£50k bottle of whisky sets record

A legendary whisky has sold for more than £50,000 at auction.

A bottle of The Bowmore 1966 Samaroli Bouquet was bought for £51,611 in an online auction held by Perth-based Whisky Auctioneer and it attracted more than 50 bids from around the world.

The winning bid came from Hong Kong and sets a new world record for the drink.

It far exceeds the record set in 2014 when a bottle sold for £4,200, according to research from analysts Rare Whisky 101.

Sean McGlone, Whisky Auctioneer director, said: “This whisky has legendary status within the industry. We knew that there would be strong interest in its listing and that it would likely break the previous records, but it has exceeded all our expectations by fetching over £50,000.

“It goes to show how committed people are to collecting and investing in rare vintage whisky, something we are seeing a huge increase in.”

The Bowmore 1966 Samaroli Bouquet was created by Islay’s Bowmore distillery and renowned Italian bottler, the late Silvano Samaroli. First bottled in 1984 with only 720 bottles produced, the whisky is currently ranked in the top spot on Whiskybase.com’s top 1,000 whiskies of all time, just ahead of Samaroli’s Laphroaig 1967.

Andy Simpson, co-founder of Rare Whisky 101, said: “The Bowmore 1966 Samaroli Bouquet, which is held in such high regard by connoisseurs, is particularly rare and collectable.”