Auction Update: Karuizawa Casks Fetch Millions as Gen Z Hunts for Auction Bargains

Two casks of sherry cask-aged Japanese single malt from a closed distillery sold for a hammer price of $2,287,822 each at Christie’s, London. Both casks of Karuizawa were filled in 1999—a year before the distillery closed—and are the last remaining casks from the distillery that is now owned by Sukhinder Singh, owner of Tormore Distillery and co-founder of Elixir Distillers. Each cask was gauged to contain 420 bottles at cask strength, and under the condition of the sale, the owners can choose to leave them to mature at Tormore Distillery for three more years at no additional cost until the whisky turns 30 years old.

While sales of high-value whiskies slowed in February, they have been stronger so far this month. There’s a lot of Macallan in the secondary market, with Whisky Auctioneer delivering the highest sales in the first half of the month. This included Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old for a hammer price of $48,224, Macallan 1950 71 year old Tales of the Macallan Volume I for $40,187, and Macallan in Lalique 65 year old for $39,383. Sotheby’s, Hong Kong has more Macallan lined up for later this month, including one of two bottlings of Macallan Distil Your World Hong Kong Single Cask Edition and a six-bottle set of Macallan in Lalique Six Pillars collection. Watch closely to see if the Macallan Time:Space 1940 84 year old sells, and one of 200 bottles created in 2024, as it has never sold at auction despite multiple appearances. With Macallan trailing in second place in our table, a strong month for Macallan will help to close the gap to Van Winkle. If the 84 year old sells, they could end the month back on top.

Unicorn Auctions published its 2025 report recently and noted that Gen Z customers account for 12% of its purchasers and 18% of its new registered users. As the secondary market softened in recent years, regular bidders have found that many new and recent releases can be acquired for a fraction of the cost if sold without reserve. Unicorn Auctions, which specializes in no-reserve auctions, reported that 80% of the bottles it sold in 2025 went for less than $250 and suggested that some younger consumers are primarily choosing auctions over retail as their primary source for whiskey.

Scotch Whisky Auctions – The 177th Auction

Auction ended March 8^th

• Japan: Karuizawa 1964 48 year old Cask No. 3603, $26,825. One of 143 bottles, this was released by Wealth Solutions in 2012.
• Irish: Midleton Very Rare Vintage 1990, $1,475. This was the seventh release in the series, and contains much younger whiskeys than the new Vintage 2026. We explain why that’s the case and rate the new release here.
• Scotch: Macallan Fine & Rare 1949 53 year old, $17,436. This Macallan was a 2002 release from single cask No. 136, filled on September 3, 1949.

Unicorn Auctions – March 2026 Spirits

Auction ended March 8^th

• Rye: The Bitter Truth 24 year old, $20,000. A private bottling from Even Kulsveen’s Kentucky Bourbon Distillers stock, this was bottled at Willett for The Bitter Truth bar in Munich in 2009.
• Bourbon: The Last Drop Buffalo Trace 27 year old, $6,700. This 94-point bottling is a marriage of three barrels laid down between 1995 and 1997 and blended by Harlen Wheatley and Drew Mayville.
• Scotch: Bowmore 1963 30^th Anniversary, $3,975. Bottled in 1993 to mark 30 years since the distillery was purchased by Stanley P. Morrison, this is one of 600 bottles.

Whisky Auctioneer – February 2026 Auction

Auction ended March 9^th

• Scotch: Macallan The Red Collection 78 year old, $48,224. This may be the oldest release in the series, but other editions, such as the 60 year old, often prove to be more valuable at auction.
• Scotch: Intertrade Caol Ila 1966 19 year old, $20,763. An independent mid-century Islay whisky bottled in the 1980s, one of 240 bottles, this delivered Whisky Auctioneer’s third-highest price for Caol Ila.
• Japan: Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series 1988 Three of Diamonds Cask No. 9417, $14,065. Re-racked from a hogshead and finished in a bourbon barrel, this was released in 2007 and produced 273 bottles.

Lot of the Week

Highland Park created 30 bottles of this special release in 2017 to mark 30 years of Inspector John Rebus, Sir Ian Rankin’s fictional detective. The 30 year old was accompanied by a 10,000-bottle limited release of Highland Park 10 year old. A decade earlier, Highland Park 20 year old was released to mark the 20^th anniversary of the first Rebus book. Rankin published “Knots and Crosses”, his first Inspector Rebus novel, in 1987, and the character has since appeared in 25 books and in multiple TV adaptations. Ian Rankin’s next thriller, “The Heights,” introduces a new London-based female inspector called Gillian Gish and will be published in October 2026.

Lot: Highland Park 30 year old Rebus
Sold at: Scotch Whisky Auctions, March 8^th 2026
Hammer Price: $1,878

Upcoming Auctions:

March 18^th, Sotheby’s, Hong Kong: Finest and Rarest Spirits + The Macallan Exclusive. The sale includes a hogshead of Talisker 1979, and could be the first auction to sell Macallan Time:Space 1940 84 year old.

March 27^th, Sotheby’s, New York: Whisky & Whiskey. With a bottle of Macallan 52 year old 2018 Release, a LeNell’s Red Hook Rye, and a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 18 year old Blue Smoke, this sale looks set to generate many of the highest hammer prices of the month.