Shipwrecked booze to go on auction

Bottles of Scotch and Champagne which lay in a shipwreck for 70 years will be sold at auction in Michigan later this month.

Whyte and Mackay and Dewar’s Scotch were among the shipwrecked cargo aboard the ill-fated SS Regina

Pulled from the wreck of Canadian steamer SS Regina completely in-tact in 1986, the bottles, which are 100-years-old. had initially been loaded as cargo from Walkerville before the ship sank on Lake Huron, an expanse of water between Michigan and Ontario which is part of the Great Lakes, in 1913.

It is thought the steamer encountered difficulty during the infamous three-day 1913 snowstorm across the Great Lakes, which resulted in the death of more than 250 sailors.

Bidders will have the chance to own three bottles of Whyte and McKay Scotch, two bottles of Dewar’s Scotch and about 20 bottles of champagne from G.H. Mumm and Co. and Clicquot which were all recovered from the wreck by diver Wayne Brusate.

At a 1988 Christie’s auction in Chicago, Scotch and Champagne from the same shipwreck sold for up to $90 a bottle, yet this latest batch is expected to raise considerably more following the centenary of the shipwreck.

Auctioneers have said the alcohol might not be fit for consumption. Other items found on board include horseshoes, bowls, spoons, and cases of Heinz ketchup.

In April this year, two bottles of rare shipwrecked whisky which inspired the book and film Whisky Galore were auctioned for £4,000.