Rare Bowmore malts to be auctioned

The first and second bottles of Bowmore’s 54-year-old are to be auctioned in Edinburgh and New York this October.

The bottles will be auctioned by Bonhams with the proceeds donated to charity.

The whiskies, of which there are only 12 bottles in the world, is the oldest Bowmore ever produced and also lays claim to being the oldest Islay Single Malt ever as well.

Distilled in 1957 it was bottled in 2011. Its cask was singled out as worthy of further ageing at a bottling of the distillate in 1995.

Andrew Rankin, Morrison Bowmore’s chief blender, said: “Upon checking the whisky in early 2011, we knew it had reached perfection at 54 years of age. Bowmore 1957 has withstood the test of time astoundingly well and is nothing short of brilliance in a glass.”

The first auction will take place in Edinburgh on 10 October with bottle number one and the second with bottle number two in New York on 28 October.

A minimum reserve of £100,000 has been set per bottle and all net proceeds will go to five charities in Scotland.