Auction Update: 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices of October

The Distillers One of One auction made October a standout. The combined value of the 20 highest hammer prices of the month reached $2,691,784, the highest since November 2023, when the last bottle of million-dollar Macallan sold. The October number is up by a whopping 130% from the October 2024 performance, and it’s also only the second month this year to break a million dollars for the combined value of its 20-highest hammer prices.

The combined hammer prices of the 20-highest hammer prices in the 10 months since January is up 12% from the year-earlier period. The Distillers One of One accounted for 14 of the 20 slots on October’s list, and all that record-breaking action certainly helped to spice up the order of brands on our table below.

Outside the Sotheby’s auction realm, earning a position on the list this month was no easy feat. Unicorn Auctions reclaimed the record for Very Very Old Fitzgerald 1950 18 year old Blackhawk with a charity bid of $85,200, besting a September 2025 bottle price by just $200. It became the only American whiskey to make October’s list. A 95-point Bowmore Aston Martin 1968 Arc-54 made its auction debut at Poly Auction, Hong Kong, achieving a hammer price of $51,452. Regular readers will recall that Bowmore Aston Martin Arc-54 The Iridos Edition, a 94 point one-of-one version auctioned for charity, achieved the highest hammer price in May 2025.

One brand that didn’t make the cut this month was Macallan. Despite being the clear leader on our table, its absence is noteworthy, as this is the first time Macallan has failed to make the chart. We noted several bottles of high-value Macallan that failed to sell at Bonhams, Edinburgh, and that trend continued when a bottle of Macallan in Lalique 50 year old failed to meet the reserve at Whisky.Auction despite bids in excess of $87,000. The seller may well adjust the reserve on the Macallan in Lalique 50 year old to get a sale in November, as this expression last made the 20-highest list in June 2025, with a much lower winning bid of $48,000.

October 2025 – Top 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices

Results converted to dollars using xe.com

20. Royal Brackla 1970 54 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $25,346

19. Brora 1972 40 year old
Sold on: October 28th at The Grand Whisky Auction
Hammer price: $25,558

18. Borders Distillery Elementum by Vicky Paul
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $26,680

17. Aberfeldy 1975 49 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $26,680

16. Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Ace of Spades 1985 Cask No. 9308
Sold on: October 7^th at Bonhams, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $26,883

15. Highland Park 50 year old 2010 Release
Sold on October 15^th at Poly Auction, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $29,585

14. The Glenturret Lineage
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $44,022

13. Bowmore Aston Martin 1968 Arc-54
Sold on October 15^th at Poly Auction, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $51,452

12. Samaroli Laphroaig 1967 15 year old Matured in Sherry Wood
Sold on: October 6^th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $53,225

11. Aberlour The Mouth of the Chattering Burn 1967 53 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $64,032

10. Old Pulteney Polaris 1978 47 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $66,700

9. Livingstone The Macbeth Collection William Shakespear 63 year old Distilled at Mortlach Distillery
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $72,036

8. Very Very Old Fitzgerald 1950 18 year old Blackhawk
Sold on: October 18^th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $85,200

7. Glenfarclas 58 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $86,710

6. KANDOBLANC Dragon in Clouds 60 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $113,390

5. Laphroaig Capsule 40 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $133,400

4. Ladyburn Marilyn Monroe by Sam Shaw 1966 58 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $240,121

3. Port Ellen Prism 1978 46 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $400,201

2. Glen Grant Eternal 1948 77 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $426,881

1. Glenlivet SPIRA 1965 60 year old
Sold on: October 10^th at Sotheby’s, Edinburgh
Hammer price: $693,682

Each month, we publish the 20-highest hammer prices for single bottles of whisky. This table ranks the 20 brands by the sum of their 20-highest hammer price sales and shows the latest month’s results.