We’re drawing into Autumn here at Whisky.Auction HQ in London, and while some of the bottles we’ve picked will be perfect for collectors, we have perfect sipping drams on our mind. The September auction is now live over at Whisky.Auction, ending at 19:30 BST Tuesday 23 September.
Oban 16 Year Old Bicentenary Bottled 1994 – The Manager’s Dram
The Manager’s Dram series from United Distillers, better known today as Diageo, launched in the late 1980s as a company incentive. The best casks were blind tasted by a panel, with the favourite bottled and made available exclusively to staff.
This Oban was put forward and selected on merit of the liquid, but also as a great opportunity to mark 200 years of the seaside distillery, which had opened in 1794. This double meaning makes it extra collectible, both to those looking to fill the gaps in a Manager’s Dram collection, and those with a special place in their hearts for the small distillery.
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The Whisky.Auction valuation team expects this bottle to reach a hammer price of £800-£1,200. You can place your bid here.
Suntory 60th Anniversary
Continuing with the anniversary theme, this blended whisky from Suntory was released in 1983 to mark 60 years since the official opening of the Suntory Whisky Distillery. It is named ‘1899’ to commemorate another important year in Suntory history.
While the distillery didn’t open its doors until 1923, Shinjiro Torrii began the journey towards this feat when he first launched the Kotobukiya Co. Ltd, the previous name for Suntory Ltd, in 1899. He dreamed of creating ‘a true Japanese whisky’ and 24 years later, he finally established a whisky distillery.
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READ THE STORYThe card that comes with the bottle tells the distillery story, sharing that by the time this bottle was released, Suntory had approximately 1.6million casks maturing in its warehouses.
Our team has valued this bottle at £300-£500. Bid on this fantastic bottle here.
Old Comber 7 Year Old Bottled 1960s
One of the many casualties of the Irish Whiskey decline in the mid-20th century, Belfast-based distillery Old Comber shut its doors in 1953, with the distillery sold off for stocks. While many Irish distilleries had been forced to close their doors by the 1930s, Old Comber had held on impressively well.
World War II, however, was one disaster too many for the distillery, which had been making pot still whiskey for over 120 years. For Irish whiskey lovers, this bottle is a small piece of Irish whiskey making history that’s too good to miss at auction.
Our valuations team expects this bottle to reach a hammer price of £500-£700. Place your bid here.
Springbank 1996 22 Year Old Cask Strength
Anyone flicking back through the last year of articles highlighting bottles to watch in the Whisky.Auction live auctions will find it hard to miss my love for a bottle that tells a story.
Whether that story is relevant to the liquid or not, there are some excellent reasons given the release of limited edition bottlings. This cask strength Springbank is no exception.
It was bottled in 1996 to mark 77 years since Operation Frankton. This mission saw a small number of Royal Marines, including Herbert “Blondie” Hasler, kayak into the heart of enemy territory in Bordeaux to damage six German ships, offering a blow to German morale in one of their key ports.
For that niche group of war historian Springbank drinkers, or simply for anyone who wants an opener for dinner party conversations, this is the bottle to buy!
We expect this Springbank to reach a hammer price of £500-£700. You can place your bid on this piece of whisky history here.
Macallan-Glenlivet 1976 19 Year Old Bottled 1996 – Cadenhead’s
Last but by no means least in our picks from this month’s auction, this Macallan was picked by Scotland’s oldest Independent bottler, Cadenhead, to be bottled under their ‘Authentic Collection’ series. It’s a big, sherry cask whisky, bottled at cask strength of 55.4% ABV for the US market and the perfect dram for shorter days and chillier evenings.
Our valuation team expects this bottle to reach £400-£600. Place your bid here.
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