Auction Update: Bowmore Galore, Eagle Rare takes flight, and a remarkable case of La-Froyg

May’s provisional list of the 20 highest hammer prices is being driven by single malt scotch prices, but two legendary Japanese whiskies could change everything by the end of the month. Macallan set the highest price so far with a bid of $70,379, securing a Macallan The Red Collection 60 year old at Whisky Auctioneer. Red Collection prices have been falling steeply, and this latest hammer price means that this Macallan has tumbled in value by more than $92,000, or 56.8%, since it topped the list for February 2024. Highland Whisky Auctions sold the other notable Macallan this month: a Macallan Sir Peter Black Anecdotes of Ages 1967 Down to Work for $28,422. Bowmore is having its strongest month of 2026 so far, with seven contenders for May’s list, including the sale of a bottle of Bowmore 1966 50 year old for $32,722 at Scotch Whisky Auctions, and a couple of bottles each of Bowmore 1969 50 year old and Black Bowmore 1964 29 year old First Release.

Buffalo Trace chose Bonhams, Edinburgh to handle the Eagle Rare 30 year old Takes Flight sale, which saw Eagle Rare 30 year old bottle No. 1 and a distillery tasting experience package sell for $21,800. This bourbon, Eagle Rare’s oldest release, was unveiled in April 2026 at a retail price of $12,500. A complete Eagle Rare vertical sold for $38,149, comprising the 10, 12, 17, Double Eagle Rare 20, 25 year old, and bottle No. 2 of Eagle Rare 30 year old coupled with an overnight stay at Stagg Lodge and a guided tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery. Other American whiskeys soaring high were Michter’s Celebration Sour Mash 2025 Release, which fetched $11,800 at Unicorn Auctions, far above its original retail price of $6,000, while Stitzel Reserve 31 year old hit $7,300 at the same auction house, more than doubling its retail price of $3,000.

While scotch leads the month’s highest hammer prices, a Japanese whisky duel could still steal the spotlight. On May 30^th, Bonhams, Hong Kong will hold The Legendary Japanese Whisky sale, which includes two bottles, either of which could deliver the highest hammer price of the year so far. The sale consists of a rare bottle of Yamazaki 50 year old bottled for Club Natsume (Est. $360,000–$530,000), and a bottle of Karuizawa 1960 52 year old Cask No. 5627 (Est. $280,000– $410,000) with a beautiful treasure ship netsuke. Another bottle from this Karuizawa release set the record as the most expensive standard-sized bottle of whisky ever sold at auction back in 2017, taking the record away from Yamazaki 50 year old First Release. In June, Whisky Auctioneer will auction another bottle of Karuizawa 1960 52 year old Cask No. 5627 with a netsuke named The Poet in their Kisetsu: Seasons of Japanese Whisky sale, which also includes a bottle of Yamazaki 55 year old. Christie's, New York are also selling a bottle of Yamazaki 55 year old and a substantial collection of Hibiki during Christie's Summer 2026 Luxury Week at the Rockefeller Center in June.

Whisky Auctioneer – April 2026 Auction

Auction ended May 4^th

• Speyside: Macallan The Red Collection 60 year old, $70,379. This edition was bottled in 2024, and is signed by Kirsteen Campbell, Macallan master whisky maker.
• Islay: Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila 1966, $19,625. An independent bottling for the Italian market, bottled in 1986.
• Highland: Corti Brothers Clynelish 1965 21 year old, $18,271. This was independently bottled by R.W. Duthie & Co., Aberdeen for the Corti Brothers of Sacramento, California.

Highland Whisky Auctions – April 2026

Auction ended May 4^th

• Speyside: Macallan Sir Peter Black Anecdotes of Ages 1967 Down to Work, $28,422. One of 13 labels created for Macallan by the 93 year old pop art legend for the Anecdotes of Ages collection in 2021.
• Campbeltown: Glen Scotia 48 year old, $6,226. One of 250 bottles released in 2023, this sold well below its original retail value of £11,000 (approx. $14,000).
• Lowland: The Last Drop Auchentoshan 40 year old, $2,335. This 96-point whisky, one of 74 bottles, was released as part of The Last Drop’s 2024 collection.

Scotch Whisky Auctions – The 179^th Auction

Auction ended May 10^th

• Islay: Bowmore 1966 50 year old, $32,722. Distilled in the year that future Bowmore distillery manager Eddie MacAffer joined the distillery, only 74 bottles were produced.
• Japanese: Karuizawa Blue Geisha 1974 40 year old Cask No. 4560, $9,544. One of 192 bottles released in 2014 from a single sherry butt.
• Irish: Coleraine 1959 34 year old, $2,045. A very rare single cask single malt whiskey from a closed Northern Irish distillery, this was bottled in the 1990s, with 400 bottles produced.

Lot of the Week

Fèis Ìle 2026 kicks off this week, so look out for an increase in the number of Islay whiskies at auction on either side of the festival. Whisky Auctioneer’s highest hammer price this month was a dozen bottles of sherried Laphroaig 10 year old imported to the U.S. by The Carlton Company in the 1960s. The Laphroaig was sold in its original D. Johnston & Co. shipping case, which is stamped with an address for Ruby Wines Inc., Everett, Massachusetts. The label describes Laphroaig as ‘The Richest Whisky Made’ and helpfully adds the term ‘La-Froyg’ to guide buyers in the pronunciation of the distillery’s name. It also provides a handy serving suggestion, ‘Take “Neat” to savour better the Deep, Peaty Kiln Flavour or add cool water.’ The hammer price values each bottle at $7,444, but if your budget doesn’t quite stretch that far, then consider picking up the 92-point Laphroaig 10 year old Sherry Oak Finish to taste the modern-day equivalent.

Lot: Laphroaig 10 year old 1967/68 for The Carlton Company (12 bottles)
Sold at: Whisky Auctioneer, May 4^th 2026
Hammer Price: $89,327

Upcoming Auctions

May 24^th, Irish Whiskey Auctions: the May 2026 sale includes a 60 bottle collection of Waterford Distillery releases. The distillery went into receivership in 2024, but was sold to Tennessee Distilling Group in March 2026, though the deal did not include its stocks of whisky.

May 30^th, Bonhams, Hong Kong: The Legendary Japanese Whisky could deliver the highest hammer price of the month.

June 4^th, Bonhams, Hong Kong: Bids are being accepted for A Dialogue of Time: Finest and Rarest Spirits. The sale includes a Karuizawa 1965 50 year old Monyou Edition Cask No. 8636 and a Singleton of Dufftown 1964 53 year old Paragon of Time No. 1.

June 9^th, Bonhams, Edinburgh: The Liquid Legacy sale includes a bottle of Bowmore 1955 bottled for the opening of the Bowmore Visitor Center in 1974 in its original box, and a bottle of Springbank 1952 bottled in 1988.

June 26^th, Sotheby’s, New York: The Whisky & Whiskey sale opens for bidding on June 11th and includes The Old Fitzgerald Archival Collection from Max Shapira, curated from the personal archives of Heaven Hill's Executive Chairman. The trio of bottles trace Old Fitzgerald's evolution from its pre-Prohibition roots to its modern revival under Heaven Hill's stewardship and includes Old Fitzgerald 18-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond bourbon distilled in 1917 and bottled in 1934, Very Xtra Old Fitzgerald 10-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond distilled in 1955 and bottled in 1965, and John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve 20-Year-Old distilled in 1992 and bottled in 2015. Proceeds from the sale of these bottles will benefit Bernheim Forest and Arboretum.