World’s oldest whisky sells for nearly $500K at auction

By Elizabeth Hunter via SWNS

Bottles of the "world's oldest whisky" found hidden in a Scottish castle - and thought to be tasted by Queen Victoria - have fetched a whopping £385,630 ($485,560) at auction.

The collection of 24 bottles were found hidden behind a cellar door in Blair Castle, Perthshire, and were distilled in 1833 and aged for eight years before bottling.

The whisky was put up for auction online with Whisky Auctioneer, with each bottle listed for £10,000 ($12,596) - and every bottle sold for more.

One bottle even sold for the record price of £19,500 ($24,562) after receiving 37 bids before the end of the auction on Dec. 4.

Each bottle met its reserve price, selling for between £14,000 to £19 ($17,634 to $23,933) at an average price of £16,068 ($20,239).

In total the 24 bottles were sold for £385,630 ($$485,560) - but a selection of bottles is set to become an exhibition at Blair Castle to mark the discovery.

Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist, said: "It’s been a privilege to work with Blair Castle and Atholl Estates to bring this incredible discovery to auction.

"It has been a fascinating journey, working with Blair Castle and various third-party scientific research institutes, to establish as much information as possible regarding these historic bottles and the whisky within.

"This whisky is a monumental find and it's wonderful that whisky enthusiasts across the world have had the opportunity to now own a time capsule from deep in the history of Scotch whisky."