The June auction featured The Worshipful Company of Distillers’ online charity auction, with all proceeds going to The Drinks Trust’s Your Round appeal to support those in the drinks industry facing severe hardship as a result of Covid-19.
Over 100 bottles of fine wines and rare spirits were donated by Liverymen of The Worshipful Company of Distillers and the auction raised over £60000 for a great cause.
We saw great results across the board, particularly in Japanese whisky, rum and Cognac.
You can view the full results in our Past Auctions, meanwhile here are our own personal highlights:
Without a doubt, the star lot in June was this cask of Caroni rum distilled in 1998 and currently held under bond in Liverpool. This cask of powerful and viscous HTR Heavy Type Rum from Caroni, a closed distillery, was expected to attract a lot of attention and it raised a huge amount for charity.
Winning Bid £21500
Old Orkney ‘0.0.’ Real Liqueur Whisky, Bottled 1920s – Stromness Distillery
This relic, bottled almost 100 years ago, from the closed Stromness distillery on Orkney was bottled in the 1920s, when Stromness was owned by J & J McConnell Ltd. Economic hardship forced the closure of the distillery way back in 1928. Despite missing most of its label, the whisky itself looks in good shape, with a good fill level and bidding crept up over five figures toward the end of the sale.
Winning Bid £10200
This exquisite Bowmore 1963 30 Year Old was bottled at 50% ABV in 1993 to mark the 30th anniversary since the purchase of the distillery by Stanley P Morrison. Just 600 bottles were released and this one, in exceptionally good condition, was donated to raise money for The Drinks Trust.
Winning Bid £6000
Havana Club 1519 Aniversario 500 De La Habana 1519-2019
This rum was produced for the 500th anniversary of the city of Havana, and was one of only 500 individually numbered, mouth blown decanters inspired by the architecture of Havana. Released with an RRP of £3000, this one finally finished up with bidding in excess of £5000. The proceeds from this bottle will all be going to The Drinks Trust.
Winning Bid £5200
Clynelish 5 Year Old, Bottled 1969-1970s
Clynelish 5 Year Old Finest Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, bottled by the distillers Ainslie & Heilbron Ltd. and imported to Italy by M Di Chiano. This is yet another example of a great whisky with a young age statement demanding a high price at auction. It helps that this one is universally considered to be one of the greatest whiskies ever bottled, but the price for this bottle still outweighed expectations.
Winning Bid £3600
Karuizawa x Kawasaki Time Slip, Bottled 2015 – Ghost Series
This blend contains whiskies from two of the most sought after closed Japanese distilleries. It has malt whisky from Karuizawa and grain whisky from Kawasaki and was finished in an ex-Karuizawa cask. This is one of 282 bottles released in 2015 as part of the Ghost Series. The previous time this whisky sold in April 2019 it reached £2000. A substantial increase in a little over a year.
Winning Bid £3200
Springbank 1995 Cask #545 – Cask Owner’s Private Bottling
Since October 2018, bottles from this privately owned Springbank cask have featured regularly in our auctions. The first bottles went under the hammer for £170. The June auction saw a price increase of well over 100% in under two years, when a bottle of this Springbank, matured in a Fonseca 1970 vintage port cask, sold for £390. There is a continued demand for whisky from Springbank distillery and also a hunger for unusual privately bottled whiskies.
Winning Bid £390
Complete April 2020 Auction Results
