Million Air Winter 2023/24

elite traveler WINTER 2023/24 71

all, the only time you’ll see rival distilleries revealing their most valued buyers in front of one another. The fears, however, were unfounded. On the day, collectors came out in force. The STAC sold for $680,000 (over the phone, of course) and the Iris for $483,000 — an auction record for both distilleries. Once the headline acts were out the way, other brands stepped into the limelight. The Glen Grant The Visionary de fi ed Sotheby’s valuators by selling for $256,000, more than double its high estimate of $110,000. The Glenturret Enduring Spirit, a collection of four whiskies in original-mold Lalique decanters, tripled its low estimate to sell for $151,000. Old Pulteney, a distillery with almost no reputation at the highest end of whisky, sold its charming Bow Wave 45 Year Old for $83,000, over double its high estimate. Even Kandoblanc, a new brand presenting its fi rst-ever blended whisky in an intricate Murano glass decanter, sold for $54,000, making it the most expensive debut Scotch whisky from any brand, ever. In total, 19 brands left the auction with a new record for most expensive sale. Jonathan Driver, master of The Worshipful Company of Distillers, who helped bring these rival companies together, told me this year’s auction was the ‘di ffi cult second album.’ After going platinum once again, expect the band to be back on tour in2025.

the Bowmore STAC 55 Year Old and the Brora Iris 50 Year Old. With a combined low estimate of $600,000, their sales will make the di ff erence — success or failure. They are stunning whiskies (yes, I got to try them both and… wow), but they are also works of art. The Bowmore STAC’s bottle is a towering, single piece of hand-blown glass inspired by the enigmatic sea stack rocks on Bowmore’s Islay home. Magically resembling layers of rock at the bottom before becoming clear crystal at the top, this intricate piece of glasswork took dozens of attempts to perfect. Inside, the whisky is the oldest Bowmore has ever released in its 244-year history. Having sold a similar looking vessel in the 2021 auction for $532,000, the pressure was on to repeat the feat. Few distilleries can match Bowmore for collectability, but Brora has edged closer in recent years. Despite an already fabled reputation, the Iris still felt like a quantum leap forward for the brand. The decanter’s distinctive shape was inspired by the iris of a wildcat, the emblem of the distillery. The decanter is suspended in a sculpture carved with the same limestone used to build the Brora distillery. The whole thing weighs 260 lbs and is rumored to have cost owning company Diageo $300,000 to produce. Speaking to those behind several projects the night before, there was angst as well as excitement. One expressed concern that the Brora Iris, as the fi fthlot, had been placed too early in the auction. Others were worried that their private clients were having their eyes turned at the last moment by other lots. This is, after

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