‘World’s most expensive’ whisky miniature fetches £6440 at auction

A 50ml bottle of whisky has sold for £6440, making it said to be the most expensive miniature ever sold at auction.

The Springbank single malt, distilled in 1919, was one of more than 400 bottles from a collection that sold for £56,732.95 after commission.

Just 24 full-size 700ml bottles were produced at the distillery in 1970 and it was once in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most expensive whisky.

Whisky collector and co-founder of the online whisky retailer The Whisky Exchange, Sukhinder Singh, put together the collection over four decades.

He said: “I am extremely pleased that after 40 years of collecting these miniatures they have found their way into other collections around the world.

“Ten miniatures from my collection reached prices of £1000 or more including the Springbank 1919, which achieved £6440, breaking the record for the highest price ever paid for a miniature.

“I am thrilled to see that interest in miniature collecting is at an all-time high as it’s something I fell in love with four decades ago.”

Other stand-out miniatures from the sale via online auction site Whisky.Auction include a rare 1940s Glenfiddich Special with box, which went for £2350, and a Macallan Spiral Label from the 1970s that sold for £2185.

Mr Singh decided to sell a large proportion of his collection to make room for future purchases, keeping just one bottle from each distillery to go on display.

Isabel Graham-Yooll, auction director at Whisky.Auction said: “We have seen a wonderful renaissance in the appreciation of rare whisky miniatures.

“Bidders are willing to pay what seems like a lot of money for tiny bottles of whisky but it is the opportunity to taste a piece of history – particularly when standard 70cl or 75cl formats have become inaccessible for many enthusiasts to buy.”