The Dalmore Decades – the only complete collection of a one-of-a-kind set of six vintage single malts spanning 1951 to 2000 – sold at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on Friday for HK$8,750,000 / US$1,124,000 / £830,000.
This was a new auction record for the luxury malt sector. It represents the highest value for a whisky lot sold at Sotheby’s so far this year and the most valuable whisky lot ever sold by Sotheby’s in Asia.
Collectors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the UK competed to secure the collection, with the winning bid going to an Asian private collector. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to V&A Dundee, following The Dalmore’s announcement in 2020 of a four-year partnership with Scotland’s first design museum – and the first Victoria & Albert museum to open outside of London – with the aim of nurturing and championing Scottish culture and creative talent on a global stage.
Whyte & Mackay Global Travel Retail Director Richard Trimby said: “The Dalmore offers some of Scotland’s most rare and precious whisky stocks, remarkable in their desirability to collectors, investors, and drinkers alike. The Dalmore Decades No.6 Collection is a truly singular celebration of our remarkable history, a once-in-a-lifetime collector’s opportunity to capture the spirit of the Highlands.”
Sotheby’s Spirits Specialist Jonny Fowle said: “The Dalmore is truly an icon of the whisky world and this collection encapsulates everything that the Distillery stands for. It also highlights the key elements that collectors are looking for in today’s premium whisky market. Representing yet another benchmark, the record result – which also represents the highest value whisky we have sold so far this year – speaks volumes of the strong global demand we have witnessed over the past two years.”
The six-bottle collection was created by Richard Paterson, The Dalmore’s Master Distiller. The set, including one of the oldest liquids ever to have been released by the distillery and the first Scotch whisky created in the new millennium, comprises Paterson’s personal selection of single malts from 1951, 1967, 1979, 1980, 1995, 2000.
Encapsulating 60 years of whisky making, The Dalmore’s latest release is made unique by a number of distinguishing features: the inclusion of the coveted 1951 vintage – representing the only opportunity to acquire a decanter of this 60-year-old whisky; the bespoke silver collars on each of the decanters; and the individual display pedestals topped with black oak.
The partnership between The Dalmore and V&A Dundee celebrates exceptional design and craftsmanship in and inspired by Scotland. To mark the launch of the Decades Collections, The Dalmore commissioned the museum to co-produce art film Decades in the Making, illuminating moments in time that have shaped two world-renowned masters from childhood to today. The six-minute film stars Kengo Kuma, architect of V&A Dundee and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games National Stadium, alongside Richard Paterson, exploring the synergies between each man’s pursuit of excellence.
V&A Dundee Director Leonie Bell said: “We are delighted to work in partnership with The Dalmore to celebrate the very best in Scottish and international design, from our architecture by Kengo Kuma to our Scottish Design Galleries which explore our nation’s design past, present and future. This generous donation will help continue to support the work we do to champion and celebrate design as an integral part of everyone’s life, in Dundee, across Scotland and around the world.”
Milestone sales of The Dalmore, like the Decades No.6 Collection, achieved over the past ten years highlight a growing appetite to acquire from a refined selection of extraordinary whiskies, said the brand owner. It noted that The Dalmore is the only prestige brand to have grown share both domestically and in travel retail in 2020, making The Dalmore the fastest growing spirits brand over the last two years (IWSR 2021).
The Dalmore 64 Trinitas was the first whisky in the world to break the six-figure price barrier in 2010; with only three bottles produced, today each one is said to be worth in excess of US$160,000. At the time of its unveiling in 2013, The Dalmore Paterson Collection was the most expensive collection of whiskies ever created, sold in 2017 to a young Chinese collector for £1 million. Also in 2017, The Dalmore Brilliance 1926 set a record in travel retail when it sold for US$250,000 at Schipol Airport. Also in that year, The Dalmore Drew Sinclair 62 Year Old resold at auction for £91,650 – more than double its pre-auction estimate.
The Dalmore L’Anima was released in 2019, developed in partnership with famed Italian chef Massimo Bottura; the one-of-a-kind bottle was sold at Sotheby’s for £108,900, with proceeds benefiting Massimo Bottura’s charitable foundation. In May 2020, a pair of The Dalmore 62 Year Old whiskies secured £266,200 each at the seminal Sotheby’s Distilled auction, more than doubling the estimate and exceeding the amount achieved for the world’s oldest Cognac.
As reported, Whyte & Mackay is celebrating The Dalmore Decades collection with a special promotion in Hainan’s offshore duty free market throughout October, in partnership with China Duty Free Group. The activity embraces online, domestic and travel retail channels and consumers.
A stunning pop-up at the CDFG-run Sanya International Duty Free Shopping runs through the month, and is linked to a major digital amplification campaign designed to bring the launch to a vast audience outside the store.
*Whyte & Mackay, owner of The Dalmore, Jura and Fettercairn single malt Scotch whiskies, is a partner at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo, which takes place this week.
