A bottle of Torabhaig Founders Reserve that crossed the Atlantic by hydrogen balloon has sold at auction for £1,700($2,279.63, ₹2,16,359), making it the most valuable bottle of the Skye single malt ever sold. The full hammer price will be donated to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college located a few miles from the distillery on the Isle of Skye.
“That bottle went a very long way to support us at home,” said Emma Sprackling, senior brand manager at Torabhaig. “We’re grateful to everyone who bid, and to Whisky Auctioneer for helping turn an extraordinary journey into ongoing support for Gaelic language and culture on Skye.”
The bottle, numbered 001 of 100, flew aboard the Atlantic Explorer from Maine to Luxembourg in June. The journey marked the first successful manned transatlantic balloon crossing to use only hydrogen for lift.
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READ THE STORYAll three pilots – Alicia Hempleman-Adams, Bert Padelt and Peter Cuneo – signed the bottle on landing.
Whisky Auctioneer ran the sale and waived its seller’s commission.
The remaining 99 bottles of Founders Reserve did not make the flight, and no further bottles will be produced. Following a pre-sale to members of The Torabhaig Club, the remaining bottles will go on general sale at torabhaig.com from Monday 9 November, priced at £200 ($268.19, ₹25,454) each.
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Every bottle will include a postcard of the flown bottle, signed by the three pilots. All proceeds will go to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.
Torabhaig sits on the Sleat Peninsula on the Isle of Skye. Located off Scotland’s west coast, it is only the second licensed distillery on the island, established in 2017, and produces island-style peated single malt scotch whisky.
The distillery operates alongside Talisker as one of just two single malt producers on Skye. Its whiskies are produced by seasoned whisky maker Neil MacLeod Mathieson alongside a small team of local distillers, all trained in-house.
The brand’s portfolio includes its Legacy Series of limited releases and its first permanent core expression, Taigh, launched earlier this year. Pronounced “Tie”, Taigh means house in Scottish Gaelic, but for Torabhaig it also means “home,” reflecting the distillery’s place on the Sleat Peninsula.
