Distillers One of One Auction: Rare Rosebank whisky pairing goes under the hammer

A charity auction held at Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, saw 39 lots up for sale.

The Distillers One of One event – the world’s most distinguished ultra-rare whisky auction, hosted in partnership with Sotheby’s, brought in over £2.2million, more than double the pre-sale estimate. It raised £1.8 million for the Distillers’ Charity’s Youth Action Fund, which aims to transform the lives of young people in Scotland aged between 16 and 25, by helping them to develop knowledge, confidence, resilience, and skills.

Among the 39 lots were the very first bottles from both Rosebank 1993 single casks 433 and 625 which have an estimated value between £5000 and £10,000.

Lot 21 was listed as a “unique pairing of two rare single casks”, which were the last distilled before the Rosebank Distillery in Falkirk closed in 1993.

However, on the day, the bidding saw the bottles go for £16,250.

Leading the auction was the spectacular Bowmore STAC 55 Years Old, the oldest whisky ever released by the distillery, which sold for £562,500, while a new auction record was achieved when Brora Iris 50 Year Old 1972, the oldest Brora single malt that has ever been bottled, presented in a 1.5 litre decanter and suspended within an imposing one-of-a-kind handcrafted stone sculpture, sold for £400,000.

Grant Gordon, chairman of The Distillers’ Charity, said: “We’re very proud to see that the Scotch Whisky industry has once more come together and raised an incredible amount in support of disadvantaged young people in Scotland. In the past 21 months, with proceeds from the first One of One Auction, over 800 young people who were isolated, disengaged and inactive, have already benefited from support through the Youth Action Fund.

"This year’s auction has once more raised a substantial amount of funds, which will contribute towards our aspiration of changing the lives of another 1000 young people across Scotland in the next two years.

"We sincerely thank all our industry leaders, the whisky collectors and the craftspeople that pour their passion into every cask and bottle, for their support and generosity.”