Rare Port Ellen whisky made for the Queen and discovered under stairs fetches record price

A bottle of Port Ellen whisky made for the Queen that was discovered under the stairs of a family home has fetched a record price at auction, as bidding coincided with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

A bottle of 12-year-old Port Ellen Islay whisky, thought to be one of only 40 in existence and made to commemorate the Queen’s visit to Islay 40 years ago, has set a new auction record after bidding was completed last night.

The Port Ellen Queen’s Visit whisky was discovered in fortuitous circumstances by Gordon McIntosh, who discovered the rare expression in a cupboard under the stairs of the house he was planning to sell.

“When we were selling our family home in Edinburgh over 23 years ago, the Port Ellen was one of a number of bottles I discovered by chance under the stairs,” McIntosh said.

“It was, luckily, kept upright and undisturbed in our home until we sold the house in 1998 and it moved through to Glasgow with me, re-establishing its position under our stairs.

“The bottle never really stood out as something special until a few months ago, and when a friend who runs a whisky tasting tour mentioned that Port Ellen was in generally high demand I had it valued; as it was a complete surprise to find out how rare it was we did consider keeping it.”

While the exact number of bottles produced of the rare Queen’s Visit whisky is unknown, most agree that the number would have been around 40: enough for the Queen and senior members of staff to take one away.

“When snippets of history like this are discovered quite accidentally coupled with the fact that this is one of around only 40 bottles, it creates a real sense of anticipation around the auction,” said Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist at Whisky Auctioneer.

“The whisky was only given to a handful of recipients and is also highly regarded in terms of liquid quality and taste by the select few that have had the opportunity to try it. From a collectability point of view, this whisky is incomparable.”

The previous record for this whisky was £72,000 – this latest auction price was reported to have sold for at least £84,000 last night.

Read More: Sotheby’s to auction ‘ultra-rare’ whisky casks estimated at £1.2m each.