Elite Traveler Winter 2023/24

INFLUENCE BEHIND THE SCENES

Behind the scenes The Distillers' One of One auction The Distillers' One of One auction galvanized the titans of Scotch whisky in aid of a good cause. Elite Traveler ’s Alex Martin was in the room as the powers that control a multibillion dollar industry gathered for an extraordinary auction

Ask a Sotheby’s auctioneer what the most stressful part of their job is and they won’t say keeping a room full of veracious bidders in check. That’s the easy bit. It is inthe fi nal minutes before an auction begins that tensions reach their peak. In our globalized, inter connected world, many of Sotheby’s biggest bids come in through the phone rather than the room. Just one technical glitch or a choppy connection and a potential record sale could be lost. “You don’t want to be in a technician’s way before an auction,” one tells me. When internet reception could make all the di ff erence, a 17th-century manor house on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, seems like a brave choice for the Distillers' One of One auction, which has bidders phoning in from Taiwan to the US. There is palpable relief when, to the exact minute, the fi rst of 39 lots — each one a unique Scotch whisky — goes

under the hammer. Over the next hour, two years of hard work come to fruition, 19 auction records are broken and $2.7m is raised for charity. The biennial Distillers' One of One auction, held at the staggeringly beautiful Hopetoun House, has been a remarkable success since launching in 2021. To participate, distilleries and independent bottlers must donate one-o ff whiskies in aid of The Distillers’ Charity’s Youth Action Fund, which aims to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people in Scotland. But this is more than a chance to do some good. This is a rare opportunity for brands to bounce o ff one another on the same platform, and to show the world’s most prominent collectors what they’re about. Walking around the stately rooms on the eve of the auction, packed with people who make a multibillion dollar industry turn, everyone is talking about two lots:

Clockwise from left Jonny Fowle, Sotheby's global head of whisky, fi elding bids during The Distillers' One of One auction at Hopetoun House; Bowmore STAC 55 Year Old 1962; Old Pulteney Bow Wave; The Glen Grant The Visionary 68 Year Old 1955; The Distillers' One of One auction

Intotal, 19 brands left the auction with a new record for most expensive sale

Photo Rich Maciver