May 2025 Whisky & Spirits Auction Results

May’s auction saw an eclectic mix of bottles amongst the top lots with Scotch, Japanese and American whiskies all among the top 10 as well as vintage Chartreuse. Here are a few highlights from the May 2025 Whisky & Spirits auction results.

*Aftersales Update*

More premium spirits are heading to new homes after the conclusion of our aftersales for the May auction. One lucky bidder took ownership of this Glenfiddich 1976 Private Cask 2433, bottled exclusively for Concorde, for a hammer price of £2,000. Another single malt from a single barrel, and one of only 114 bottles, this Glenlivet 1995 29 Year Old Cellar Collection, was snapped up for £800.

Outside of Scotch single malts, a bottle of Chivas Regal Royal Salute 62 Gun Salute, a prestigious blend of whiskies blended and aged for a minimum of 40 years, sold for £925 and from Japan, this Nikka Yoichi 20 Year Old was won for £1,000. This Foursquare 2000 21 Year Old Rum Sponge from Decandent Drinks fetched £145.

Scotch Whisky

Joint top spot honours were taken by this Ardbeg Provenance 1974 and a Glenfiddich Ultimate 38 Year Old in its 24 carat gold decorated decanter, with both selling for £3,000. Settling for fourth spot for a change, the leading Macallan in the auction was a 1956 Campbell, Hope & King bottled for Italian importer Rinaldi in the 1970s and complete with its original red box, that fetched £2,600.

Dalmore featured at the upper end of the auction with a Dalmore 1973 finished in Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon casks and one of only 1000 bottles fetching £2,300, while, also matured in various wine casks, a trio of the colourful Dalmore Portfolio Series, designed in collaboration with the V&A Dundee, sold for £1,350.

Other bottles of note included a Glen Grant 1964 from Moon Import’s Animals series. One of only 600 bottles, it sold for £850. For peat and music fans there was the chance to own a single cask Lagavulin 1993 Islay Jazz Festival bottling that was won for £800. Indie bottlings are always worth exploring and for £500 this Glen Mhor 1966 35 Year Old from Douglas Laing’s Old & Rare Platinum Selection was snapped up, as was this Port Ellen 1974 24 Year Old Millennium Edition from Signatory Vintage.

Chartreuse

Vintage Chartreuse continues to attract plenty of attention at auction with bottles frequently hotly contested as bidding closes. This Green Chartreuse bottled between 1941-1951 sold for £1,650 leading the category this month but it was closely followed by two Green Chartreuse bottled in the 1970s-1980s in Tarragona fetching £1,400 each.

The leading Yellow Chartreuse was an earlier Tarragona bottling dating from the 1950s with the 35cl bottle ending on a bid of £875.

Among the other liqueurs available was a Grand Marnier Quintessence that fetched an impressive £900 and a Cinzano Amaro dating from the 1920s-30s that reached £170.

Blended Whiskies

Johnnie Walker is the arguably the most famous name and most iconic logo when it comes to blended whisky and continues to be very popular with collectors. True to form the blends category was topped by a handful of Johnnie Walkers led by this marvellous 150th Anniversary bottling from 1985 complete with decanter and striding man stopper, that fetched £1,100.

A pair of Johnnie Walker & Sons Private Collection followed with the 2015 edition selling for £725 while the 2016 edition fetched £550.

For vintage bottle fans there were some very nicely preserved mid 20th Century bottles complete with spring cap closures. This Teacher’s Highland Cream sold for £150, while a Black and White fetched £140 and a Buchanan’s De Luxe £130.

Roundup

Attracting interest in the American whiskey category was a Jack Daniel’s Barrel House 1 bottled in 1994 and signed by then head distiller Jimmy Bedford, that eventually sold for £725.

Sticking with the USA, there was again a selection of Jim Beam decanters in many shapes and sizes, but for reasons known only to the buyer, it was a Jim Beam 100 Month Old AC Delco Spark Plug Decanter that was sold for the highest price of £250 among the selection of decanters.

From the Japanese category, a Hibiki 30 Year Old led the way with a winning bid of £2,800. Sold for £460 there was a Suntory 60th Anniversary, bottled in 1983 to celebrate the milestone.

In the rum category, this beautiful Caroni Navy Rum bottled in the 1960s sold for £1,050.

See the full May Whisky & Spirits Auction results here.

See our past auction roundups here.