Oldest Brora ever bottled heads to auction

The oldest official bottle of Brora Scotch whisky, distilled in 1972, will go under the hammer at auction in Hong Kong next week.

The bottling is said to typify the ‘golden age’ of Scotch whisky distilling

The whisky has spent 44 years ageing in an ex-Sherry butt stored in a Scottish warehouse. Described as the “first and last of its kind”, it is the only bottling drawn from this particular cask.

The bottle will go up sale during a Bonhams auction in Hong Kong on Friday 19 May and is expected to draw interest from collectors and investors around the world.

“We’ve seen a rapid growth of interest in rare and collectable whiskies, and this bottle of 1972 Brora is the epitome of that,” said Dr Nick Morgan, head of whisky outreach at Diageo.

“The auction is not just a once in a generation opportunity, it is also a chance for some to own an exquisite single malt with unparalleled history and heritage.”

Based on the north east coast of Scotland, Brora Distillery, initially called Clynelish Distillery, started production in 1819.

In the late 1960s, production was expanded with the build of a new distillery, which produced the Brora brand in batches. Production of Brora became regular in 1975, when the distillery was officially named Brora. However, production ceased in 1983, when the distillery was mothballed.

As such, the 1972 bottling is said to typify the ‘golden age’ of Brora and Scotch whisky distilling. The “very high-strength” whisky is described as a “a massive, brooding and drying old Brora”.

In 2014, Diageo released what was at the time the rarest and oldest Brora to date – a 40-year-old expression priced £6,995 (now about US$9,000).