Whisky Auction Watch 23rd May 2012
Andy Simpson gives us this weeks whisky investment news…
After a melee of whisky auctions in early May, things have settled down a little. Last week didn’t see any major whisky auctions, however, there were still a few notable bottles going under the electronic hammer.
The first sale of Balvenie Tun 1401 batch 4 was seen last week. This travel retail, multi vintage, exclusive is limited to 2,500 bottles. I’m sure they won’t last long as was demonstrated by the £205 price paid at auction. If you have the first three releases (lucky you!) then this is an absolute must.
The infrequently mentioned, successfully revived Glenglassaugh had a new record with their old Family Silver bottle. Over the last four years this bottle’s been very constant at auction with prices firmly in the £100 – £125 price bracket. Last week saw a nice break-out with a bottle selling for £175.
Another first in the UK was for Laphroaigs ‘Brodir’ bottling; a 13 year old limited edition of 2,000 bottles exclusively for the ferry operator Viking Line. The first sale on the secondary (auction) market saw £370 paid for a bottle; a phenomenal increase over its original €95 price tag.
My bargain of the week goes to the 1989 16 year old Bowmore which sold for just £40! That represented a 20% saving on its original retail price of £50 some years ago. Brilliant value for this long discontinued, cask strength Islay bruiser. Testament that not all whisky auction prices have disappeared into the stratosphere!
On a final note, both Christies and Bonhams have released online catalogues for their upcoming whisky sales (Christies is on the 7th of June in London and Bonhams is on the 27th of June in Edinburgh), both have some stunning bottles to go under the hammer.
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