Blended Scotch containing Malt Mill spirit up for auction

A rare bottle of blended Scotch whisky thought to contain liquid from the lost Malt Mill distillery is expected to sell for more than £5,000 (US$6,500) at auction.

A 1940s bottle of Mackie’s Ancient Brand containing spirit from the lost Malt Mill distillery is to auction

The 1940s bottle of Mackie’s Ancient Brand Scotch Whisky is being sold online through whiskyauctioneer.com, the auction will run from 22 February until 4 March.

This bottle of Mackie’s was imported to the US market by Browne Vintners Company in New York. The amount of Malt Mill whisky in the blend is unknown, but the bottle is said to offer a “unique opportunity to potentially own whisky from the legendary lost Islay distillery”.

Joe Wilson, whisky content expert at Whisky Auctioneer, said: “We are excited to feature this incredibly special bottle in our current auction. Almost all the whisky produced at Malt Mill went into blends, namely White Horse and Mackie’s, with examples exceptionally rare and highly prized. We expect to see a huge amount of interest in this vintage gem from whisky collectors across the world.”

Mackie’s Ancient Brand Scotch Whisky takes its name from Sir Peter Mackie, once proprietor of the Lagavulin distillery in Islay, and agent for neighbour distillery Laphroaig. After losing the contract for Laphroaig, Mackie built an exact replica of the distillery on the grounds of Lagavulin, designed to precisely replicate the output of Laphroaig – this distillery was Malt Mill.

Spirit from the Malt Mill distillery has been described as “the unicorn of drams” and the legend of the distillery was bolstered further by the 2012 Ken Loach film, The Angels’ Share, where a single fictitious cask of Malt Mill played a starring role.

Last year, a 50ml miniature of 10-year-old whisky from the distillery sold at auction with a reserve price of £1,500.