Yamazaki 55 year old was released in September 2021 with a $60,000 price tag.
Auction Update: 20 Highest Hammer Prices for June
Despite news of a slumping whisky auction market, a buyer paid $200,000 for a single bottle of whisky this month
July 4, 2025 –––––– Jonny McCormick
June’s 20-highest single bottle hammer prices had a combined value of $889,738, and the month belonged to Bonhams Skinner. The Massachusetts-based auction house delivered not only the highest auction price of the year with Yamazaki 55 year old, but also served up a live auction that landed nine bottles of Macallan in this month’s 20-highest hammer prices. It was Yamazaki’s first bottle to make this year’s list, and it continues to trade for more than triple its original retail price. The Macallans were all Lalique decanter bottlings from the Six Pillars collection, which range in age from 50 to 65 years, plus the 72 year old Genesis decanter. The Six Pillars collection debuted in 2005 and remains highly collectible. Bonhams Skinner’s The Encyclopedic Whisky Collection, the largest single owner collection of spirits ever offered at Bonhams in the U.S., had a full set on sale, and even some duplicates. Macallan remains the number one brand in our 20-highest hammer prices of the month table below, and put further distance between itself and all other whisky brands in June. In our mid-month update, we drew attention to the oversupply of Macallan The Red Collection bottles on the secondary market: no bottles from this series made the list in June. Another bottle of Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old failed to sell at Sotheby’s, Singapore, the third bottle to go unsold this month. However, Sotheby's did sell a bottle of Macallan in Lalique 72 year old Genesis Decanter, and a bottle of Glenfiddich 1937 64 year old. This was once the oldest bottle of Glenfiddich released, though they recently created a Glenfiddich 65 year old for their partnership with the Aston Martin Formula One team. Glenlivet secured their first appearance in the 20-highest hammer price of the month list for 2025, with Whisky Hammer’s sale of Glenlivet The Eternal Collection 55 year old. This originally retailed for $55,000, and sold for just over $30,000.
Bourbon and rye were having a good month thanks to the Father’s Day Epic Rye Auction at Unicorn Auctions, though the Macallan sold at Bonhams Skinner displaced many of the bottles from making the list by the end of the month. American whiskey still made up a quarter of the list in June, split between bottles of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye and Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old decanters, though both of these are now selling for less than they did two years ago.
As we begin the second half of the year, we can report a 5% fall in the combined value of the 120 bottles that have made the 20-highest hammer prices of the month compared to the same period in 2024.
20 Highest Single Bottle Hammer Prices – June 2025
Results converted to dollars using xe.com
20. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $22,000
19. LeNell Red Hook Rye Barrel No. 4
Sold on: June 16th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $23,700
18. LeNell’s Red Hook Rye Barrel No. 3
Sold on: June 12th at Sotheby’s, New York
Hammer price: $24,000
17. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old
Sold on: June 9th at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $25,200
16. Macallan Fine & Rare 1940 35 year old
Sold on: June 9th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $27,127
15. Glenlivet The Eternal Collection 55 year old
Sold on: June 22nd at Whisky Hammer
Hammer price: $30,304
14. LeNell’s Red Hook Rye Barrel No. 2
Sold on: June 2nd at Unicorn Auctions
Hammer price: $31,100
13. Glenfiddich 1937 64 year old
Sold on: June 27th at Sotheby’s, Singapore
Hammer price: $31,359
12. Macallan 1967 Anecdotes of Ages Collection: Down to Work
Sold on: June 9th at Whisky Auctioneer
Hammer price: $33,909
11. Macallan in Lalique 62 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $35,000
10. Macallan in Lalique 62 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $38,000
9. Macallan in Lalique 65 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $40,000
8. Macallan in Lalique 57 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $42,000
7. Macallan in Lalique 72 year old Genesis Decanter
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $45,000
6. Macallan in Lalique 72 year old Genesis Decanter
Sold on: June 27th at Sotheby’s, Singapore
Hammer price: $47,039
5. Macallan in Lalique 60 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $48,000
4. Macallan in Lalique 50 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $48,000
3. Macallan in Lalique 55 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $48,000
2. Macallan in Lalique 65 year old
Sold on: June 26th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $50,000
1. Yamazaki 55 year old
Sold on: June 12th at Bonhams Skinner
Hammer price: $200,000
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.
|
Brand |
# of bottles in June |
$ in June |
# of bottles YTD |
$ YTD |
|
Macallan |
12 |
$502,075 |
61 |
$2,708,720 |
|
Bowmore |
0 |
0 |
9 |
$358,066 |
|
Van Winkle |
2 |
$47,200 |
8 |
$289,000 |
|
Hanyu |
0 |
0 |
4 |
$263,852 |
|
Karuizawa |
0 |
0 |
9 |
$228,565 |
|
Yamazaki |
1 |
$200,000 |
1 |
$200,000 |
|
LeNell’s |
3 |
$78,800 |
6 |
$176,500 |
|
Hibiki |
0 |
0 |
6 |
$162,085 |
|
Port Ellen |
0 |
0 |
2 |
$100,382 |
|
Glenfiddich |
1 |
$31,359 |
2 |
$75,202 |
|
Dalmore |
0 |
0 |
2 |
$74,221 |
|
The Singleton |
0 |
0 |
2 |
$40,185 |
|
Glenlivet |
1 |
$30,304 |
1 |
$30,304 |
|
Brora |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$25,584 |
|
Laphroaig |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$19,728 |
|
Midleton |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$19,961 |
|
Willett |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$19,500 |
|
Highland Park |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$19,191 |
|
Ardbeg |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$19,092 |
|
Michter’s |
0 |
0 |
1 |
$16,600 |
