Scot's centenary whisky to sell well
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A WHISKY bottled by Macallan in 1980 to celebrate the centenary of The Northern Scot is going up for auction next week.
The 1963 vintage has had an estimate of £2000 to £3000 placed on it by McTear's, the Glasgow-based auctioneers.
However, Graeme Maxwell, a whisky specialist with the auction house, believes it could well exceed this price.
He said: "Macallan has always been a very saleable whisky, but over the last two to three years particularly the market for it has really taken off. There's no doubt that all the publicity surrounding its new distillery has increased its profile even more."
The sale comes close behind the chaotic scenes which occurred last month following the release of the Macallan Genesis.
To celebrate the opening of the new £140million distillery in Craigellachie, a total of 80 bottles went on sale for £495 on a first-come, first-served basis. The demand was so overwhelming, with people camping outside overnight, that Moray Police were forced to close a section of the B9102 for safety reasons. Graeme said: "There are not many investments where you can be in with a realistic hope of increase your money tenfold within the space of a month.
"Given that this was one of them, it's not surprising that so many people turned out.
"The broader fact is that whisky has now outperformed most other investments for the past decade. It's certainly offered better returns than leaving your cash in the bank.
"And besides all this talk about money, people also really enjoy drinking the stuff.
"The 1963 vintage due for auction dates from a time when Macallan still used to do bottlings for local companies.
"It also comes from an era when the Macallan had a strong sherry influence which is really appreciated by a lot of people. It's rare that a bottle like this comes to auction so it should perform very well indeed."
The sale is taking place during a specialist whisky auction at McTear's on Friday from 9am-10.30am, with viewing possible during office hours on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Bids can also be made online or over the telephone.
