Coup for Perth auction firm as recordbreaking whisky sale goes past £3.2m

PASSION: Family of collector arranged to sell fruits of man’s decades-long labour

Perth auctioneers are celebrating the success of a record-breaking whisky sale.

Nearly 4,000 bottles of mainly single malt Scotch are being sold online by the Fair City-based Whisky Auctioneer.

The so-called “perfect collection” is the biggest of its kind to go to auction and was built and nurtured by the late Richard Gooding, a private collector from Colorado.

Mr Gooding was the former owner and president of the Pepsi Bowling Co of Denver, one of the largest soft drink distributors in the US.

After his death in 2014, his family arranged with the Whisky Auctioneer to sell them off over two separate auctions.

The first part of the sale has drawn interest from 1,642 bidders from 56 countries. A total of 1,932 bottles achieved a price of £3,290,000.

A highly coveted Macallan 1926 Valerio Adami 60-year-old sold with a hammer price of £825,000, becoming the first million-dollar bottle to be sold at an online auction.

Another record-breaker was a Macallan 1928 Anniversary Malt 50-year-old which sold for £92,000.

Whisky Auctioneer founder Iain Mcclune said: “We always knew that the Perfect Collection by Mr Gooding could make whisky history, but with auctions anything can happen.

“For me it is the diversity within the Perfect Collection that is perhaps the most exciting aspect.

“The breadth makes it an opportunity accessible for all.”

Mr Gooding spent decades travelling to and from Scotland in search of rare bottles. Until last year, they were housed at his “pub” – a dedicated room at his family home that was specially designed to showcase his collection.

His widow Nancy said: “It was clear to us as a family that collecting Scotch was one of Richard’s greatest passions, an endeavour that spanned more than two decades.

“He loved every aspect of it, from researching the many single malt distilleries to visiting them and tasting their whiskies.

“Richard truly loved and was proud of his collection and enjoyed sharing it with friends and fellow Scotch lovers at his pub at home.”

Whisky Auctioneer founder Iain Mcclune believes the diversity of the collection was what drew so much attention.