Whisky Auction Update July 19th 2024: Yamazaki and Macallan Lead the Way

Yamazaki 55 year old set a new highest auction price of the year this month, with Sotheby’s Hong Kong achieving a hammer price of $256,162; nearly $46,000 more than Unicorn Auctions’ June sale in Chicago. Meanwhile, Whisky Auctioneer set a new highest price of the year for Macallan The Reach 81 year old, nudging the 2024 record for this expression higher by $775 over the price set by Sotheby’s in April. To date, these Yamazaki and Macallan bottlings, both the oldest expressions ever released by the respective distilleries, make up 6 of the 7 highest auction prices of the year with a combined value of $1.2 million (a bottle of Macallan The Red Collection 60 year old just squeaked into sixth place).

New 2024 releases have been making their way to auction this month, with bottlings of Weller Millennium wheat whiskey, released with a suggested retail price of $7,500, making $9,000, and bottles of Double Eagle Rare 20 year old, released at $3,000, fetching $6,250 at Unicorn Auctions. While the bottles in greatest demand can be hard to acquire at retail, the auction market can always be relied upon to bring collectors the opportunity to bid on the rare bottles they seek.

Whisky Auctioneer – June 2024 Auction

Auction ended July 8^th

• Scotch Single Malt: Macallan The Reach 81 year old, $192,377. The fourth bottle to be sold this year produced the highest price for a bottle of Macallan this year.
• Japanese Single Malt: Yamazaki 35 year old, $53,289. A 2006 release matured in second-fill sherry casks.
• Bourbon: O.F.C. 1916 Bottled in Bond, $13,466. Schenley was licensed to produce medicinal whiskey which enabled this to be bottled during Prohibition.

Sotheby’s, Hong Kong ­– Distilled | Whisky + Moutai

Auction ended July 11th

• Japanese Single Malt: Yamazaki 55 year old, $256,162. The second bottle to sell in 2024, and the most expensive whisky at auction this year so far.
• Scotch Single Malt: Macallan 40 year old 2017 Release, $17,931. Before The Red Collection, Macallan bottled the 40 year old as a limited annual release.
• Japanese Blend: Hibiki 30 year old, $4,099. The classic Japanese blend is always in short supply and auctions are often the best place to look for it.

Unicorn Auctions – July Spirits Auction

Auction ended July 15^th

• Bourbon: Old Rip Van Winkle 23 year old, $24,000. One of 1,200 decanters of bourbon released in 2009 which were distilled at Stitzel Weller Distillery.
• Scotch Single Malt: Macallan Distil Your World Mexico, $6,000. Macallan’s celebration of the Day of the Dead festival contains Macallan matured in European and American oak casks.
• Japanese Single Malt: Karuizawa Vintage 1984 Cask No. 3657, $4,425. A 2014 expression from a single sherry cask with an outturn of 288 bottles.

Lot of the Week

At Fèis ìle 2024, Islay’s festival of malt and music, Lagavulin Distillery released two limited editions this year. The first was a cask strength 10 year old expression in a run of 1,800 bottles created from a prototype batch using malt with higher peating levels than normal, though the phenonl parts per million was not disclosed. The second was the Lagavulin Skies of Fèis Ìle 29 year old, a 241 bottle limited edition release matured in a heavily charred amoroso-seasoned American oak hogshead and only available at the distillery. This sold for £2,500 a bottle on Lagavulin’s festival day on May 25^th, equivalent to $3,185, meaning this festival flipper made a profit of $570 to put toward the cost of their trip to Islay.

Lot: Lagavulin Skies of Fèis Ìle 29 year old
Sold at: Scotch Whisky Auctions
Hammer Price: $3,755

Upcoming Auctions

Bottles to bid on in the next few weeks:

July 20th, Whiskyauction.com: This auction closes soon, and includes a bottle of Springbank 10 year old single cask distilled in 1972, and one of the 1,000 sets of Macallan Masters of Photography Mario Testino produced, which includes a secret compartment housing six miniatures that were combined to form the Testino bottle.

July 28^th, Irish Whiskey Auctions. Bidding opens on more than 700 lots led by rare Irish whiskeys including Midleton Very Rare Vintage 1988 and Midleton Very Rare 30^th Anniversary Pearl Edition.