The record price is more than double that of the same whisky sold for in February 2021, helping to establish its reputation as one of the oldest and greatest Scotch single malts of all time, the auction house said.
Only a handful of bottles of the Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant 72yr old exist and it has been described as one of “the most historically significant whiskies ever produced”.
The total production was limited to 290 bottles, with 200 sold before in pre-allocation before release in February.
The rare and highly collectible whisky, which was presented in a hand-cut crystal decanter, was sold alongside a single one-off NFT artwork and its original by celebrated political cartoonist Harry Harrison, entitled ‘Year of the Dram 1948’ commemorating 1948 (the year the whisky was made) on 20 May in Hong Kong.
Daniel Lam, director of Fine Wines and Spirits at Bonham’s Hong Kong said he wasn’t surprised the incredibly rare whisky had reached a new world record price, following the success of the 2021 auction of the same whisky, particularly as the addition of the one-off NFT made it “even more unique and
collectible”.
Recorded in the Top#5 Oldest Whiskies globally, the 1948 cask was named the World’s Finest Single Cask and ‘Scottish Single Malt Whisky of the Year – 2022’.
Bob McNab, managing director of Premier Whisky, a Hong Kong-based company that acquires and trades a selection of rare and highly collectable single malts said the team “knew from day one that we had picked a great whisky”.
“Leading the team of experts choosing the cask, Charles MacLean could not have been more fulsome in its praise, so we are especially grateful to our friends at Gordon & MacPhail, the expert creators and custodians of this special cask all these years. It only remained for us to give it the Premier Whisky star treatment commensurate with its quality and prestige—and of course, its inherent value,” he said, as it was released.
