A 68-Year-Old Macallan and a Collection of Springbank Whisky Are Heading to Auction This Month

Jonah Flicker
·2 min read

Single malt scotch continues to dominate rare spirits auctions, with ultra-aged bottles commanding anywhere from tens of thousands to over $1 million on the block. The latest rarefied haul, which comes courtesy of Bonhams Skinner, includes a set of whiskies from Springbank and a 68-year-old single malt from the Macallan that are collectively expected to sell for more than $140,000.

Springbank might be a lesser-known name to American whisky drinkers, but this centuries-old Campbeltown distillery is regarded as an excellent producer of single malt. It makes whisky under a few different brands, including the eponymous Springbank label, which offers expressions ranging from 10 to 30 years old. Springbank is also one of the few distilleries that still does its own floor maltings, meaning the barley is malted and dried on-site instead of being outsourced to one of the large malting houses that supply most distilleries in Scotland.

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The Springbank Millennium Collection that is up for auction includes scotch ranging in age from 25 to 50 years old in five-year increments. There are 12 bottles total—six are full-sized and six are 50 ml miniatures—which is great news for collectors who want to hold onto these for posterity (or to flip at a future date) and still sample the whisky. Originally released in 1999 to celebrate the new millennium, the high-age collection does pop up from time to time on the secondary market or at other auctions but is quite elusive. As such, this lot is expected to hammer down for between $38,000 and $50,000 at the upcoming sale.

There’s also a very special bottle of Macallan up for grabs that is nearly 70 years old. Part of the Exceptional Single Cask range, the 68-year-old single malt was distilled on November 9, 1950, at the Speyside distillery, and bottled on October 19, 2018. One of just 336 produced, this bottle came from cask number 13 and was bottled at a feisty 106.8 proof. Robb Report covered this release a few years ago, and it looks like this sherry cask-matured single malt has increased in value since then: It was priced at $58,000, and is now expected to sell for between $65,000 and $90,000.

The Bonhams auction will take place from August 19 through August 29. Bidding is expected to be competitive, but don’t worry, even if you miss out on a bottle or two this time around, there’s sure to be another lot of ultra-premium single malt crossing the block in the very near future.

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