Auction Update: 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices for January
February 7, 2025 –––––– Jonny McCormick
January started with a bang with most of the highest hammer prices landing in the first two weeks. The combined value of the top 20 hammer prices totalled $822,357, up 29% compared to the combined value of the 20-highest hammer prices for January 2024.
While fewer high-value bottles sold in the second half of the month, it took Whisky Hammer’s sale of Karuizawa 1965 50 year old to edge out the bottles of Michter’s 25 year old single barrel rye that had been on the 20-highest hammer price list for much of the month.
Single malts made up 85% of the 20-highest hammer prices for January, with nine brands taking up early positions in our 2025 table. With no scheduled auctions from Sotheby’s or Bonhams this month, the online auctions have an open field for February. Whisky Auctioneer has the highest-value bottles on sale so far, but you’ll have to wait until the sale closes on February 10th to find out whether or not those top-drawer whiskies reach their reserve prices.
January 2025 – 20-Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices
Results converted to dollars using xe.com
20. Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Cask No. 2372
Sold on: January 26th at Whisky Hammer
Hammer price: $22,465
19. Macallan Select Reserve 1946 52 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $22,900
18. Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Cask No. 8636
Sold on: January 26th at Whisky Hammer
Hammer price: $23,339
17. Macallan 1949 50 year old Millennium Decanter
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $25,053
16. Brora 1972 40 year old
Sold on: January 5th at Whisky Hammer
Hammer price: $25,584
15. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old
Sold on: January 25th at Sotheby’s, New York
Hammer price: $26,000
14. Macallan Fine & Rare 1967 35 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $27,300
13. Macallan Fine & Rare 1954 47 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $27,400
12. LeNell’s Red Hook Rye 24 year old Barrel No. 4
Sold on: January 6th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $31,100
11. Hibiki 40 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $31,942
10. Karuizawa Pearl Geisha 37 year old Cask No. 4056
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $35,074
9. Black Bowmore 1964 50 year old The Last Cask
Sold on: January 5th at Whisky Hammer
Hammer price: $37,258
8. Bowmore ARC-52
Sold on: January 5th at Whisky Hammer
Hammer price: $38,810
7. Glenfiddich 1937 64 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $43,843
6. Macallan in Lalique 50 year old
Sold on: January 8th at Whisky Online Auctions
Hammer price: $44,643
5. Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $50,106
4. Macallan The Red Collection 73 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $56,369
3. Macallan in Lalique 65 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $65,900
2. Port Ellen 12 year old The Queen’s Visit 1980
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $80,796
1. Macallan The Reach 81 year old
Sold on: January 6th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $106,475
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 hammer price sales and shows the latest month’s results.
|
Brand |
# of bottles in January |
$ in January |
# of bottles YTD |
$ YTD |
|
Macallan |
9 |
$426,126 |
9 |
$426,126 |
|
Karuizawa |
3 |
$80,878 |
3 |
$80,878 |
|
Port Ellen |
1 |
$80,796 |
1 |
$80,796 |
|
Bowmore |
2 |
$76,068 |
2 |
$76,068 |
|
Glenfiddich |
1 |
$43,843 |
1 |
$43,843 |
|
Hibiki |
1 |
$31,942 |
1 |
$31,942 |
|
LeNell’s |
1 |
$31,100 |
1 |
$31,100 |
|
Van Winkle |
1 |
$26,000 |
1 |
$26,000 |
|
Brora |
1 |
$25,584 |
1 |
$25,584 |
