Whisky Auction Update April 19th 2024: Macallan Gains the Upper Hand

Anytime a bottle of The Macallan The Reach 81 year old sells at auction, it has the potential to bring one of the highest hammer prices of the year. This month, two auction houses sold bottles of The Reach on the same day. Both achieved almost identical prices—certainly less than a dram between them, with the conversion to dollars putting Sotheby’s, Hong Kong sale of $191,609 slightly ahead of England-based WVA Whisky Auctions’ hammer price of $189,859. Aside from Macallan, it’s also shaping up to be a good month for Karuizawa with several sales claiming potential slots in this month’s 20-highest hammer prices. Meanwhile, the 19 lots donated to the Demeter Collection raised $53,290 at Whisky Auctioneer for funds for the OurWhisky Foundation. The highest bid in the collection was $15,187 for a bottle of Dalmore 1979 44 year old, one of only two in existence.

Sotheby’s, Hong Kong

Auction ended April 2nd

• Scotch: Macallan The Reach 81 year old, $191,602. One of two bottles of the world’s oldest whisky to sell this month.
• Japanese: Karuizawa 1969 50 year old Cask No. 538, $35,766. A 2019 bottling of 50 year old Karuizawa from a single sherry cask.

Unicorn Auctions

Auction ended April 7^th

• American: Michter’s 25 year old Single Barrel Rye, $19,600. Comfortably exceeding its reserve price, this sourced aged rye whiskey was bottled for export.
• Scotch: Lagavulin Single Cask 1991, $2,900. One of 522 bottles released in 2016 when the Islay distillery celebrated its bicentenary.
• Japanese: Yamazaki Mizunara Oak 2022 Edition, $1,160. One of the quartet of bottles in the Tsukuriwake Selection.

Whisky Auctioneer

Auction ended April 8^th

• Japanese: Karuizawa 1969 50 year old Cask No. 538, $43,657. This bottle achieved a 22% higher price than the bottle sold in Hong Kong six days earlier.
• Scotch: Glenfarclas 1953 Pagoda Sapphire Reserve 63 year old, $27,205. Another bottle of this Glenfarclas made the 20-highest hammer prices in February.
• American: Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash, $10,376. A bottle of the third release from 2019.

Lot of The Week

To celebrate the news of Strathearn’s first single malt whisky release by Douglas Laing Distilling, this one-of-one bottling was sold at Whisky Auctioneer as part of the Demeter Collection. It recognizes three women important to its creation: Cara Laing, Douglas Laing & Co. managing director and granddaughter of the founder of the family company, Angela Brown, Strathearn’s head distiller, and Claire Coetzee, Douglas Laing & Co.’s head of creative. The winning bidder was also invited to a special tasting in Glasgow with Cara Laing to try a sample of the Strathearn and other Douglas Laing rarities.

Lot: Strathearn Triple Cask Matured
Sold at: Whisky Auctioneer, April 8^th
Hammer Price: $1,455

Upcoming Auctions

Bottles to bid on in the next few weeks:

May 19^th Irish Whiskey Auctions: Midleton Very Rare Vintage 1984. A chance to start a new collection with the first release of Midleton Very Rare, which Irish Distillers have released every year since 1984, making it the longest unbroken series of annual vintages in Irish whiskey.

May 31st, Sotheby’s, London: The Dalmore Luminary Series No. 2 49 year old – The Rare. This auction will be the only place to buy this edition with the specially commissioned glass sculpture by Melodie Leung, the director at Zaha Hadid Associates, with proceeds going to the V&A Dundee.