As the Marketing & PR Manager here at Whisky.Auction, I get to handle incredible rare and old bottles every day. But with our October auction now live on The Whisky Wash, it’s time to highlight a few of my personal favorites from the hundreds of amazing whiskies available.
We could sit here and tell you all about the shiniest and most expensive bottles at auction, and we will, of course, do that. But our main aim with this, now monthly, article is to highlight our picks. Those bottles that get the whisky geek within us excited. So here are our picks for the most intriguing whiskies up for offer in Whisky.Auction’s October auction. You can register to bid here.
The Macallan 72 Year Old in Lalique – The Genesis Decanter
Ok, so we kicked off with shiny. This 72 Year Old Whisky from The Macallan was the oldest single malt scotch whisky ever bottled when it was released in 2018. Only 600 decanters were produced, of which this is number 375, and the Lalique Crystal form was inspired by the shape of the new Macallan Distillery which was opened in the same year.
This bottle very rarely comes to auction and is sure to cause a stir amongst Macallan collectors. Our expert valuation team have suggested a value of: £40,000 – £60,000. Place your bids here!
Trending Stories
Ardbeg 1972 Single Cask 2780 Bottled 2004 – Ping No.1
Over the years, Ardbeg has built a dedicated following, with the Ardbeg Committee opening the doors to collecting for many a whisky fan since its launch in 2002.
For the serious collectors, however, it is the unique single cask releases, especially those bottled for companies or individuals that would not have been available at retail, that are most in demand.
Bottle 14 of 245, this single cask was filled on 27 October 1972 and bottled at cask strength (51.4%) in October 2004 for Danish whisky and wine retailer Juuls Vinhandel. It’s part of a series of four bottlings, all named ‘Ping’ to commemorate the 30th anniversary with the company of employee turned co-owner Michael Madsen (nickname Ping).
Signup now to make sure you don't miss out on the latest whiskey news and deals.
By Signing up, you accept and agree to our Terms of Services and you acknowledge our Privacy Statement. The Whiskey Wash is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
This bottle is expected to sell for £2,700 – £3,500.
You can bid on this awesome Ardbeg here.
Mortlach 1930 Bottled 1972 – Original Skotch Malt Whisky
Step back in time almost 100 years to the Mortlach Distillery and you might have witnessed this whisky being distilled. We love the historic bottles at the auction, and this beautiful old example is no exception.
Bottled in December 1972, the reference to Geo. Cowie & Sons on the label refers to the private company set up by the Cowie family to continue the business of distilling, blending and as wine and spirit merchants after they sold the distillery to John Walker & Sons in 1923. The German text on the label marks the bottle as a ‘foreign export’.
With no previous sales data, we haven’t provided a valuation for this one. We’re excited to see how much it might make at this month’s auction.
Interested? Bid here.
Glenury Royal 1970 29 Year Old Rare Malts Selection
Continuing with the theme of rare bottles, there were only ever two releases from Glenury Royal under the Rare Malts range from Diageo, making these bottlings a must-have for serious whisky collectors (and drinkers!).
The distillery itself was built by Captain Robert Barclay, the Laird of Ury, in the 1820s. Perhaps most famous for his athletic exploits, walking 1,000 miles in 1,000 successive hours, it was Captain Barclay’s close friendship with King Willian IV that allowed him to use the suffix royal in the distillery name. This 29 Year Old whisky is said to have ‘tropical fruit characters’.
This bottle has been valued at £500-£800.
If you are missing a Glenury Royal 1970 from your Rare Malts Selection collection, fill the gap by clicking here.
Springbank 1992 27 Year Old Private Single Cask 273
Our final pick for this month is a favourite amongst the auction team, that also caused a stir at The Whisky Show this year when we opened a bottle to taste. It’s a Springbank private cask bottling, distilled in December 1992 and bottled in March 2020 following 27 years spent in a refill Bourbon hogshead.
We particularly love these private cask bottlings at Whisky.Auction as they give us access to whisky untapped by those who only purchase via whisky retailers.
In his recent tasting, Ruben Luyten of WhiskyNotes, described the whisky as: “One of the more classic early 90s Springbanks. Overall a really nice balance between austerity and sexiness” – 91 points.
We expect this bottle to sell in our auction for £450 – £600.
Bid on the Springbank 1992 27 Year Old Single Cask here.
The October auction is now live over at Whisky.Auction, ending 8 October at 19:30 BST.
Latest News