The 139th Auction

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all, and welcome to this our 139^th auction. We hope Santa has been good to you, but fear not if he hasn’t you can now treat yourself to something from one of the thousands of bottles we have in the auction this month. What better way to while away the hours of your Christmas holiday than scrolling through our auction in search of that perfect bottle? But with literally thousands of bottles to choose from we thought we’d pick out a few highlights to get your search started.

First up is a very rare old Bowmore Sherriff’s 18 Year Old 26 2/3 Fl Oz. Bowmore has had a long and storied history and is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable names in Scotch whisky. Given that the distillery was bought over by Stanley P. Morrison Ltd in 1963 we can assume this bottling pre-dates that purchase, making this an incredibly old bottling from a bygone era. This is the first time we have had this expression in the auction, so we expect this one to be highly coveted.

Next we have a tremendous Karuizawa 1984 30 Year Old. A fantastically rare expression from the now silent Karuizawa distillery, this special whisky was drawn from a single sherry cask after ageing patiently for three decades. Bottled by Number One Drinks this one was specially selected by famed French retailer, La Maison Du Whisky and features label artwork by celebrated Singaporean artist Warren Khong. We’ve only sold this on three occasions in one hundred and thirty-eight auctions so we can safely say this one is a rarity of the highest quality.

This Macallan 1937 Gordon & MacPhail 26 2/3 Fl Oz was distilled over 8 decades ago, and has survived trials and tribulations for the better part of a century before landing in our auction this month. Bottled by one the largest and well-respected indie bottlers, Elgin’s own Gordon & MacPhail, this is a very rare and much sought-after bottling. As with our last highlight this bottle has only been through our auctions three times in more than ten years, so if it is one you’ve had your eye on this is your chance to own it.

Finally, we have a marvellous GlenDronach 1971 50 Year Old to end things on a high note. GlenDronach is a particular favourite of the staff here at Scotch Whisky Auctions, so you can be sure this expression elicited many an admiring glance when it arrived here. As dark as treacle from five decades worth of ageing in both Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks this is one of only 198 bottles released and is undoubtedly a thing of beauty. This is the oldest GlenDronach ever bottled and was only released in 2022, so make sure you get your bid in early as we expect there to be a queue forming to bid on this one.

We can’t think of a better way to kick off 2023 than with a bottle of something special, so now is the time to start scrolling through this month’s offerings and start building your watchlist. As with every auction it’s not just high-end bottles to be had, there are also thousands of other bottles of immense quality just waiting to be snapped up so strap yourself for some serious bargain hunting as well, and as always don’t lose your bottle!