Whisky Auction Update January 3rd 2024: 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices of December

Whisky Auction Update January 3rd 2024: 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices of December

January 3, 2024 –––––– Jonny McCormick, , , ,

The final month of the year delivered the 20-highest hammer prices with a combined value of $1,189,554, and a balanced spread of Japanese, scotch, and American whiskies. Yamazaki topped the chart for the first time since March, with a bottle of Yamazaki 55 year old. Rare rye and bourbon placed highly, led by a new record for LeNell’s Red Hook Rye. Ardbeg made its first appearance of the year, as did one bottle of Blair Castle whisky sold at Whisky Auctioneer.

We have reported the 20 highest hammer prices every month this year, and using this as our guide, we can reveal that Macallan, Karuizawa, and Bowmore were the top high-value bottlings at auction in 2023. The 240 bottles that made the monthly lists throughout 2023 sold for a combined sum of $15,630,931, and a median hammer price of $34,027.

December 2023 – Top 20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices

Results converted to dollars using xe.com

Old-Rip-Van-Winkle-23-year_300.jpg20. Old Rip Van Winkle 23 year old
Sold on: December 10th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $23,600

Sothebys-Karuizawa-50-Year-Old-Bourbon-Cask-8636-1965_300.jpg19. Karuizawa 50 year old Cask No. 8636
Sold on: December 1st at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $23,980

Sothebys-Karuizawa-50-Year-Old-Sherry-Cask-2372-1965_300-0002.jpg18. Karuizawa 50 year old Cask No. 2372
Sold on: December 1st at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $23,980

Sothebys-D_H_-Cromwell-15-Year-Old_300.jpg17. D.H. Cromwell 15 year old
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $24,000

Blair-Castle-Scotch-Whisky---Bottle-No_01.jpg16. Blair Castle Whisky
Sold on: December 4th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $24,629

Just-Whisky-Highland-Park-54-year-old-2_300.jpg15. Highland Park 54 year old
Sold on December 19th at Just Whisky
Hammer price: $25,264

14. Highland Park 54 year old
Sold on December 19th at Just Whisky
Hammer price: $25,264

Karuizawa-1965-Streams-of-Time-Cask8852_300.jpg13. Karuizawa 1965 Streams of Time Cask No. 8852
Sold on: December 1st at Christie’s
Hammer price: $25,582

Sothebys-Lottas-Home-Papas-Private-Family-Reserve-13-Year-Old_300.jpg12. Lottas Home Papa’s Private Family Reserve 13 year old
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $28,000

Sothebys-Rathskeller-Rye-1983_300.jpg11. Rathskeller Rye 1983
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $30,000

Sotheby-Old-Rip-Van-Winkle-25-Year-Old-1989_300.jpg10. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $30,000

Ardbeg-1974-Cask-2742_300.jpg9. Ardbeg 1974 Cask No. 2742
Sold on: December 4th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $31,576

Bowmore-50-Year-Old-1961_300.jpg8. Bowmore 1961 50 year old
Sold on: December 4th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $37,891

Brora-Limited-Edition-40-Year-Old-Cask-Strength_300.jpg7. Brora 1972 40 year old
Sold on: December 4th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $37,891

Unicorn-Auctions-LeNellsWhiteBackground_300-0002.png6. LeNell’s Red Hook Rye
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $45,000

The-Macallan-57-Year-Old-in-Lalique-Six-Pillars_300.jpg5. Macallan in Lalique 57 year old
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $50,000

Laphroaig-1967-Samaroli-15-Year-Old-Sherry-Wood-Silver-Cap_300-0003.png4. Samaroli Laphroaig 1967 15 year old
Sold on: December 4th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $57,467

Glenturret-Eight-Decades_300.jpg3. Glenturret Eight Decades by James Turrell
Sold on: December 9th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $160,000

Sothebys-Macallan-The-Reach-81-Year-Old-1940_300-0001.png2. Macallan The Reach 81 year old
Sold on: December 12th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $161,810

2-yamazaki-55-year-old-bonhams_300-0001.jpg1. Yamazaki 55 year old
Sold on: December 12th at Sotheby’s
Hammer price: $323,620

Each month, we publish the 20-highest hammer prices for a single bottle of whisky. This table ranks the 20 brands by the sum of their Top 20 hammer price sales and shows the latest month’s results.

Brand

# of bottles in December

$ in December

# of bottles YTD

$ YTD

Macallan

2

$211,810

85

$7,363,413

Karuizawa

3

$73,542

42

$1,671,138

Bowmore

1

$37,891

22

$1,533,793

Yamazaki

1

$323,620

8

$1,517,484

Brora

1

$37,891

6

$562,239

Glen Grant

0

0

4

$374,827

Van Winkle

4

$105,600

13

$372,100

Laphroaig

1

$57,467

5

$316,450

Hanyu

0

0

10

$306,791

Midleton

0

0

8

$271,100

Glenturret

1

$160,000

3

$252,163

Highland Park

2

$50,528

5

$134,102

LeNell’s

1

$45,000

3

$102,900

Port Ellen

0

0

3

$102,887

Hibiki

0

0

2

$94,778

Old Pulteney

0

0

1

$66,926

Hakushu

0

0

1

$57,453

Springbank

0

0

2

$54,492

Willett

1

$30,000

2

$54,300

Glenlivet

0

0

2

$52,896

O.F.C.

0

0

2

$48,000

Michter’s

0

0

2

$47,016

House of Hazelwood

0

0

1

$46,240

Kandoblanc

0

0

1

$43,806

Ardbeg

1

$31,576

1

$31,576

Mortlach

0

0

1

$27,495

Balvenie

0

0

1

$25,496

Ben Nevis

0

0

1

$25,016

Glendronach

0

0

1

$24,714

Glengoyne

0

0

1

$24,711

Blair Castle

1

$24,629

1

$24,629