50-year-old Glenfiddich expected to fetch up to £15k

A RARE 50-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich whisky is expected to fetch up to £15,000 at auction in the Capital next month '“ the equivalent of nearly £750 per nip.

50-year-old Glenfiddich. Picture: Bonhams'

The whisky was bottled in 1991 from casks filled in 1937 and 1939 and is numbered 448 of an edition of a limited edition.

It has been described as having a “complex nose with floral notes, tobacco leaf and a hint of smoke”.

The bottle comes in its original fitted wooden presentation case and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity provided by The Glenfiddich distillery.

Interest is expected from around the world. Picture: Bonhams

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Bonhams Whisky Specialist Martin Green commented: “The Glenfiddich 50-year-old is one of the most sought-after whiskies at auction and always excites much interest when it appears.

“Whisky collecting is very much an international pursuit and I would not be surprised to see bidding for this bottle from the USA and countries in the Far East as well as closer to home.”

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Interest is expected from around the world. Picture: Bonhams

The sale also features three bottles of Black Bowmore 1964 to be sold separately with estimates of £4,000-4,500 per lot. Bottled in 1993, 1994 and 1995 respectively, they represent the three editions of 1964 whisky distilled by Morrison’s Bowmore Distillery in casks previously used to age Oloroso Sherry.

As usual, the sale also offers some rarely seen bottles including The Glenrothes-Glenlivet 20-year-old distilled in 1946 and bottled in 1966 by Hepburn & Ross Ltd, Glasgow. It is estimated at £1,500-1,800.

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The company was founded in 1920 by two former First World War soldiers with experience of the whisky trade, Charles Hepburn and Herbert Ross, and had a policy of employing almost exclusively demobilised servicemen.

Although the firm passed out of the founders’ hands in 1959, its name persists and it is still remembered as the original producers of a blended whisky called Red Hackle after the decoration worn in the Tam O’Shanters of the Black Watch Regiment in place of a cap badge.

The Fine Whisky Sale takes place at Bonhams, 22 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 on 2 March starting at 11.00.