So, the first auction of 2023 is already over and it featured all manner of memorabilia and miniatures. Here are some of the stand out lots.
Scotch Whisky
Truly exceptional miniature miniature bottles of Scotch whisky sold in last night’s auction and the top lot, by a considerable margin, was a 10cl bottle of Dalmore 50 Year Old, presented in an elegant crystal decanter, that ended the sale on a winning bid of £2,400.
A miniature of the ever popular Macallan Private Eye fetched £600 and a 1960s Gordon & MacPhail bottling of Macallan Glenlivet 100 Proof sold for £270.
There was a pair of trade sample bottles of Talisker 44 Year Old Forests of the Deep donated by Diageo as part of the Cream of the Crop Charity Auction that raised £180 and £190 respectively for a great cause. The intriguing whisky is finished in casks charred by flames fuelled by a mixture of worn oak from an oceanic adventure and sustainably harvested kelp!
We love vintage bottles and this astonishingly well preserved miniature of White Horse blended whisky, bottled in 1937, attracted a hammer price of £170.
There was closely fought late bidding for a miniature bottle of Bunnahabhain 40 Year Old, bottled by The Whisky Exchange for the Mini Bottle Club’s 40th Anniversary in 2019 and sold for £140. As one of only 40 bottles it just became the highlight of one one winning bidder’s collection.
Japan
Japanese rarities attracted plenty of attention at auction. Nikka Super Rare Old Kashiwa City fetched a hammer price of £220, a 1990s bottling of the rarely seen Nikka Tsuru Wing Malt sold for £190. A bottle of Karuizawa 25 Malts, a blend of over 25 malts released when Karuizawa distillery was still owned by Mercian Wine Company, sold for £120. There were miniatures from Yoichi, Miyagikyo, Yamazaki, Hibiki and more.
The top Japanese lots of the auction, however, were not bottles of whisky but two pairs of Yamazaki 55 Year Old Luigi Bormioli tasting glasses presented in a wooden box set with a booklet. Each pair sold for £725.
Johnnie Walker Memorabilia
From the most famous whisky brand of them all, the most consistently brilliant advertising for over a century was evidenced by all sorts of Johnnie Walker memorabilia.
From the early 20th century, there were two framed Johnnie Walker Sporting Prints, sold for £40 each, and a later, framed Golfing print that fetched £26.
A Johnnie Walker Copper Plate sold for £60, there were hipflasks, jugs, a Soda Siphon and various collectable miniature vehicles. Have a look in the back of your cupboards for whisky memorabilia that may have more value than you ever imagined.
Roundup
A mini Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac fetched £320 and a ceramic miniature of Camus Cognac decorated with Van Gogh’s Irises sold for £140.
A 1960s bottle of John Jameson & Son 7 Year Old 3 Star Irish Whiskey in excellent condition sold for £160. Johnny Drum 15 Year Old Private Stock and Noah’s Mill 15 Year Old, both from USA and bottled at cask strength sold for £140 each and this Old Fitzgerald Original Sour Mash distilled in 1963 at the Stitzel Weller distillery fetched £120.
See the full auction highlights here.
