Old bottlings dominate at Bonham’s first whisky auction

A 1902 Highland Park and 1960 Karuizawa 50-year-old are particular highlights at Bonham’s next Hong Kong sale.

Tapping into the insatiable thirst for aged and rare whiskies that currently grips Asia, Bonhams auction house will host an Old & Rare Whisky sale on 22 January – its first of this year.

Comprising 395 lots, the focus is on special old bottlings from the 1960s to 1980s, specifically single cask expressions from Bowmore, Macallan, Springbank, Glenfiddich, Highland Park, Glenlivet and Ardbeg.

A bottle of Bowmore 1969 #6634 (lot 244) specially bottled for the 20th anniversary of the late Italian whisky collector Edoardo Giaccone’s whisky bar in Salo, Italy is estimated between HK$28,000-36,000 (US$3,600-US$4,600) while the oldest bottling on offer, a 1902 Highland Park 50-year-old reserve from Berry Brothers (lot 298) is expected to fetch between HK$58,000-US$68,000 (US$7,400-US$8,700).

From Japan, there is a particularly rare bottling of 1960 Karuizawa 50-year-old #3604 which has never before been offered at auction for HK$150,000-HK$200,000 (US$19,200-US$25,800) and a selection of the much-coveted Hanyu’s Ichiro Card series.

Aged bourbon enthusiasts will also find a range spanning the 1970s to 1980s from renowned distilleries from Kentucky, including Heaven Hill, Old Fitzgerald, Old Weller and Pappy Van Winkle’s.