November was a great month for the big hitters, The Macallan, Bowmore, Karuizawa and Louis XIII. The Macallan alone made up 12 of the top 20 lots in the auction, testament to its continued success and status within the market.
View the complete list of results in our Past Auctions. Here are some of our personal highlights:
Macallan 1940 Handwritten Label Bottled 1981 – Pro Nobilitate Ebert, Hainzl & Co.
This Macallan 1940 was bottled for what has become known as the Handwritten Label series. Unusually, this one was destined for the German market. Many collectors like to get hold of each of the editions bottled for different markets and will bid more enthusiastically for rarer ones. The Macallan Handwritten Label fast is becoming the most sought after series of The Macallan so it’s no surprise that there was some fierce bidding in the final moments of the auction. Winning Bid £9400
Bowmore 1964 Black Bowmore Final Edition Bottled 1995
The final edition of the Black Bowmore 1964 was always going to be in high demand. On its release it was available at around £120 and the price of this bottle of Bowmore was slow to increase at first despite rave reviews, but there are ever more fans of the series wanting to collect the set and taste each of these precious liquids. Fill levels can vary on these bottles and with them, prices too. This bottle had a middle shoulder fill level. Winning Bid £9000
Macallan Glenlivet 1940 Bottled 1970s – Signed By Edoardo Giaccone
Another Macallan 1940, this one was bottled in the 1970s and imported to Italy by Donini. This bottle would normally be expected to perform well at auction, but on this occasion, the bottle was signed by Mr Edoardo Giaccone. After opening his bar Whiskyteen in the late 1950s, Giaccone went on to team up with Gordon & MacPhail to select and import what are considered to be some of the finest whiskies of all time. His name is synonymous with the greatest Italian bottlings, so his seal of approval on this bottle adds a great deal of value. Winning Bid £5400
Karuizawa 1981 Sherry Cask #6256 Bottled 2011 – Speciality Drinks
This Karuizawa 1981 was aged in a single sherry cask for over 30 years before bottling in 2011 for Speciality Drinks. We last sold this in November 2019 for £2400. The rising demand and the upward price trend for Japanese whisky saw the final hammer price increase by more than 50% in just one year. An auction record for this bottle. Winning Bid £3700
Remy Martin Louis XIII Very Old Age Unknown Bottled 1950s-1960s – Baccarat Crystal
In theory all Louis XIII is made the same regardless of when they were bottled but in practice the historic ones are more valuable than the current releases. This Louis XIII was bottled between 1957 and 1962 and comes presented in a simple cardboard box, rather in contrast to the flamboyant presentation boxes of today. Louis XIII is the most recognisable Cognac in existence, it’s a blend of over 1200 Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie aged between 40 and 100 years in oak tierçons. It was little surprise this bottle was the subject of such high demand. Winning Bid £2400
Benedictine DOM Bottled 1894-1900
This Benedictine dating from the late 19th Century was not only the oldest bottle of Benedictine we’ve ever brought to auction, but it also fetched the highest price. Benedictine gently evolves and improves over the years spent in the bottle and we’ve seen prices for old liqueurs are on the rise. Collectors and connoisseurs of vintage cocktails are responsible for the increase in demand. Winning Bid £330
Springbank 1999 16 Year Old Local Barley Bottled 2016
Some of the greatest whiskies Springabank distillery has ever bottled can be found amongst the original Springbank Local Barley bottlings. The series was reintroduced in 2016 and this Springbank 1999 16 Year Old was the first of the new releases. These excellent and highly collectible annual releases tend to sell out quickly and the price for this bottle has increased considerably year on year. This month’s hammer price has been the best yet. Whether they will go on to reach the heights of the original series is yet to be seen, but this is yet another example proving that ‘it’s all about the liquid‘. Winning Bid £460
Complete November 2020 Auction Results
