Bonhams’ Whisky Sale in Edinburgh scheduled for tomorrow could be the place where one more notable record can be broken. A rare, outstanding bottle of Bowmore 1957, will be the highlight at Bonhams on Queen Street, with its estimated price of £100,000 to £150,000 ($162,000-$243,000). In a case that everything goes as expected, the bottle of Bowmore 1957 will break UK records as the most expensive bottle of whisky ever sold at auction, and it may even be world’s most expensive bottle.
This 54-year-old single malt is the oldest the distillery has ever released and the oldest single malt from the Isle of Islay. It is one of the only 12 bottles in the world, while a second bottle of the Bowmore 1957 will be sold at Bonhams Whisky auction in New York on 28 October. The whisky itself is described as carrying initial flavours of blueberries, cassis, figs, sea salt and eucalyptus followed by dark chocolate and grapefruit leaving the drinker with an aftertaste of bergamot and star anise.
“It is, of course, also the rarest and is expected to become a highly sought after collectors’ item,” a spokesman for Bonhams said.
The whisky is being sold to benefit five Scottish charities, Alzheimer Scotland; The Beatson (West of Scotland Cancer Centre); CHAS (children’s hospice services); Erskine (medical care for Armed Forces); and Marie Curie (cancer care and research).
A bottle of 64-year-old Macallan in Lalique glassware holds the Guinness World Record for the dearest whisky ever sold at auction, fetching a staggering £291,125 ($471,000) at Sotheby’s in New York in 2010.
According to auctioneers at Bonhams, Bowmore 1957 has the potential to eclipse the current record if two people want it badly enough.
