October 2025 Whisky & Spirits Auction Results

It was a highly competitive evening of bidding for our October Whisky & Spirits Auction with plenty of stunning bottles on offer. Read on for just a few of the highlights.

Top Lots

It was an eclectic mix of malts at the sharp end of the auction with a steady climbing Bowmore 1955 40 Year Old coming out on top. Presented in a crystal decanter made by Caithness Glass and housed in a gorgeous wooden case, hand-made by Kirkby & Sons, the Bowmore fetched a hammer price of £10,800.

Representing Ireland, this Devil’s Keep 1991 Inaugural Release took second spot. Also presented in an elaborate wooden case, this comes with an atomizer containing the essence of the whisky captured by perfumer Sarah McCartney and semi-precious obsidian whisky stones from the mountains of Armenia alongside the whisky and glasses. The lot ended on a winning bid of £6,600.

Japan was also represented achieving three of the top ten lots. This colourfully labelled Karuizawa 35 Year Old Single Cask #226 fetched £6,000 while a pair of Yamazaki 25 Year Old sold for £5,200 and £4,500 a piece.

Macallan

While it didn’t take its customary top spot, there was still plenty of Macallan in the upper echelons of the auction. A winning bid of £5,200 secured this Macallan 1950 Handwritten Label and a 1962 25 Year Old Anniversary Malt sold for £3,600.

A Macallan 1997 13 Year Old, the 2010 release of the Easter Elchies Cask Selection, performed better than recent auction performances and achieved an impressive £3,500 while a Macallan 1979 18 Year Old Gran Reserva fetched £3,100.

It was a good night for the James Bond Decades collection as there was a resurgence in price from recent months with a considerable jump for the Decade I that sold for £2,500 as well as the Decade V and VI that fetched £1,250 each after recent results had mostly dropped below the £1000 mark.

Independent Bottlers

Indie bottlings contributed to the auction highlights as well with stunning malts such as this Springbank 1964 from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society selling for £6,200 after some late competitive bidding, and with its label inspired by the ancient Book of Kells, this Glen Grant 1953 58 Year Old bottled by Gordon & MacPhail showcased another of the iconic independent bottlers.

There was a wide ranging selection of SMWS bottlings in this auction including a peaty Caol Ila 1983 bottled in 1996 that sold for £600, and Ardbeg 1979 bottled in 1996 (£725) and a Macallan 1990 11 Year Old (£600).

A few Cadenhead’s ‘dumpy’ bottles, always a draw for collectors, were on offer and leading these was this Highland Park 1957 22 Year Old, which despite a bit of evaporation, fetched an impressive £1,650 and a Ben Nevis 1965 14 Year Old sold for £575. It was a non-dumpy Longrow 1974 18 Year Old bottled as part of Cadenhead’s 150th anniversary celebrations that achieved the highest sale though with a winning bid of £2,200.

Chartreuse

Strong prices once more for Chartreuse of both the Yellow and Green varieties. This Chartreuse Yellow bottled in the 1950s sold for £1,750 while a Chartreuse Green from the same period fetched £1,150.

Later examples of both from the 1970s-80s also performed well with this Chartreuse Green produced in Tarragona achieving £775 and a Chartreuse Yellow bottled 1973-85 with the original box fetched £310.

Vintage Liqueurs

Beyond Chartreuse though, there were some strong showings for vintage liqueurs, particularly dating back to the 1950s. This Drambuie saw some competitive bidding and ended on £130. A Dom Benedictine dating from the 1940s sold for £160, while a half bottle from the 1950s fetched £100.

Bitters in particular seemed popular with bidders in this auction with vintage bottles such as this Bitter Bitter (presumably so good they named it twice) selling for £210, a Picon Amer also sold for £210, and a Bonomelli Bitter Milano sold for £140.

Campari continued its strong auction form with a hammer price of £260 for this 1950s Campari Bitter and a case of 1974 Campari Bitter selling for £1,450.

Roundup

There was an auction record for this Aberfeldy 25 Year Old with an astounding hammer price of £775.

This impeccably preserved White Horse 1955 sold for £600.

The rum category also saw some impressive results with this pair of 1950s Royal Navy Rum Flagons fetching £4,000.

The longest bidding battle of the evening was fought over this Glen Grant 5 Year Old bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in the 1970s, eventually settling on £460.

See the full October Whisky & Spirits Auction results here.

See our past auction roundups here.