Glenfiddich 50YO and Black Bowmore to auction

A bottle of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old will lead Bonhams’ Fine Whisky Sale later this week, when a collection of Black Bowmore 1964 will also go under the hammer.

Three bottles of Black Bowmore could fetch up to £4,500 each at auction in Edinburgh

On Wednesday 2 March, a rare bottle of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old is expected to fetch between £12,000 and £15,000.

The whisky was bottled in 1991 from casks filled in 1937 and 1939 and is numbered 448 of a limited edition range.

“The Glenfiddich 50 Year Old is one of the most sought-after whiskies at auction and always excites much interest when it appears,” said Martin Green, Bonhams whisky specialist.

“Whisky collecting is very much an international pursuit and I would not be surprised to see bidding for this bottle from the USA and countries in the Far East as well as closer to home.”

Glenfiddich 50 Year Old

Three bottles of Black Bowmore 1964 will be sold separately at the auction and are expected to fetch £4,000-£4,500 per lot.

Bottled in 1993, 1994 and 1995 respectively, they represent the three editions of 1964 whisky distilled by the Bowmore Distillery in casks previously used to age Oloroso Sherry.

The sale will also see a bottle of The Glenrothes-Glenlivet 20 Year Old – distilled in 1946 and bottled in 1966 by Hepburn & Ross Ltd – go under the hammer with an expected £1,500-£1,800 return.

Hepburn & Ross was founded in 1920 by two former First World War soldiers and had a policy of only employing demobilised servicemen. The firm was one of the original producers of a blended whisky called Red Hackle.

Bonhams Fine Whisky Sale will take place in Edinburgh on 2 March.

According to rare whisky index, valuation and brokerage firm Rare Whisky 101 (RW101), the market for rare whisky saw a “record” year in 2015, with £9.56 million worth of rare whisky was sold at UK auctions.