Auction of ‘World’s Largest Private Whisky Collection’ Begins Today

Over 3900 notable bottles of whisky for sale in two online auctions in February and April 2020

Bidding will open today on what the auction house describes as ‘the world’s largest private whisky collection’. Over 3,900 bottles of notable, rare, and super-rare whisky have been split into two lots, with the first batch going under the hammer at midday today, and the second becoming available on April 10th.

The collection, which was assembled over decades by Richard Gooding, a private collector who passed away in 2014, includes a number of bottles expected to fetch in excess of £1 million each. The first lot, which goes on sale today, consists of 1949 bottles, including the highly rare Macallan 1926 Valerio Adami 60 Year Old, and Springbank 1919 50 Year Old.

The collection also contains a number of bottlings from some of Scotland’s lost distilleries, including an Old Orkney Real Liqueur Whisky (c 1930s) from Stromness Distillery, and a number of other bottles that have never or rarely been seen before at auction. In total, the collection is expected to fetch upwards of £8 million.

Readers feeling flush, or just curious to follow the bidding action, can find the full lot listing and auction details here.