proof bottled in the 1970s by Gordon & MacPhail and sold for £3,600, while the sole Islay representative was this Lagavulin 1976 37 Year Old (£2,700) released as part of Diageo’s Special Releases series in 2013.

Whisky Royalty

There was a royal theme running through the auction with multiple bottles celebrating a variety of royal events.

This Macallan Royal Marriage, a vatting of malts distilled in 1948 and 1961, was bottled to commemorate the wedding of then Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer and sold for £2,600.

A Macallan Coronation, presented as a boxed set of two 35cl bottles and released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, was one of only 1953 sets released (to match the year of her coronation). It fetched a hammer price of £2,000.

From Islay, this Port Ellen 1982 single cask was bottled by The Whisky Exchange as a tribute to the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton. Not too frequently seen at auction, this fetched £1,400.

Other royal bottles included a Strathisla Royal Wedding (£500), Glen Grant 25 Year Old Royal Wedding Reserve (£340), Glenlivet 25 Year Old Wedding Reserve (£575) and a Bruichladdich 1991 30 Year Old to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (£460). In addition to whisky, there was a Martell Silver Jubilee Cognac that sold for £925.

Vintage Blends

Vintage blends can be fascinating to open and often provide a cheaper alternative to vintage malts in having the chance to try some truly historic liquid, and are often by no means a lesser experience to enjoy. There were some particularly old blends in this month’s sale worth exploring.

From the early 20th century, this Kinloch’s K22 10 Year Old Special Reserve dating from the 1920s shares its name with one of the lost distilleries of Campbeltown and sold for £390. From the 1930s a Hudson’s Bay Brand Best Procurable took a while for bidding to reach a conclusion but eventually ended on a winning bid of £500. Also dating from the 1930s-40s, a bottle of Macpherson’s Cluny in great condition fetched £360.

The top blend of the night was a White Horse bottled in the 1950s with its original box (£700). A 1960s White Horse also attracted plenty of late bidding and sold for £400.

Also worth a mention was the performance of a Haig’s Dimple bottled in the 1950s, that achieved a solid hammer price of £140.

Japanese Whisky

There was no shortage of excellent Japanese malts to choose from in this month’s sale. Top billing went to a Karuizawa 1981 31 Year Old Noh Cask 348. Bidding on this lot went on well past the cut off for the category and it eventually settled on a hammer price of £4,300.

Another Karuizawa Noh Cask, a 1980 32 Year Old Cask 3565 sold for £2,900 and a Karuizawa 1999-2000 Batch 5 fetched £1,100.

From Yamazaki, this 25 Year Old sold for £4,100 and a 2012 Sherry Cask fetched £2,500.

Roundup

There were impressive Cognac prices for a pair of Louis XIII bottles fetching amounts considerably higher than recent months. This Remy Martin Louis XIII bottled in the 1990s for the Japanese market fetched £2,000, while a 1980s bottling of Louis XIII sold for £1,500 despite not including a box.

A strong performance as well for a bottle of Jack Daniel’s 1 Million Cases, bottled to celebrate the brand reaching the one million case mark in the UK. It fetched £1,500.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society are renowned for bottling excellent liquid and a couple of very mouth-watering malts in this auction were a very dark Rosebank 1978 (£1,900)  and a Balvenie 1979 (£775).

In the Irish category, one of the rarer of the Midleton Very Rare releases, the 2009 vintage, sold for £2,400.

See the full February Whisky & Spirits Auction results here.

See our past auction roundups here.