Auction Update: The Highest Hammer Prices for November

November auctions set the bar high, becoming the toughest month of the year to make the cut for our list of the 20-highest hammer prices. These 10 bottles of scotch, 8 Japanese, and two bourbons sold for a combined value of $802,786. The bottle that held on to 20th position in November achieved a hammer price that would have seen it slot in as high as 3rd position in August when there was less competition. That pressure meant record sales for bottles of Macallan The Red Collection 73 year old and Hibiki 40 year old earned them a place on the list, but impressive auctions in Singapore and Hong Kong knocked the first auctioned bottle of Eagle Rare 25 year old out of the running despite a good showing at its auction debut.

For Bonhams, Paris, it was a month to forget. First, there was a last-minute withdrawal of scotch whisky bottles due to authenticity concerns, then at the end of the month, their star attraction, a single lot sale of the complete 54-bottle Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series, failed to attract a single bid. Ichiro in Paris may have had a bad day, but Ichiro in Hong Kong proved to be much more popular, with the King of Diamonds in this Hanyu series topping the Connoisseur’s Treasures sale at Bonhams. That Bonhams sale propelled more bottles into November’s list of the 20-highest hammer prices than any other auction across the month. There were no takers in Hong Kong, however, for the Macallan The Red Collection 40–78 year old 7 bottle set (every release except for the new 73 year old), valued at up to $1 million. Collectors who bought Macallan The Reach 81 year old as an investment may be throwing their hands up in the air by now, as yet another bottle went unsold, this time at Bonhams, Hong Kong. Only four of these bottles have sold at auction this year, the last one in July, but an increasing number have not sold.

Finally, don’t let the presence of only two bottles of American whiskey on the list fool you into thinking that bourbon and rye collectors were not out in force in November. Aside from the Eagle Rare 25 year old, there were some amazing results for bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old, The Bitter Truth Rye 24 year old, and Willett Family Estate 23 year old Private Barrel Selection at auction, which would normally have been sufficient to be featured on the list had it not been for the intense global competition in the salerooms this November.

November 2024 – 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices

Results converted to dollars using xe.com

20. Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Cask No. 2372
Sold on: November 21^st at Sotheby’s, Singapore
Hammer price: $28,216

19. Macallan Fine & Rare 1939 40 year old
Sold on: November 4^th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $28,470

18. Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Cask No. 8636
Sold on: November 4^th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $28,470

17. Glenturret in Lalique 1972 50 year old
Sold on: November 5^th at Sotheby’s, London
Hammer price: $28,631

16. Van Winkle Special Reserve 1974 20 year old for Corti Brothers
Sold on: November 4^th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $29,100

15. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old
Sold on: November 24^th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $31,000

14. Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series Ace of Spades 1985 Cask No. 9308
Sold on: November 30^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $33,411

13. Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Cask No. 2372
Sold on: November 4^th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $34,940

12. Macallan Fine & Rare 1946 56 year old
Sold on: November 24^th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $35,500

11. Karuizawa 1965 Japonisme Edition
Sold on: November 21^st at Sotheby’s, Singapore
Hammer price: $35,641

10. Macallan in Lalique 57 year old
Sold on: November 30^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $38,551

9. Macallan in Lalique 55 year old
Sold on: November 30^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $38,551

8. Hibiki 40 year old
Sold on: November 30^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $43,691

7. Macallan 1950 Tales of the Macallan Volume I
Sold on: November 21^st at Sotheby’s, Singapore
Hammer price: $44,551

6. Macallan in Lalique 60 year old
Sold on: November 30^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $46,261

5. Dalmore 1966 50 year old
Sold on: November 5^th at Sotheby’s, London
Hammer price: $52,057

4. Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series King of Diamonds Cask No. 9003
Sold on: November 30^th at Bonhams, Hong Kong
Hammer price: $53,971

3. Glenlivet 55 year old 200^th Anniversary Edition 1 of 1
Sold on: November 5^th at Sotheby’s, London
Hammer price: $54,660

2. Karuizawa 1965 Japonisme Edition
Sold on: November 4^th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $54,998

1. Macallan The Red Collection 73 year old
Sold on: November 4^th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $62,116

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.