The Macallan is not a name which needs any special introduction to whisky lovers. But even amongst its hallowed ranks there are some years which stand out.

At a whisky sale in Edinburgh yesterday, held by Bonhams, two lots of The Macallan, one 50 years old, the other 55, proved to be extremely desirable to the gathered audience.

Both have glowing reviews from Jim Murray in the Whisky Bible, receiving ratings of 90 and 90.5% (putting them in the Brilliant category). Of the main flavour of the latter he comments "...the layering of the soft sugars and hints of juicy barley are bedazzling".

The Macallan 55 year old

Both in beautiful Lalique decanters, the 50 year old and 55 year old were initially given guide prices of £3,600-4,000and £5,400-6,200 respectively, and the 55 year old (40.1%) cleared that, being taken away for £6,480.

But it was actually the 50 year old, somewhat stronger at 46%, which won the day. Murray said of it that it 'had absolutely everything one could wish of an ancient Speysider' and others obviously agree as it was only taken away for a tremendous £9,000 - not bad for a 700ml bottle.

It does appear that whisky collecting is on the rise, as Bonhams' Head of Whisky Martin Green suggested.

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