Auction Update February 24, 2023: Bonhams Skinner Leads With American Gems

In its Fine Wine & Rare Spirits sale on February 16^th in Massachusetts, Bonhams Skinner sold 391 whisky lots­–or 90% of its 436 lots on offer—for a total hammer price of $345,820. The sold lots totaled 628 bottles of whisky, making an average hammer price of $551 a bottle. The 45 unsold whisky lots were worth $60,800–$87,950 and a further 19 whisky lots were withdrawn from sale.

The Bonhams Skinner sale’s highest hammer price was the Berkeley Hundred 10 year old, a commemorative edition distilled and bottled by Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which fetched $12,000. American whiskey outperformed scotch with sell-through rates of 92% versus 85% respectively. At $11,000, a bottle of Glenfarclas 1955 50 year old was the highest hammer price for a scotch whisky. From Japan, the winner was Nikka Taketsuru 25 year old ($1,800), while Knappogue Castle 1949 30 year old ($1,300) topped the Irish tables, Crown Royal Cask No.16 ($600) was the Canadian winner, and Amrut Greedy Angels 8 year old ($400) was the Indian entry. The lot of the week at this auction went to the Spirit of the Underground series from London-based Bimber Distillery, an unexpected appearance from four English whiskies that were never released in the U.S.

In Scotland, a six-bottle case of Yamazaki Limited Edition 2014 topped Just Whisky’s February auction with a bid of $5,417. A distillery staff-only bottling of Springbank 30 year old Countdown Collection was back after failing to move last month, and this time it sold for $3,792. A number of collectible Gordon & MacPhail single malts made great buys for fans of well-matured single malts, including a Mortlach 1954 $2,058, Pride of Strathspey 1938 $1,926, Longmorn 1962 $1,577, and Glen Grant 1960 $1,505.

Elsewhere from Scotland, The Grand Whisky Auction delivered another strong performance this month. Single malt scotch came out on top with a Bowmore 1965 52 year old making $28,162, the first time The Grand Whisky Auction has handled a sale of this rare bottling. In addition, Bowmore 1964 35 year old Cask No. 3709 took $23,317.

But there was disappointment for Bonhams, Hong Kong this week when 63% of the whisky lots failed to sell in its Fine & Rare Wine & Whisky sale on February 23^rd. While the fine wine performed well, 100 whisky lots remained unsold with an estimated value of $334,912–$463,494. Neither the full set of 13 Macallan Exceptional Single Cask 2017 releases (est. $50,974–$76,461), the Macallan Fine and Rare 1940 35 year old (est. $28,036–$38,230) nor any of the 19 lots of Be@rbrick collectibles paired with spirit bottles were sold. Of the 59 whisky lots that did sell, the combined hammer price came to $110,760 with lots selling for a median hammer price of $1,040. A bottle of Yamazaki 25 year old took the highest hammer price for whisky on the day with a bid of $9,749.

UPCOMING AUCTIONS

There’s a busy week of auctions coming up. On February 26^th, final bids will be accepted at Whisky Hammer, Unicorn Auctions, Speyside Whisky Auctions, and Prestige Whisky Auctions, with WVA Whisky Auctions finishing on February 28^th. Like The Grand Whisky Auction, Whisky Hammer also has a Bowmore 1964 35 year old Cask No. 3709 for sale, as well as a bottle of Bowmore 1969 50 year old—a rarity that appeared twice among the 20 highest sales in January. Further ahead, Whisky Auctioneer’s next sale opens for bids on February 24^th, while Bonhams, Edinburgh will hold its first whisky sale of the year on March 1^st with a Dalmore 1926 50 year old on offer. Glasgow-based McTear’s will hold a Liquid Masterpieces sale on March 3^rd, and Whiskyauction.com will conclude its 305^th auction on March 4^th.

Lot of the Week

Bimber Spirit of the Underground

Sold at Auction: February 16 at Bonhams SkinnerHammer Price: $1,200

Bimber Spirit of the Underground and Berkley Hundred 10 year old photos courtesy of Bonhams