The collectibles industry has many sectors to offer many types of buyers. Whisky and wine have proven to hold their own when it comes to creating positive returns for the collectors and investors who buy them. Some buyers are collectors who just have to enjoy that flavor of the unknown. Other buyers are investors who are only looking to make a profit selling the asset down the road. And whisky has seen some rare and unique bottles come up for sale.

What is represented as the wold’s oldest single malt scotch whisky is now up for auction. The only criteria is to be a registered Sotheby’s bidder (in Hong Kong) and to have the highest bid to own lot #5501.

This auction ends on October 7, 2021 for a Glenlivet Gordon & MacPhail Generations 80 year old 1940 whisky, labeled the ” Finest and Rarest Spirits.” Sotheby’s provided a wide estimate of 800,000 to 2,000,000 (HKD) – or about $102,740 to $256,852 in U.S. terms. The current bid of 1.2M HKD is already 50% above the low-end of that range. (Image from Sotheby’s)

According to Sotheby’s, this lot is a unique opportunity to collect the first bottle (decanter #1) of 80 year old whisky ever released. The decanter was designed by Sir David Adjaye, and each decanted is individually numbered.

To be specific, these decanters have not been sitting around since the dawn of World War 2. This whisky was distilled in cask number 340 on February 3, 1940 and was bottled on February 5, 2020.

The auction is being targeted more toward collectors than it is to investors. Sotheby’s noted that two Sir David Adjaye artistry in oak tumblers are included in the auction, as is a unique signed lithograph of Sir David’s original concept drawings and a framed original cask head of Cask 340.

And along with the auction is a private whisky tasting experience for four people in London. That exclusive tasting will also be conducted by Stephen Rankin, who is Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, and will also include Sir David Adjaye in attendance. The attendees will also stay at a five-star hotel in London for one night and the tasting must be held no by December 31, 2022.

Some exclusive purchases of this sort are targeted for investors who would be buying an asset solely to make a profit ahead. In some cases, that would mean the buyer may not even have a passion at all about ownership other than that it may bring a profit in the future (and no guarantees on profits, of course!). This one is targeted toward the ultimate collector, and this definitely stands out in “age” after a recent challenger from a 55-year old whisky up for grabs — even if 80 years old is far short of what may have been America’s oldest whisky sale.

If the world’s oldest whisky sells for close the high-end of that estimate, it’s only about $60,000 per person if there are four attendees.