You can pick up super bargains at auction. but the main advantage of buying spirits at auction is that it’s the best place to quickly buy the greatest whiskies and spirits ever bottled. This auction there was plenty of both.
The May 2021 Auction was full of classics and one or two rarities. Here’s what’s moving the spirits markets.
The May auction was dominated by the ‘big names’ (or ‘suaicheantasan mòra’ as the Scots might say) and so unsurprisingly it was Bowmore, Springbank and Macallan that stood out above all else. We are watching to see how genuine Japanese Whisky performs against whisky that merely has Japanese writing on the label and so far the trend is positive.
It might not sound like hot-off-the-press news but it is again remarkable to see another shift upwards in prices for old and rare Macallans.
As predicted following our latest miniatures auction results we saw Macallan Private Eye take another leap upwards, but this uplift was visible everywhere from Macallan Gran Reserva to Macallan 30 Year Old Sherry Oak.
The Macallan 30 Year Old presented in blue wooden box was matured in sherry casks and was the last edition of the 30 year old to be released before the introduction of the Fine Oak series.
The whisky is superb, it has a deep mahogany colour and an aromatic sherried nose with hints of cloves, orange and nutmeg. The palate is rich with dried fruit, sherry and spiced orange. It will set you back £6000.
We’ve spoken about how to buy Gordon’s Gin at auction in previous posts but what every enthusiast of old and rare gin is really looking for is this complete lot containing twelve bottles of Gordon’s Dry Gin distilled and bottled in the 1950s in London by Tanqueray, Gordon & Co. Ltd., sealed with spring cap closures and presented in the original wooden branded crate. The blue sticker applied to each bottle show the provenance goes back to when the case was supplied to US Navy Mess.
As expected this lot was fiercely contested right to the end by several prominent gin collectors and the case eventually sold for £2100.