The second biennial One of One Auction, hosted by The Distillers’ Charity, took place in Hopetoun House on 5 October, in partnership with Sotheby’s. The auction comprised a selection of ultra-rare Scotch whiskies, with the 39-lot sale fiercely contested with an attendance of 200 from across the globe.

An outstanding total of £2,248,750 more than doubled the pre-sale low estimate, with hammer proceeds of £1.9 million primarily benefiting the Distillers’ Charity’s Youth Action Fund. The result means that the first two One of One Auctions have now raised a combined £4.2m for charity.

The Visionary 68 Years Old makes history

One of the biggest results at the One of One Auction was The Glen Grant’s The Visionary 68 year old. Initially estimated at between £50,000 and £90,000, the bottle substantially exceeded this, selling for an impressive £212,500. The oldest whisky present at the auction, it now holds the highest price for a whisky from The Glen Grant in its history.

Coming up…

The Macallan

The Macallan, perhaps more than any other, has become the collector’s whisky, with many record-breaking sums being achieved. However, back in the early 20th century, The Macallan was just one of Speyside’s many quality distilleries dedicated to blends. Releases such as the Macallan 1938 G&M for Edward & Edward are therefore some of the earliest releases of single malt Macallan, upon which the distillery has built their reputation since. This release is a beautiful full collection of twelve, in their original case, available in Whisky Auctioneer’s September Auction.

Bowmore Fecchio & Frassa Import

This month, Whisky Auctioneer has a range of Bowmore bottlings by Fecchio & Frassa Import. Bowmore from the 1960s is legendary in itself but this range of bottles, exclusively for the Italian market, is something seen only rarely on the secondary market.  

North British

North British was founded to challenge DCL, the forerunner to Diageo, in the production of grain whisky. While the purpose of the founding was to provide grain whisky for blends, rare single grain releases from independent bottlings can offer truly interesting insights to the quality and profile of grain whisky. Two single grain releases from North British are available in Whisky Auctioneer’s September auction, both from the year 1964 and labelled with Moon Import’s iconic artwork. One makes up part of the De Viribus Illustribus series, while the other is an interesting standalone, using artwork from the same source as the famous The Birds, The Seas and The Animals series.

Glendronach

For the first time ever, the entire contents of a cask of Glendronach whisky will go for auction. On 23 October, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, auction house Aguttes will be selling 630 bottles drawn from the cask, aged for 30 years. Titled The One and Only, it celebrates the bicentenary of the passing of the Excise Act in 1823, which marked the birth of Scotch whisky.

This article is sponsored by Whisky Auctioneer and is created in partnership with the team at Whisky Magazine. This sponsorship does not influence Whisky Magazine's coverage of auctions and Whisky Auctioneer do not have input on editorial decisions.

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Whisky Auctioneer is one of the global market leaders and trusted authorities on the buying and selling of whisky and spirits at auction. Founded in 2013 and located in Perth, Whisky Auctioneer utilises its expertise and knowledge combined with its auction platform, to increase interest and passion in the whisky and spirits community.
Whisky Auctioneer endeavours to make the market more accessible for buyers and sellers of any background and geography. Its monthly global auctions feature some of the most comprehensive selections of old, rare and collectible whiskies and spirits available online.

Whisky Auctioneer became the first online auction house to sell a million-pound bottle and outperformed the nearest traditional auction house by 200 per cent in value from spirits sales in 2020, showcasing the move that whisky collectors, investors and drinkers have already made online and firmly establishing their leading position within the modern secondary whisky market.