Lagavulin charity bottle sells for £7,300
Diageo-owned Islay distillery Lagavulin has raised £7,300 (US$8,900) from the sale of a special edition 1991 single cask whisky, the full proceeds from which have been donated to the Islay Heritage charity.
The sale has raised a total of £8,395, including the Whisky.Auction’s commission, for Islay HeritageIslay Heritage, which received a total of £8,395 (US$10,200) from the sale including Whisky.Auction’s commission, will use the money to fund research at Dunyvaig Castle, create an Islay Heritage trail, and continue its conservation work focusing on Kildalton chapel, and enhance its education initiatives.
“We are thrilled with this boost to our fundraising thanks to the generosity of Diageo, Lagavulin Distillery, Whisky.Auction and, of course, the buyer of bottle number one,” said Steve Mithen, trustee of Islay Heritage and professor of archaeology.
“We will put the donation to good use on Islay, enabling people to experience its rich and diverse history.”
Bottle 1/522 of Lagavulin 1991 single cask was sold to an unidentified buyer for five times its starting price of £1,494. It is accompanied by a bespoke leather notebook containing a note from Lagavulin distillery manager Georgie Crawford and tasting notes from whisky experts Dave Broom, Ian Buxton, Colin Hampden-White and Charlie MacLean.
“Lagavulin 1991 was one of the star lots in our February auction,” said Isabel Graham-Yooll, auction and private client director for Whisky.Auction.
“The combination of this acclaimed single cask Lagavulin Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, highly collectible bottle number one, one-off tasting sample and notebook with the handwritten tasting notes of whisky luminaries drew much interest and a wonderful result for Islay Heritage.”
The auction follows the general release of Lagavulin 1991, which was launched to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lagavulin distillery. The bottling has now sold out, with its proceeds (more than £500,000 / US$610,000) divided between seven Islay charities.
