Over 100,000 bottles of rare Scotch whisky sold at UK auctions last year

MORE than 100,000 bottles of rare single-malt Scotch whisky were sold at auction in the UK last year, according to a new report.

Industry analyst Rare Whisky 101 estimated that 107,890 bottles were sold, a rise of 28.88 per cent from 2017, while the value of collectable bottles sold at auction rose by 62.7 per cent to a record £40.7m.

The average price per bottle rose 26.24 per cent to a record £377.91, up from £299.36 the previous year and more bottles fetched more than £10,000. In 2017, just 91 bottles were sold at that rate, but last year saw a 191 per cent increase to 265 bottles.

Rare Whisky 101 director and co-founder Andy Simpson said the secondary market “continues to outperform our expectations”.

He added: “With the average bottle price increasing by around 15 per cent from the half-year stage to year-end, we saw a rapid acceleration of activity within the last few months of the year.

“In fact more than £15.5m of value was sold in the final quarter of 2018, more than double 2014’s full-year performance of £7.64m. The value increase, in particular, is due in part to the two recordbreaking 1926 Macallan bottles selling in December.

“While these two bottles were among the stand-out items for sale, they were by no means the exception. Across the board, we’re seeing an increased number of valuable bottles selling for greater value than ever before, resulting in phenomenal growth within the market for over £1,000 bottles.”

The figures are helped in particular with the world record purchase of a bottle of the 1926 Macallan Valerio Adami in October.