The Macallan whisky beats estimate by 45.8%

A 50 year old bottle of The Macallan starred at Bonhams whisky sale

The Bonhams Whisky auction saw a 50 year old bottle of The Macallan sell 45.8% above its pre-sale estimate in Edinburgh yesterday (June 27).

Rare whisky is on the rise in 2012

The 1928 bottle sold for an impressive 17,500 ($27,228), against a 10,000-12,000 valuation. The price achieved in the sale was boosted by the bottle's low edition number of 003 and the original wooden presentation case with which it was sold. Bottled in 1983, only 500 bottles of this rare tipple were ever produced, making the item at auction an exciting opportunity for collectors. The value of The Macallan was further heightenedby it being one of the first 50 year old whiskies ever released. The Macallan brand dominated the sale, with a special millennium-edition decanter ofthe 1949 50 year old achieving another 45.8% increase, against a 6,000 high estimate. Made from Caithness Glass, the decanter sold for 8,750. In fact, the only other brand to appear in the auction'shighlights was a 1926 bottle of The Dalmore. Distilled and bottled by Whyte & Mackay and featuring a magnificent presentation case with a ceramic stopper, it brought a further 8,750 to Bonhams. With the top 250 bottles seeing a 1.7% increase in value in the first quarter of 2012 alone, prices for rare whisky are about to see a significant rise. Highland Whisky has predicted a 17.44% pa increase in market value from 2011 to 2020, making now the time to invest. Bonhams will followits successful sale with another auction of rare whiskies, which takes place today in New York. See the Paul Fraser Collectibles dedicated Wine & Whisky news section for the results as well as more of the latest from the world of collecting.