A Macallan 1991 cask has been sold by Bonhams in Hong Kong for a new world record price of HK$4,464,000, exceeding its previous high estimate, with each bottle priced at HK$ 22,099, the auction house has announced.
Distilled by Macallan in December 1991, the 30-year-old cask can yield 202 bottles, and was re-racked in 2017 with sherry. Sherry is the preferred choice of wood to give whisky a unique impact of clove, resin, dried fruit and tannin – a sweet palate which most drinkers will find approachable.
Commenting on the result, Daniel Lam, Bonhams Director of Wine and Spirits in Asia, said: “In terms of both buying and selling, 2021 has been a strong and resilient market for whisky. Our year-to-date total has surpassed that for the same period before Covid in 2019.”
According to the auction house, its whisky and wine sales this year achieved HK$80.5milion, surpassing the same period in 2019 (HK$67million).
Cask collecting is fast growing as a trend and it became a specialty offering for Bonhams. In 2019, the auction house set a world record when we sold a Macallan 1989 cask for a per-bottle price of HK$17,103.
“The cask in this sale has achieved a per-bottle price of HK$22,099 – and a new world record – a very strong increase in just two years,” says Lam. “Meanwhile, Japanese whisky continues to be a hotly-contested field, with Yamazaki and Karuizawa lots 100% sold in our sale. The announcement that the final editions of Karuizawa whisky will be released later this year has fuelled demand.”
The total whisky and wine sales on August 20 achieved HK$24.5million, eclipsing the pre-sale high estimate.
