'World's oldest whisky' found in Scottish castle set to fetch £13k a bottle

02 December 2023 , 12:09

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The whisky is expected to fetch around £13k a bottle (Image: Whisky Auctioneer / Spey / SWNS)

A treasure trove of ancient whisky which was once a tipple of Queen Victoria is expected to fetch up to £13,000 a bottle at auction.

The tipple is understood to be the oldest-known Scotch whisky in existence with 24 bottles being sold by Perth-based firm Whisky Auctioneer after being discovered late last year in a cellar room deep within a 13th-century Scottish castle. The bottles are expected to sell for more than £240,000 – and several bottles have already hit their £10,000 reserve price.

The auction's leading lot has already attracted 27 bids of up to £13,000. The sale opened on Friday and is set to close on Monday. The collection was discovered behind a cellar door in Blair Castle, Perthshire, Scotland and subsequently tested, which determined them to have been distilled 190 years ago back in 1833, making it the oldest-known scotch in existence.

Joe Wilson, Head Curator & Spirits Specialist from Whisky Auctioneer inspects one of the bottles (Whisky Auctioneer / Spey / SWNS)

It was bottled in 1841, according to carbon dating technology from the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre. So although it's nearly 200 years old, if it was to be given an age statement as most malts are, it would only be classed as an eight-year-old.

The Scotch's value doesn't come from the age, but more the fact it was obviously a top tipple before it was laid down for that lengthy stretch prior to its discovery. Blair Castle is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Atholl, who hosted numerous highly important guests during that period and it is even believed that Queen Victoria would have sampled this spirit alongside Prince Albert when she visited the property in 1844.

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The bottles were found in a cellar in the historic Blair Castle (Whisky Auctioneer / Spey / SWNS)

A statement from Whisky Auctioneer said: "When discovered, the bottles were found with a plaque that stated a distillation year of 1833, bottling year of 1841, and a subsequent rebottling year of 1932. Should these dates be accurate, this would mean the bottles contain the oldest known, by vintage, Scotch whisky left in existence.''

It was rebottled at the same proof as it was found and while the strength number has not been disclosed, it would need to be above 80-proof in order to legally be labeled a Scotch. The dark, cool cellar it was kept in will have helped preserve the quality of the whisky because over time oxidisation would have occurred - as is the case for any liquid - but it takes longer in a distilled spirit, unless they are exposed to light and the wrong temperatures, which would speed up that process.

According to Forbes, the castle's keepers decided to find out just how good this particular example of the water of life is and turned to Angus MacRaild, who studies and specialises in old and rare whiskies. He said that it contained medicinal qualities, minus the presence of peat and held weight and freshness.

Paul Donald