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This 244-year-old Scottish distillery just auctioned off its oldest ever whiskey

A one-of-a-kind bottle with a a six-figure price tag

This 244-year-old Scottish distillery just auctioned off its oldest ever whiskey
Danielle de Wolfe
11 October 2023

One-of-a-kind whiskey is known to fetch a small fortune at auction - as Sotheby's latest sale goes to prove.

A dram that comes with a shiny six-figure estimate, Bowmore's exclusive 1962 release had bidders frothing at the mouth when it went up for sale last week in the name of charity.

I mean, just look at it.

With a guide price of between £300,000 - £500,000, this sleek 1.5-litre beauty looks more like a monument to whiskey than something you'd actually consider sipping.

Catching the eye of one lucky bidder, the 55-year-old bottle of Bowmore STAC is officially the oldest whiskey to ever released by the distillery.

This 244-year-old Scottish distillery just sold oldest ever whiskey - and the price will shock you

Bottled at 41.0% ABV, this distinctive hand-blown glass bottle pays homage to Bowmore's island home, and the sea stacks which inspired the STAC whiskey.

The result of over half a century of skilled maturation, this bold single malt is the spirit of Bowmore in a bottle.

Distilled in 1962 before being transfered into a refill American oak hogshead, it's a truly rare single malt that's bursting with character (although, you know, we haven't actually tried it ourselves)

So, what's the price tag for this magnum-sized whiskey, you might ask?

Exceeding its guide price, this monolith was purchased by one bidder for the princely sum of £562,500.

This 244-year-old Scottish distillery just sold oldest ever whiskey - and the price will shock you

Proceeds from the auction, which saw a number of one-off bottles sold, totalled £1.8 million - with the money going towards The Distillers’ Charity’s Youth Action Fund.

It aims to support young people in Scotland aged between 16 and 25-years-old by helping them develop confidence and resilience skills.

Grant Gordon OBE, chairman of The Distillers’ Charity, said: “This year’s auction has once more raised a substantial amount of funds, which will contribute towards our aspiration of changing the lives of another 1,000 young people across Scotland in the next two years."

The winning bidder is also said to have received a 10cl miniature of Bowmore STAC - because, naturally, it would be a shame to crack open something that size when you only fancy a small dram.

And remember, Amazon Prime Day is serving up some sublime whiskey deals, so if this bottle is a little out of your price range, try some of these offers out for size.