Two exclusive single malt scotches will battle it out this month in a bid to command the highest hammer price of the month. Both luxury editions are being sold at different auctions on different continents by Sotheby’s, and both are the final releases in their respective series.
First up is The Dalmore 52 year old Luminary No. 3 The Rare (estimated $102,500–$205,000), the final and oldest expression in the design-led series, with proceeds going to support Dalmore’s partnership with V&A Dundee, Scotland’s Design Museum. The Luminary No. 1 The Rare sold for $112,933 in November 2022, and No.2 fetched $95,523 in May 2024 after a single bid below the low estimate, though this was the second-highest hammer price of the month. The first two editions were sold in London, but this time, Dalmore selected Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, for the sale. Bidding has been sluggish of late in Hong Kong, however, unlike the earlier editions, this bottle was offered with no reserve and attracted scores of bids. The winning hammer price realized less than half the sum of Luminary No. 1 with a bid of HK$400,000 (approx. $51,242), placing it sixth in the provisional 20-highest hammer prices of the month.
Then on May 29th, Sotheby’s, London, will auction a one-of-one expression called Bowmore ARC-54 The Iridos Edition, a unique whisky separate from the recent release of Bowmore ARC-54. It’s a 54 year old Islay single malt created by Calum Fraser, Bowmore’s chief blender, using three different casks of Bowmore; a 1967 European oak butt, a 1968 sherry butt, and a 1968 American oak hogshead. It’s the final release in the long-running partnership between the Islay distillery and luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin, with the design inspired by the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Proceeds from this sale will go to communities that support Suntory’s distilleries in Scotland. This is a companion expression to Bowmore ARC-52 The Mokume Edition, a one-of-one edition sold at Sotheby’s, London, for a hammer price of $185,087, the highest hammer price of May 2023. Meanwhile, Dalmore and Bowmore have plenty of competition from contemporary Macallan releases to contend with, as bottlings from The Red Collection at Whisky Auctioneer made the highest hammer prices at the start of the month. So, check back on June 6th when we reveal May’s 20-highest hammer prices and see which rarity comes out on top.
Whisky Auctioneer April 2025 Auction
Auction ended May 5th
- Scotch: Macallan The Red Collection 74 year old, $67,738. This edition was created by Sarah Burgess, the former Macallan whisky maker who joined English whisky maker The Lakes Distillery in 2023.
- Japan: Hanyu Ichiro Malt Card Series Nine of Hearts 2000 Cask No. 9000, $46,487. One of 210 bottles, this was distilled in the same year Hanyu closed and bottled in the unusual 720 ml format at the age of 6 years.
- Irish: Midleton Very Rare Vintage 1989, $8,766. The sixth release in the long-running series of Irish blends created by master distiller Barry Crockett.
Zachy’s, New York – Spirits Only
Auction ended May 5th
- Rye: Michter’s 25 year old Single Barrel Rye 2014 Release, $7,500. This looks like an absolute bargain, but the wax seal was heavily cracked and disintegrating, so it was sold “as is.”
- Bourbon: E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon, $6,000. While E.H. Taylor is joining the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection this year, the first release from 2011 continues to be traded regularly.
- Scotch: Macallan Anniversary Malt 1975 25 year old, $1,900. Bottled in the year 2000, this worked out to be less expensive than a contemporary bottle of Macallan 25 year old Sherry Oak.
Sotheby’s, New York – Finest Whiskey & Whisky
Auction ended May 9th 
- Bourbon: Old Rip Van Winkle 23 year old Decanter, $16,000. One of 1,200 bottles released in 2009, this fell outside the projected top 20 hammer prices of the month for May.
- Scotch: Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old, $48,000. The second bottle of this edition to sell in May, this sold for a single bid, coming in lower than the $53,128 winning bid at Whisky Auctioneer.
- Blend: The Last Drop 50 year old Double Matured, $1,600. This 93-point whisky was the sixth release from The Last Drop Distillers and was bottled in a release of 898 bottles.
Lot of the Week
This rarity from Islay was bottled in 1983 to mark the centenary of the Bunnahabhain Distillery. It was released in a batch of 600 handblown decanters carrying the Westering Home logo of the bearded Scottish sailor etched on glass and was bottled by The Highland Distillers Company, which later became part of The Edrington Group. At the time of release, the distillery had been mothballed since 1982 during a wave of distillery closures in the early 1980s.
Bunnahabhain Distillery was established in 1881, making a 1983 release a little over the 100-year mark, but as a 20 year old, it suggests this was made in 1963, a significant year for Bunnahabhain. The distillery expanded to four pear-shaped stills, stopped floor malting, and changed its distillery style to focus on being an unpeated malt. The last seven hogsheads of 1963 stock were vatted together and bottled for a Bunnahabhain 40 year old released in 2003. Whisky Auctioneer has offered the Bunnahabhain 20 year old Centenary Decanter before, but it’s never previously met its reserve, making this bottle the first time it’s ever sold at this auction house.
Bunnahabhain 20 year old Centenary Decanter
Sold at: Whisky Auctioneer, May 5th 2025
Hammer Price: $1,032
Upcoming Auctions:
May 27th, Bonhams, Hong Kong: Fine & Rare Spirits Online with bidding opening on May 16th.
May 29th, Sotheby’s, London: Finest Whisky. This sale includes the Bowmore ARC-54 The Iridos Edition, a one-of-one bottling in collaboration with Aston Martin.
June 9th, Whisky Auctioneer: May 2025 Auction. Look for Fèis Ìle 2025 exclusives in this sale, which opens for bidding on May 30th as the festival draws to a close.
