Whisky Auctioneer brought the excitement back to whisky auctions this month, breaking the auction record for Hanyu on its way to setting the highest hammer price of the year so far. Close on its tail was a huge bid for a one-off bottle of Macallan 1967 from the Anecdotes of Age Collection. Among an array of high-value sales, these two were Whisky Auctioneer’s highest-value lots to sell since their May 2022 auction. This helped set March on a trajectory that should see the 20-highest hammer prices break the million-dollar mark for the first time in 2025.
That outcome will largely depend on the results from Sotheby’s, whose parallel auctions in New York and Hong Kong conclude this week. Check here to see if Sotheby’s, Hong Kong beat Whisky Auctioneer’s new Hanyu auction record, as they too are selling a bottle of Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series 1988 Ten of Spades this month. Not only that, but Sotheby’s, New York has an exclusive Macallan, a single cask edition of Distil Your World Mexico. For reference, the single cask edition of Macallan Distil Your World New York sold for $200,000 at Sotheby’s, New York in February 2023 and became the 13th highest hammer price of that year.
Speaking of rarity, Sotheby’s has two additional noteworthy one-of-one bottles this month: Old Rip Van Winkle Van Winkle Selection, created by Julian Van Winkle III for a charity auction in 2007 using 15-20 year old whiskeys thought to have been distilled at Stitzel-Weller Distillery, and Very Very Old Fitzgerald 12 year old Blackhawk distilled in 1951 and bottled in 1963 as a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks.
March is proving to be a thrilling month packed with exquisitely rare bottles. Check back on April 4th to find out which bottles held on to their place in the highest hammer prices of the month list and which ones got pushed out.
Unicorn Auctions February No Reserves II
Auction ended March 3rd
- Scotch: Balvenie Pure Malt 1937 50 year old, $16,500. Bottled in 1987, this was the first time this bottle appeared at Unicorn Auctions. It was originally only sold in London and Japan.
- Bourbon: Colonel E.H. Taylor Old Fashioned Sour Mash, $11,000. The first modern release of Colonel E.H. Taylor is scarce, so competition between completists always pushed up the price.
- Tennessee: Uncle Nearest 1820 11 year old, $1,230. This single barrel whiskey from Cask CA-2 produced 183 bottles and soared past its reserve price of $200-$300.
Whisky Auctioneer February 2025 Auction
Auction ended March 10th
- Japan: Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt Card Series 1988 Ten of Spades Cask No. 9204, $132,910. Bottled in 2006 in a release of 202 bottles, this sale smashed the previous auction record for a bottle of Hanyu set by Bonhams, Hong Kong in 2019.
- Scotch: Macallan Sir Peter Blake Anecdotes of Ages 1967 A License to Distil, $127,748. Released in 2021, this one-of-one release from the 13 unique whiskies in the Anecdotes of Ages Collection. It is hand-signed by Sir Peter Blake, the English pop artist who created the album cover for “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with The Beatles in 1967.
- Rye: Sazerac 18 year old 2024 Release, $1,639. The most recent Sazerac 18 year old release from the 2024 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
Bonhams, Edinburgh Distilled Rarity
Auction ended March 11th
- Scotch: Brora Triptych, $25,891. This set contains three 50cl bottles representing different eras of Brora; Timeless Original 1982 38 year old, Age of Peat 1977 43 year old, and Elusive Legacy 1972 48 year old.
- Irish: The Devil’s Keep, $7,767. A disappointing result for the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. as this luxuriously packaged sourced whiskey has fallen 35% from its release price of €10,000 (approximately $11,850) in 2020. In March 2024, it sold for $18,982.
- Japanese: Hakushu 25 year old, $1,942. Rated 90 points in 2012, this was one of two bottles of Hakushu 25 year old sold in this sale. Bonhams will offer a larger choice of Japanese whiskies at their Hong Kong sale later this month.
Lot of the Week
Johnnie Walker created the lightest-ever scotch whisky glass bottle in 2024: it weighs just 180 grams without the stopper. This prototype bottle was designed to highlight the future of luxury lightweight bottles, aligned with Diageo’s Spirit of Progress action plan, helping to reduce the carbon emissions associated with packaging. It was showcased at the London Design Festival in 2024, and the endeavor was celebrated with an art installation at the Old Selfridges Hotel in London. Johnnie Walker master blender Dr. Emma Walker created this limited expression of 888 bottles, selecting a blend of Oban, Brora, and Royal Lochnagar single malts along with other unnamed closed-distillery single malt and grain scotch whiskies, a similar approach to the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare series. As an auction collectible however, Whisky Auctioneer cautioned bidders that they would not be responsible for any breakages in transit due to the extremely thin glass, and given its handsome wooden cradle, this lot would command a two-bottle shipping fee. This hand-blown bottle joins releases like Johnnie Walker Swing and John Walker & Sons Odyssey as one of the unusual Johnnie Walker releases that don’t conform to the traditional square bottle.
Lot: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra
Sold at: Whisky Auctioneer, 10th March 2025
Hammer Price: $1,484
Upcoming Auctions
March 23rd, Whisky Hammer: From Brora, there is Triptych, Hidden Beneath, and the 200th Anniversary bottle, and from Bowmore, there are 50 year olds from 1961 and 1966.
March 29th, Bonhams, Hong Kong: Aged to Perfection sale includes a bottle of Macallan in Lalique The Golden Age of Travel 1937 The Steam Train
March 29th, Whiskyauction.com: Leading the sale is a bottle of Samaroli Glen Garioch 1971 matured in sherry wood and bottled at 59.6%
