With a growing interest in rare whisky’s across Asia including a dedicated Whisky Fund run out of Hong Kong, Asian enthusiasts will be watching closely as Bonhams holds its annual Christmas rare and fine whisky sale in Edinburgh on Wednesday 9 December.
The sale will feature one of the scarcest whiskies in the world – a bottle of The Royal Brackla 60 year-old 1924 estimated at £3,500-4,500.
The Royal Brackla 60 year-old 1924 was never officially released by the distillery and its appearance on the market has a fascinating history. In 1985, over-production within the industry led to Royal Brackla's closure. In 1991, its owner, United Distillers, decided to re-open the distillery.
To mark the occasion, casks, which had been found in 1984 lying undisturbed in one of the warehouses and subsequently bottled at James Buchanan & Co., were released from bond.
This special issue of 62 bottles of very rare 60-year-old Royal Brackla was presented to local dignitaries who attended the re-opening ceremony and to the workforce whose hard work had ensured the distillery was ready to resume production on time.
Leading the sale in value is a single lot of the Bowmore Trilogy. The three bottles - Black Bowmore-42 year old-1964, released in 2007;White Bowmore-43 year old-1964 released in 2008 and Gold Bowmore-44 year old-1964 released in 2009 - are much sought after by whisky connoisseurs and collectors. The Bowmore Trilogy is estimated at £12,000-14,000.
Other bottles in the sale include The Macallan Select Reserve-52 year old-1946 estimated at £5,000-6,000 and Dalmore-50 year old-1926with an estimate of £4,000-5,000.
Bonhams Whisky Specialist Martin Green said, "This is a particularly strong sale and I'd happily settle in front of the Christmas fire with a glass from any of the bottles we have on offer. If I had to pick a favorite, however, I'd go for the Royal Brackla 60 year-old for its incredible rarity. I've never been lucky enough to try it so this would be the perfect opportunity."
