While the pandemic has been negatively impacting businesses worldwide, there’s one business that seems to be doing pretty well, the business of spirits. The international auction house has digitally conducted quite a few record-breaking auctions this year and their recent spirits auction, which concluded on September 1, Distilled: The Macallan Fine & Rare and The Prima & Ultima Collection saw a sale of £1.2 million!
The week-long online auction was Sotheby’s largest online-only spirits auction to date. It had 267, including some of the rarest whiskies to be offered in an auction. It included the Macallan’s most sought-after releases to The Prima & Ultima Collection, an array of rare Italian import Scotch including the highly acclaimed Samaroli Laphroaig 1970 and more.
Around 44 per cent of the lots achieved prices much higher than originally estimated.
Courtesy: Sotheby’s
A selection of Japanese whiskies including 27 Karuizawa lots were sold for a combined total of £1,13,018; 90 lots of Scotch whisky from Speyside distiller Macallan sold for a combined total of £8,76,976. The Macallan whiskies included a bottle of The Macallan Fine and a rare 56-year-old 1945 that fetched £46,360.
One of the first releases of Diageo’s Prima & Ultima Collection, a new series of collectable single malt Scotch whiskies chosen by whisky maker Dr Jim Beveridge OBE, signed by Beveridge, were on sale too. This set was sold for £26,840 (US$35,249).
Courtesy: Sotheby’s
The three bottles of Laphroaig Samaroli 16-year-old 1970. Two bottles of this were sold at £17,080 and the third fetched £15,860.
11 Port Ellen lots, including Port Ellen Fourth Annual Release 25-year-old 1978, which sold for £2,684 (US$3,525); a bottle of Port Ellen 1979 40-year-old Casks Of Distinction #1883, fetched £21,960.
