Auction Update: 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices for May

Bowmore and Dalmore vied for auction leadership at Sotheby’s in May, with Bowmore emerging the winner. Bowmore ARC-54 The Iridos Edition sold for $121,384 in London, while Dalmore 52 year old Luminary No. 3 The Rare went for $51,187 in Hong Kong. Both results represent the highest hammer price for each brand this year.

The Bowmore sale is the third-highest hammer price for a bottle of whisky this year. Bowmore has topped the highest auction prices of the month for two months running, and the distillery has moved up to take second place in our table behind Macallan.

As the leading brand in the secondary market, Macallan was responsible for 12 of May’s 20-highest hammer prices, adding more than half a million dollars to its running total in our table for 2025. Bottles from The Red Collection, Fine & Rare, and a bottle of Macallan x Bentley Horizon made the list. The Macallan x Bentley Horizon was released for $50,000 last year, but fetched $32,369 on the secondary market, selling for 35% lower than retail.

Sotheby’s, London listed a Balvenie trunk containing 10 bottles of Balvenie 50 year old single cask No. 16560, bottled in 2021 for its private client program. They were hoping for bids in the region of $324,000–$607,000 for this never-before-seen item being sold for charity, but it did not receive any bids.

In the first five months of 2025, 100 bottles have made the 20-highest hammer prices of the month, and as can be seen in the table below, Macallan claimed nearly half of them. Overall, May’s combined 20-highest hammer price total was $901,317, 13% up on last May’s total of $797,967. After weak results in April, the combined top 20 hammer price total for January–May 2025 is now just 2% behind the equivalent period for 2024.

June’s auctions have plenty of fine whiskies to offer the collector. After only one bottle of American whiskey made the top 20 list in May, Sotheby’s, New York sale on June 12^th will include a substantial vintage whiskey collection including an Old Stagg Special Reserve 24 year old, a Four Roses 16 year old from 1917, and many more. Whisky Auctioneer’s sale includes a rare bottle of Talisker 12 year old that it estimates to date from the 1930s–1940s. Bonhams Skinner has three sales in June, with a bottle of Yamazaki 55 year old leading their Whisky Immortal sale, also on June 12^th. The last bottle of Yamazaki 55 year old to sell at auction sold in Hong Kong in July 2024, where it fetched $256,162, the second highest bid of 2024. At the end of June, Bonhams Skinner is offering The Encyclopedic Whisky Collection, a single-owner collection containing prestige bottles of Balvenie, Glenfiddich, Macallan, Karuizawa, and Yamazaki, with part two of the auction offering over 250 bottles with no reserves.

20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices of May 2025

Results converted to dollars using xe.com

20. Dalmore 52 year old Port Pipe Finish
Sold on: May 16^th at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $23,034

19. Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Cask No. 8636
Sold on: May 27^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $24,239

18. Hanyu Ichiro Malt Card Series The Monochrome Joker Cask No. 1024
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $26,564

17. Macallan Fine & Rare 1954 47 year old Cask No. 1902
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $29,353

16. Macallan Fine & Rare 1950 52 year old Cask No. 598
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $30,548

15. Macallan Fine & Rare 1949 53 year old Cask No. 136
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $30,548

14. Macallan x Bentley Horizon
Sold on: May 29^th at Sotheby’s, London
Hammer price: $32,369

13. LeNell’s Red Hook Rye Barrel No. 2
Sold on: May 27^th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $33,700

12. Macallan Exceptional Cask 1950 67 year old Cask No. 1683-13
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $34,533

11. Macallan 1950 Tales of the Macallan Volume I
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $37,322

10. Samaroli Bowmore Bouquet 1966
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $39,846

9. Hanyu Ichiro Malt Card Series Nine of Hearts 2000 Cask No. 9000
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $46,487

8. Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old
Sold on: May 9^th at Sotheby’s, New York
Hammer price: $48,000

7. Dalmore 52 year old Luminary No. 3 The Rare
Sold on: May 16^th at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $51,187

6. Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $53,128

5. Macallan in Lalique 72 year old Genesis Decanter
Sold on: May 5th at Prestige Whisky Auction
Hammer price: $53,128

4. Macallan The Red Collection 73 year old
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $55,784

3. Macallan The Red Collection 71 year old
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $62,425

2. Macallan The Red Collection 74 year old
Sold on: May 5th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $67,738

1. Bowmore ARC-54 The Iridos Edition
Sold on: May 29^th at Sotheby’s, London
Hammer price: $121,384

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.