This Bottle of Scotch From The 1920s Sold For More Than $20,000 At Auction
A bottle of Dalmore 50 Year sold at an online auction for $21,000 (Press Association via AP Images)
A rare bottle of The Dalmore 50 Year bottled in the 1970s sold for the equivalent of $21,000 online in an internet auction that closed on July 4.
The spirit was distilled in 1926, rendering it nearly a century old.
It was bottled at cask strength and was packaged in a ceramic decanter. There was no ABV statement, rendering the percentage a mystery.
(A photo of the Dalmore 50 Year, which sold for $21,000 at auction Photo: Whisky.Auction)
The Highlands-based distillery owned by Whyte and Macay was founded in 1839 and was used as a deep-sea mine production center for the Royal Navy from 1917 to 1920. The facility was subsequently destroyed during that time by a fire, according to Malt Madness.
The distillery’s owner, Andrew Mackenzie, took legal action against the navy for leaving his property in ruins. The spirit was distilled a mere six years in the aftermath.
The $21,000 sale of this rare scotch is just a small footnote in a significantly larger story about the exponential growth of the rare whiskey market.
According to an article in Decanter, large auction houses like Sotheby’s saw record sales in 2022. Sotheby’s made 29 million, marking a revenue increase of $22 million from its $4 million in revenue in 2017.
“The value of top Scotch and Japanese whisky rose by 15-20% during 2022,” said Matthew O’Connell, The CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform, to Decanter. “The whisky market has really gathered pace over the last decade, with price rises around 20% per annum compound growth.”
According to an article in the Robb Report, a significant increase driving sales of bottles priced between $120 and $1,240 could be indicative of younger buyers gaining a foothold in the premium scotch market.
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