Scotch whisky is back: while Japanese single malts and Australia’s Sullivans Cove have been winning all the awards, a rare Macallan Lalique 50 Year Old just sold for US$136,000

Feb 28 , 2021

Whisky sales of malts such as this Glen Grant 1948, 72-year-old reveal a keen demand from collectors for Scotch, bucking recent global interest in more novel whisky sources. Photo: Bonhams

First came a boom for Japanese whisky, then Tasmanian distillery Sullivans Cove was named the World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt for two years running

But the Bonhams Hong Kong Whisky sale in January was dominated by Scottish malts which all exceeded auction their estimates – are the tide turning?

In recent years there has been a rush to acclaim whisky from everywhere that isn’t Scotland. First there was the boom in Japanese whisky, and then came Tasmanian distillery Sullivans Cove, with its whiskies named “World’s Best Single Cask Single Malt” at the World Whiskies Awards in both 2018 and 2019. For a while, Scotch seemed very passé.

The tide may finally be turning. At Bonhams Hong Kong Whisky sale in January, Scottish whisky dominated, filling seven of the top 10 lots in the sale, all of which sold high above their estimates. The top item was a classic Macallan Lalique 50 Year Old, which eventually went to a buyer for HK$1,054,000(US$136,000), against an estimate of HK$750,000-900,000.

Also of note was a decanter of Glen Grant 1948 72 Year Old, bottled in 2020, making its appearance at auction for the first time. Sold for HK$421,600 (US$54,000) – above its HK$300,000-$380,000 estimate – the whisky attracted attention not just for its age, but for the fact that it had managed to retain a potent 52.6 per cent by volume – unusual for a whisky of such maturity.

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