McTears held a sale of fine whiskies (and a few cigars) on Wednesday this week.
Most eyes were on the intriguing Springbank 1900 (bottled in 1927), which was contained in a half-sized bottle sealed with wax. This sold for £2,200 - a credible price for the size of the bottle, but not enough to make it the biggest sale.
Bidders may have been cautious as given the bottle's unusual size and shape, it is impossible to see how far the level has sunk.
In fact it was a 1964 Bowmore, signed by the distillery manager Islay Campbell and held in a wooden presentation case (with keys). The 35 year-old is 37 of 99 from Cask 3709 and the whisky is still as high up the bottle as when it left the cask.
It sold for £2,800 - a strong sale, though less that one of the Bowmore Trilogy of that same year might have been expected to bring.
The sale also saw a bottle of the wonderfully biscuity Macallan 1938 (in a presentation case) sell for £1,550.
- More news on Wine, Whisky and Cigars
- Enjoy the read? Don't forget to sign up for your free newsletter with exclusive content
