We’ve reached the final Whisky.Auction Whisky & Spirits auction of the year, and it’s set to be a great one. 2024 has been a year of really interesting prices for us, with some of the prices on some previous auction certs falling below expectations, while other bottles – often the potential underdogs – have outperformed expectations. It’s keeping us on our toes but it’s certainly been an exciting year to be part of the whisky auction world.
Here are my highlights from the pre-Christmas auction, which is live now, ending at 19:30 GMT on Tuesday, 3rd December.
Hanyu 1990 The Wave Cask #9305
A great bottle design and a great whisky to match, the Hanyu 1990 The Wave cask #9305 received 91 points from WhiskyFun when tasted back in 2011. But how did it come to be?
For those who know their Hanyu releases, you may wonder how this can be the same cask number as a bottling released by Number One Drinks in 2009. The cask was split, increasing the rarity of the bottles, if not the liquid itself. 200 bottles were released from cask #9305 by Full Proof, an independent whisky bottler set up when whisky lover Jeroen Koetsier developed a love for Hanyu at a tasting in the early 2000s.
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The label design is a fun twist on the famous Japanese woodblock print Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave.
Our valuations team expects this bottle to sell for £2,000-£3,000 at auction. Place your bids here.
Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 1985
One for the Van Winkle enthusiasts, this isn’t the usual 13 Year Old Van Winkle Family Reserve.
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There are rumors swirling around the American Whiskey sphere about where the whiskey in the Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 1985 actually comes from, with many settling on it being sourced from the Medley Distillery which was also part of United Distillers at the time of bottling.
We do know that it’s an older expression, probably 14-15 years old instead of the usual 13 and it’s a rare un-chill-filtered release of the Family Reserve Rye, bottled for the European market, some say as ‘an experiment for the French market’. Rumors aside, this bottle is a great addition to a well-rounded American Whiskey collection!
We expect this bottle to achieve a hammer price of around £3,000-£4,000. If you are interested in this confounding whiskey gem, you can bid on it here.
Macallan 1970 The Sea Cask #11306
The influence of mentor Silvano Samaroli shines through in the beautiful bottlings from Moon Import, founded by Pepi Montgiardino in 1980.
Originally importing Bruichladdich, then Tamnavulin and Tullibardine into Italy, Montgiardino progressed to bottling his own whisky after a meeting with Samaroli set up by a well-known Italian restaurateur. Montgiardino understood the value of making bottles collectible, taking inspiration from early Samaroli bottlings to create distinct themes for his series’.
The Macallan 1970 The Sea Cask #11306 available in our live auction now is from his ‘The Sea’ series which was released in 1988 – a busy year for Moon Imports!
We estimate this bottle will sell for approximately £1,100 – £1,900. Place your bids here.
Balvenie 1965 Over Proof Aged Single Malt – Robert Watson
For those looking in the ‘under £500’ category, this independently bottled Balvenie is a great auction find. Robert Watson (Aberdeen) Ltd was a merchant bottler and blender, founded in 1947 and originally specializing in rums. Whiskies began to appear from the bottler, focussing on distilleries from the northeast of Scotland, especially Balvenie, as well as their own blends, the most famous of which was Balgownie.
This Balvenie was bottled at two degrees over proof in the 1970s and would make an excellent addition to an old and rare whisky collection.
Our auction valuation team expects this one to sell for £300 – £500. This is an awesome find, and you can bid on it here.
Springbank 1969 35 Year Old Bottled 2004 – Dun Bheagan
Our December auction is a particularly good one for great old and rare bottles, but for my final highlights pick it’s this Springbank 1969 35 Year Old from Ian Macleod that stands out. It’s a 90-pointer from WhiskyFun with a nose described by Serge as ‘Almost perfect!’.
Macleod’s Dun Bheagan series comprises single cask and small batch single malts, all matured at their parent distillery before bottling by the indy bottler. This bottle could be a great Christmas treat for a Springbank connoisseur.
We expect this bottle to achieve a hammer price of £750 – £950. Place your bids here.
Whisky.Auction’s December Auction
Whisky.Auction’s December sale is now live and will end at 19:30 GMT on Tuesday, December 3rd. Containing rare whisky gems from Scotland to the USA, the auction is a great last-minute chance to purchase a gift for the whisky lover in your life.
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