A 72-year-old bottle of Glen Grant single malt whisky from Scotland fetched more than $54,000 in an auction in Hong Kong on Friday.
It is the first time that the 1948 Glen Grant whisky, by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, was offered in an auction. It is number 88 of 290 decanters bottled by the company and was auctioned off by Bonhams, fetching a price of 421,600 Hong Kong dollars ($54,300) including premium.
The bottle had a book estimate of 300,000 to 380,000 Hong Kong dollars ($38,000 to $49,000).
The whisky, the oldest from the Glen Grant distillery, is in a Dartington crystal decanter with an American black walnut presentation box.
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Despite the economic uncertainty brought by the pandemic, interest in rare whiskies remains high. Compared to other investment commodities, collectible whisky has done well in the past 10 years with a four-fold increase in prices, said Christopher Pong, wine and whisky specialist at Bonhams.
Other whiskies featured in Friday’s auction included a 35-year-old Hibiki whisky from Japan in a Kutani ceramic decanter that sold for 372,000 Hong Kong dollars ($48,000).
The Associated Press contributed to this article