Bonhams has set a new world record of a whisky cask sold at auctions with the 30-year-old Macallan cask, achieving more than HK$4.4 million (US$572,000) in Hong Kong on November 15, the auction house has announced.
The 30 year whisky sherry hogshead cask from Macallan Distillery was estimated at HK$3,600,000 – 4,600,000 by the auction house.
Distilled in May 1989 and never since been moved from the distillery, this cask can be stored at Macallan for as long as the buyer wishes, or yielded into a total of 261 bottles by an independent bottler.

Daniel Lam, Bonhams’ Director of Wine & Spirits, Asia, explains:”Not only has this 30 year-old cask set the new world auction record for a whisky cask, but it is also the most expensive per bottle cask ever sold at auction, and is expected to produce 261 bottles valued at HK$17,103/ US$2,200 per bottle.”
This marks the second whisky world auction record set by Bonhams in 2019. Only three months ago, Hanyu Ichiro’s Full Card Series established a new record for a Japanese whisky collection for HK$7,192,000 (US$917,000), selling to an Asian female collector, as Vino-joy previously reported.