A bottle of The Macallan 50 year old is expected to highlight the Bonhams whisky sale in Edinburgh at the end of the month.

Numbered 003 of 500

The June 27 auction will feature some of the finest whiskies available to collectors, with a strong focus on scotch.

A notable exception to this will be a single bottle of Tokaji Szamorodni Sweet, a rare 1923 Hungarian wine that is renowned for its potency. The bottle will auction for £80-120.

The Macallan 50 year old holds the highest estimate of the sale at $10,000-12,000 ($15,550-18,665). Distilled in 1928 and bottled in 1983, the whisky was one of the first 50 year old whiskies to be released.

With only 500 bottles produced, this rare tipple rarely appears on the market, making it a highly sought after whisky for serious collectors. The value of the Bonhams bottle is further boosted by its low edition number of 003. It will be sold complete with its wooden presentation case.

Also from The Macallan distillery come two Millenium Decanters of the 50 year old, which were distilled in 1949 and bottled in 1999. Both decanters are made from Caithness glass and come in their own original presentation cases. They are estimated at £5,000-6,000 each.

Elsewhere, another 50 year old scotch, this time from the Whyte & Mackay distillers, is set to provide the second highest bids in the sale. A 1926 bottle of The Dalmore will be sold with a fantastic presentation case and stopper for £5,000-7,000.

Now is the time to invest in whisky, with the leading 250 bottles increasing in value by 1.7% in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Investors can also expect further growth in the coming years, with Highland Whisky predicting a 17.44% pa increase in market value from 2011 to 2020.

Christie's is expecting a rare bottle of Glenfiddich to set a new world record at their own whisky sale, which is being held in London today (June 7). Check back with us here to see the results from both of these exciting sales.